I've had 4 baby rbp's for about 2 months now. They've grown as expected at about 1" per month, and eat plenty. When I went to my tank this morning, however, I discovered that one had died in the night. He was the smallest one, and although he did eat he was always quite skinny.
When I removed him from the tank he was missing an eye and there were a couple bites out of his back, but I don't think that he was killed by his brothers - I think that probably happened after the fact.
My water parameters are as follows:
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 5-10ppm
Ammonia: 0-0.25 (Hard to tell)
pH: 8.1
I'm assuming that since my nitrites and nitrates are so low that my ammonia is 0 ppm, though it is hard to tell.
While my params are good now, I made a mistake by adding the fish too early. I thought my tank was cycled after a quick test, but after adding the fish and testing again 3 days later I found out that it wasn't. One of the fish seemed to develop fin rot, but it has for the most part cleared up with water changes, good water params, and a little melafix. This week the smallest one (that died) seemed to have developed a light case of it, but it too seemed to be clearing up.
While I would like to know what caused his death, I would also like to know how likely it is that the other 3 will share the same fate. I don't want to keep only 3 and would like to add 2 more if I can find some around the same size, but not if they will die too.
When I removed him from the tank he was missing an eye and there were a couple bites out of his back, but I don't think that he was killed by his brothers - I think that probably happened after the fact.
My water parameters are as follows:
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 5-10ppm
Ammonia: 0-0.25 (Hard to tell)
pH: 8.1
I'm assuming that since my nitrites and nitrates are so low that my ammonia is 0 ppm, though it is hard to tell.
While my params are good now, I made a mistake by adding the fish too early. I thought my tank was cycled after a quick test, but after adding the fish and testing again 3 days later I found out that it wasn't. One of the fish seemed to develop fin rot, but it has for the most part cleared up with water changes, good water params, and a little melafix. This week the smallest one (that died) seemed to have developed a light case of it, but it too seemed to be clearing up.
While I would like to know what caused his death, I would also like to know how likely it is that the other 3 will share the same fate. I don't want to keep only 3 and would like to add 2 more if I can find some around the same size, but not if they will die too.
