Sad day for fish

[Hevydevy]

Well I lost my first fish today - my giraffe hap.

No idea what happened. Came home and found him floating.

No obvious damage so it doesn't look like he was attacked. He was one of two new fish I bought a week ago.

The tank has had fish for about 4-5 weeks now and the rest seem fine.

After I found him I did a thorough clean, cleaned the filter and replaced the carbon, did a water change etc. so hopefully if there was a problem with the water i've fixed the problem or am on the way too but as I said the other fish seem fine at the moment.

Any idea what could have happened anyone?

[kimmers318]

This is still a fairly new tank...have you checked water parameters lately?
Also, be cautious about cleaning tank and filters too much, you don't want to kill of some of that good bacteria that you need to keep. It is found on your gravel, decor and filter media. Bio wheels are supposed to be great sources of bacteria so you don't ever want to clean those unless they stop turning.

[Cichlid_Man]

Great response Kimmers...!

Was that particular fish under any stress at all?
Were others picking at him/her? Did you notice if it was eating?

Also, If your tank wasn't cycled properly, that fish may have had some gill damage that you weren't aware of and just died.

Do as Kimmers suggested.
Test your water and see what nitrites and ammonia are. Nitrates don't usually kill fish, but test for that anyway.

[jeffs99dime]

sorry to hear that!

[Severus]

That is a shame. Just do as everyone said and let us know what your water parameters are. Hopefully everything will work out alright

[Nautilus291]

maybe, since you only brought him home a week ago, there was all ready some thing wrong with him. Maybe the place you got him from didnt keep proper care for him. Just a suggestion.

[jeffs99dime]

this is why i always recommend quarantine for the fish before adding them to your system

[jman]

by checking the fish before buying it you can tell lots about it right in the store. Dominating fish tend to be the most healthiest unless the fins are clipped or signs that are non attractive show. Also making sure that the fish bacteria level in the tank is right determines a lot about the survival of a new fish and finally your oxygen level may need to be checked because iv'e done some research on fish and the oxygen level affects them in ways we can't see.

[Severus]

For example oxygen level can stress your fish causing weaker immune system (slimecoat) equaling greater susceptability to disease/ infection