Never had this happen before:
This morning I lost my female convict in one of my breeder factory tanks. The female is about a year old, and is roughly 1 3/4" long. She has been breeding on a regular basis with the same male; they are the only tank inhabitants. I have harvested thousands of viable fry from this pair, and the fry became a delicious treat for some of my CA and african cichlids.
Yesterday around 6pm I did my nightly rounds and fed all the fish. I checked on this tank specifically as this pair had a beautiful brood of about 400 hundred fry last week. Both the male and female were apprehensive about my presence as always, and both fish were healthy and hungry.
This morning around 9 AM I went down for the morning feeding and found the female upside down and very dead. She seemed "fuzzy" or rough on the scales. The eyes were slightly cloudy, suggesting she had been dead for many hours.
Here is the weird part: her tail was split and there isn't a single fry in the tank. I know they will start to pick them off slowly, but to devour a cloud of several hundred in several hours??? The male is roughly 2" long and was not showing a large bulge in his stomach. I have never witnessed any aggression from the male (he was the sub dominant male when the pairs were formed). He is not showing any signs of stress, has no ripped fins, and was ready for food even though his mate was dead on the bottom.
Here are my setup specs:
20 gallon long, pool filter sand bottom, temp steady at 79*, ATI Sponge III sponge filter. Tank has been established for about 3-4 months
water changes: 50% twice per week, using pre-treated w/ Prime, pre-heated, 24 hour pre circulated water from my water change tank. This has been done since the tank was established.
Parameters: pH: 8.1, GH 9, KH 5.8, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate <5 ppm max
feeding: twice per day with an alternating mixture of HBH Spirulina flake, NLS sinking Cichlid pellets, Cyclopeze, diced gutloaded mealworms, and occasional homemade shrimp and pea mix. I fast 1 day per week.
Notice the blood along the top of the dorsal fin and tail; this looks like severe hemorrhaging under the scales. It is symmetrical on both the right and left sides.
Curious if anyone can offer some insight? I've lost fish from tankmate brutality, and I've lost fish from disease, and nothing seems to fit this situation from what I've seen in the past.
This morning I lost my female convict in one of my breeder factory tanks. The female is about a year old, and is roughly 1 3/4" long. She has been breeding on a regular basis with the same male; they are the only tank inhabitants. I have harvested thousands of viable fry from this pair, and the fry became a delicious treat for some of my CA and african cichlids.
Yesterday around 6pm I did my nightly rounds and fed all the fish. I checked on this tank specifically as this pair had a beautiful brood of about 400 hundred fry last week. Both the male and female were apprehensive about my presence as always, and both fish were healthy and hungry.
This morning around 9 AM I went down for the morning feeding and found the female upside down and very dead. She seemed "fuzzy" or rough on the scales. The eyes were slightly cloudy, suggesting she had been dead for many hours.
Here is the weird part: her tail was split and there isn't a single fry in the tank. I know they will start to pick them off slowly, but to devour a cloud of several hundred in several hours??? The male is roughly 2" long and was not showing a large bulge in his stomach. I have never witnessed any aggression from the male (he was the sub dominant male when the pairs were formed). He is not showing any signs of stress, has no ripped fins, and was ready for food even though his mate was dead on the bottom.
Here are my setup specs:
20 gallon long, pool filter sand bottom, temp steady at 79*, ATI Sponge III sponge filter. Tank has been established for about 3-4 months
water changes: 50% twice per week, using pre-treated w/ Prime, pre-heated, 24 hour pre circulated water from my water change tank. This has been done since the tank was established.
Parameters: pH: 8.1, GH 9, KH 5.8, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate <5 ppm max
feeding: twice per day with an alternating mixture of HBH Spirulina flake, NLS sinking Cichlid pellets, Cyclopeze, diced gutloaded mealworms, and occasional homemade shrimp and pea mix. I fast 1 day per week.
Notice the blood along the top of the dorsal fin and tail; this looks like severe hemorrhaging under the scales. It is symmetrical on both the right and left sides.
Curious if anyone can offer some insight? I've lost fish from tankmate brutality, and I've lost fish from disease, and nothing seems to fit this situation from what I've seen in the past.
