Three dead!

[ROSSELLA1]

Okay, so I just started a sorority but the day after the first night one of them died. I did a partial water change but all the other fish seemed fine so I wasn't worried. So I replaced her and that fish was fine but another died .Then the next day I checked and the fish seemed fine. Two were very active and one wasn't too active but not exactly sluggish either. The only thing I noticed was that one didn't eat much but she seemed to be swimming around a lot like she usually did so I wasn't too worried but when I ame back I found her dead and another on the point of dying. I scooped her and the other into cups and did a full water change, cleaned the ornaments, the filter, the thermometer, changed the cartridge, and everything. The dying one had died by then but my other's still alive and seems normal (although I just got her so I'm not sure exactly what her normal behavior is). She hangs near the top of the tank a lot but she doesn't seem to be gasping and she does swim around (the surviving one is Sapphire). THe only thing that I'm seriously concerned about is that while the other fish were all new, one of them, Rosy, I had had for weeks and she was acting completley normal except for the not eating much and then she died. Is there anything else I can do to make sure or prevent Sapphire from getting sick and dying too?

[Impolite]

First off, I'm sorry for your loss :((

Secondly, do the fish look like they've been beaten to death when you find them? What size tank do you have? You're using dechlorinator and have a heater right? A heater can make a fish more hungry too.
And theyre Petshop fish right? I'm just guessing....
But if they are, maybe you got a bad batch :(. I got all my girls but one at te same time, so I'm figurin they're sisters from the same breeder, and nothing wrong yet.
So, either they were diseased (worst case scenero) or beaten to death (equally terrible scenario)

[ROSSELLA1]

Thank you! No, I know one had a tear in her fin but that was it and I know where she got it from (my Rosy was a bit of a bully and nipped and shook her but then I seperated them, rearranged the ornaments and all that happened was flaring). Supposing the cut was too much for her the others were all fine and Rosy looked unbelievably healthy and the others didn't look like they had any tears or wounds; in fact even though they didn't look great they didn't look sick either. I'm using dechlorinator but not a heater right now since my room is always about 80 in the summer and the tank's somewhere between 75 and 80 (can't get a good look at the therometer but I know it's between those two numbers) so I'm going to get one just before fall starts. I got them from Petco and Sapphire's from there too. So I'm figuring one or more of them were sick and tainted the tank so that killed Rosy. I hope that I got it out so that Sapphire doesn't die:(

[Burd]

Sometimes just the stress of being in a tank with girls who are being pushy (not even truly bullying) can kill a fish. Even if they don't show stress stripes they can be stressed. I tried to have a sorority with 5 girls in a 10 gallon tank. Only 3 managed to live to see another day and tolerated each other.

I've found in my personal experience that more girls didn't help -- less girls got along fine. I've got two left (one other died from disease) who get along like peanut butter and jelly in a 5 gallon. Go figure.

[ROSSELLA1]

Yeah, I think I'm just going to stick with Sapphire (and Bluebeard, my guy in another tank though). I don't want to risk her dying too. I was really attatched to Rosy:( and I know that after a few more days or so I'll feel the same about Sapphire.

[Nippyfish]

How terrible. I'm so sorry. For 3 deaths to occur so close together I would think the cause would either be...

Communicable disease. If one had some sort of virus or virulent bacteria it could quickly spread to the others. Did you quarantine the fish before moving them into the same aquarium?

Environmental. For an environmental factor to cause three deaths in a short time it would have to be something severe such as a rapid pH fluctuation, exposure to chlorine, exposure to soap, cleaning products or other chemical accidentally introduced into the aquarium or possibly heavy metal poisoning.

Do either of these possibilities seem like they could be the cause?

[ROSSELLA1]

Thank you. I think Communicable disease sounds like the best bet. I didn't have anything to quarantine them in other than the petco cups so I just put them in.
I never use any chemicals in my room because I have hermit crabs and they can die if the air carries it. Never use soap on the aquarium or anything near it either and my ph/alkalinity/etc. are all pretty stable.
I just hope my Sapphire didn't contract it. I took her out as soon as I realized Rosy was dead and Silverado was dying and I did a full water change. I hope that'll keep her alive.

[Sakura8]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Rossella. :( Another possibility could be simple blunt force trauma from being rammed by other fish. This can be a serious problem in the aggressive cichlids, who will ram other fish and cause irreversible damage to the victim's swimbladder and/or internal organs. I know this information is of little comfort but it might help clear up the mystery as to how your girls died.

[ROSSELLA1]

Thank you all. Sapphire died:( I think I'm just going to accept that that tank is cursed or something and stick with Bluebeard (In a different tank and perfectly fine so far) for a while.

[Sakura8]

I'm sorry to hear Sapphire died. :(