Unknown death of juvenile mayan cichlid (please help diagnose)

[Finthusiast]

I have had three of these guys in a ten gallon tank for about 3 weeks and water conditions seem good and didnt notice any signs of illness but one of my cichlids was upside down at the bottom of the tank when I came home. I removed him and he was still alive so I put him in a small container with air and really had no idea what to do. I added salt because I read it can help treat disease and cichlids have a high tolerance I read but I think I left him in the salt too long cause he started floating upright after adding but eventually died in there just trying to find out what happened. As I was observing I. Oticed what looked like “peeling skin” coming off his body any idea what this was? Also these cichlids are aggressive but did not seem to attack to kill just kinda chase away cause they are all same species. But really uncertain what happened and want to prevent happening to others who seem healthy. Anyways sorry for auch a long message but thanks for reading and for any info. I have more info to provide but this message is soooo long lol

 

[Rocksor]

Fish aggression, especially if all of a sudden. They'll act fine in front of you, but once out of their sight, the aggression begins.

Use a liquid test and check ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

 

[Finthusiast]

Thanks for the fast reply that was what I thought. He was still alive for about 24 hours after I found him was there anything I could have done to nurse him back to health? Also the “skin peeling” any idea what this was?

 

[Rocksor]

Thanks for the fast reply that was what I thought. He was still alive for about 24 hours after I found him was there anything I could have done to nurse him back to health? Also the “skin peeling” any idea what this was?

Not much if it died that quickly, most likely internal damage. The skin peeling can occur as a result of the other fish biting it or it scraping against something as it was trying to get away. A 10g, doesn't have enough foot print for it to easily avoid objects as it tries to flee.

 

[Finthusiast]

heres a video of my tank and all three were healthy during recording let me know if you got any tips other than the obvious “get a bigger tank” lol

 

[RD.]

Clearly the only advice to be given - IS get a bigger tank. Or better yet, rehome the 2 survivors, and find some some fish that will be appropriate for a 10 gallon. Like guppies - not Uro's.

 

[Finthusiast]

I take that as a compliment lol I am new to aquariums this is my first one. I have had it goong for about two months. Started with 25 mosquitofish to get the water right then released them when I caught these guys. Now already wanting a 75 gallon tank, Im addicted

 

[RD.]

Welcome to the world of fishkeeping. You just learned a valuable lesson regarding respecting ones personal limitations. A 10 gallon is not suitable to the species that you chose. That was the 1st mistake. The 2nd mistake is collecting fish from the wild, and then later releasing them back into native waterways. Do NOT ever do this. Once an aquatic organism has been exposed to captivity, and all the things that can potentially be attached to captivity, one should never release that organism (fish or otherwise) back in to the wild.

 

[Finthusiast]

Thanks for the welcome and lessons learned. I plan to get a larger aquarium soon as I have really grown attached to these guys and once conditions are right I can get more some day and hopefully catch a female so I may see the whole spectrum of their lives. My goal is to create an atmosphere that is better than where I am getting them from

 

[RD.]

It's all good. My advice is to study the species in question, use the search feature here, read what members such as duanes Rocksor etc have to say about the diet, tank size limitations, etc, and pay attention to the small details. Understanding ones own personal limitations, and then having the conviction to live by those limitations is key in this hobby. Even a 75 gallon is a relatively small piece of real estate for a single adult 12" cichlid, let a lone a group, let alone a breeding pair. You have already seen what even a very small juvenile mayan can do when his aggression is turned on.