Cannibal fish?

[OrmIrian]

OK! I'm at the end of my rope with DD's fish. She's had them for 2 years - new bigger tank this christmas. All hunkydory until we went away in the summer - came back to 2 dead fantails and 1 ailing. Put it down to 1. too much food given by teenage minder, 2. fin rot. Treated fin rot with stuff. Third fish died. Went to ask for advice at local aquarium shop. Suggested it sounded like ammonia burn. Was told that I was cleaning the tank too thoroughly and had basically removed all the good bacteria. He sold me something to neutralise ammonia and add bacteria. Treated for a week. Took some water in to test - still too high in ammonia. Left it 2 more weeks and ammonia levels were perfect. Bought 2 more fish. One dead within 24 hours. The other dead within 48 .

Both fish has been stripped of scales (as were the original three) but I don;t know whether that happened after they were dead. One of them had quite big lumps taken out of it. DD reckons the sucking loach we bought just before the holiday is killing them. Sounds a bit unlikely but as I'm running out of ideas I'm ready to consider it. Is it possible?

The tiny pearl danio is fine. Strangely.

[wannaBe]

all about the sucking loach

would say that's almost certainly your problem.

Get rid of the loach or move him into a tank of his own as they are not considered to be good community fish.


hth.

[OrmIrian]

What!! I introduced a bloody psychopath? I thought he'd be OK as he's only small yet and all the tanks in the aquarium seems to have one as a cleaner. Nut you've opened my eyes wannabe!!! I'm going to have to put him into solitary. DD was right

Thanks.

[OrmIrian]

Been doing some research of my own. Found this:

"An outbreak of ulcers and open wounds in a tank which contains a sucking loach does not take long to find the cause". But does this mean it would kill them?

Don't quite know what to do with the little sucker. Nowhere else to put it. Perhaps the shop would take it back.

[codswallop]

[OrmIrian]

Hellooo ...

just mind the sucking loach. It's a killer...

[bamzooki]

Sucking loach should be named as official suspect I reckon. We had to evict ours too after it revealed that it had crossed to the dark side.....(ie dead fish and others with lumps missing)

[claricebeansmum]

Nooo - are you saying Sucker Fish is the culprit to all the little tetra's being picked off one by one??

I wont be able to look him the eye again.




Our fish shop will take back rogue fish and odds & sods. They maintain tanks for old folks homes and a SN school out of goodwill and will take back fish to stock those. It always makes me smile to think of some old ladies sitting watching all these dysfunctional fish...

[OrmIrian]

Oh yes. I've already rung the shop we bought the little beastie from. And they agreed that it might well be the problem and that, yes, they would have it back. Which begs the question why didn't they warn us it would lead to a piscine pogrom, aquarium armageddon, marine misery... etc etc.


I like the idea of a fishy borstal clarice Do you think they have to do community service?