What killed my fish?

[FordForever]

I just came home to a dead hatchet fish. I have two hatchet fish bought from the same place at the same time. This guy was tangled in my fake plants, he had no fins and his belly was very red. I checked my levels last night and the only one that was of concern was my nitrate which was 20 but that isn't too bad I had planned to do a water change tonight.

My tank does however stay in a room that is not airconditioned during the day and it does get very hot here in south florida. The room is also poorly insulated. Could the heat have killed him or was he murdered by another fish? Everyone talks about tank heaters so I figured the warmer room would mean I will not have a temperature problem. I have a stick on temp gauge but right now >86 but I think room temp affects this?

Temperature was the only thing I have no been watching. I am going to the LFS today to get a temp gauge that goes inside the water but how am I going to keep the temp down in this hot room?

I feel like an idiot this is my first loss...

The rest of my fish are friendly:
danios
neons
long finned tetras
cory catfish
platy

Do tank warmers cool the tank if necessary?

[gm72]

The red is of concern, I wonder if this could be septicemia. The temp is also not good. I wonder what your filtration and water change schedule is? Tank size and specific number of tankmates by type?

BTW, heaters heat, they don't cool.

[FordForever]

I have a 10G with a HOB 120GPH filter. I dont change the cartrage because I was under the impression that is where all the good bacteria is. I change the water (25%) once a week...unless I see a problem in my levels then I change to fix them.

2 Neon Tetras
2 Zebra Danios
1 Pepper Cory Catfish
1 Long Finned Orange Tetra
1 Hatchet Fish (Now I had 2)
1 Platy

Should I test to make sure the dead fish did not create ammonia or anything? He could have been in there since anytime after I went to bed last night I didn't check the tank this morning, I was late...

[gm72]

No need to check the water--fish don't decay that quickly.

Some observations:
1. You have a tank with a lot of fish that are schooling fish (most fish keepers will tell you at least 5 to make a school) yet you have a single specimen. Not good for promoting happy fish.
2. You are somewhat right about the cartridge but--if the cartridge contains carbon, the carbon will eventually become saturated with contaminants that it originally soaked up. Once it is "full" it will begin to release those contaminants right back into the water.

When you change the water do you also vacuum the gravel?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Oh yeah, the temperature in the room is going to have a big time effect on that tank. I would check the levels in the tank. Remember this as well, as the temperature in the tank goes up, the oxygen content o the water goes down.
As for the septicemia idea, I would doubt it. Septicemia is usually one of the late stages of ammonia poisoning. If there was no ammonia in the water then Septicemia would seem highly unlikely.

[gm72]

Good point about the septicemia, good point and true especially if there are no other fish with signs of illness.

[FordForever]

Yes I vaccum the gravel when I change the water it is the easiest way to get the water out. Last night my ammonia sample was bright yellow so I doubt it is that. I am going to go to the LFS and get a real temp gauge tonight and hopfully figure out a way to keep the tank cool during the day...

How come my fish had no fins, was he attacked or did they nibble on him?

[gm72]

Nibbling on him most likely.

I have to think the temp got him. I would think the tank dips way down at night. Wide variations day-to-day in tank temp is very unhealthy for the fish.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I would have to agree with that. Even though they experience temp changes in the wild, the effect of the room temp on such a small amount of water is going to be drastic and cause the large fluctuations. Not healthy for your fish at all. If at all possible I'd move the tank to an air conditioned room in the house. Since you are not home to watch it all day the only other option I can think of is a chiller, but that is an expensive option for such a small tank.

[FordForever]

Im going to set a webcam on my fish and monitor them from work tomorrow I cant live with myself if I am harming them I try so hard...Any ideas on keeping the temp steady?

[FordForever]

Tank temp is 85 right now, I have a brilliant Idea to bring it down to a safe level...Tomorrow I will build :D

[smaug]

the temp in my tank is 85-87 deg during the summer,it is a 58 gal so I dont get big swings in temp.I have kept hatchets for quite some time and I have never had them die from the heat.I am at a loss for what killed your hatchet.