# Leaving dead fish in tank!!



## Jason Baliban

I recently lost a few fish. I cannot account for all of them. This leads me to believe that there are a few fish that are rotting in the thick of my plants. What issues will this cause for water conditions? I have given up on finding the dead fish. How do I prevent these rotting fish from effecting the other healthy fish?
Thanks
jB


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## John P.

How big were they, and how large is the tank? Are there shrimp or other scavengers in there?

Keep your eye on your ammonia levels.


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## Jason Baliban

they would be 5 tetras in a 45 gallon tank. there are 2 corys and 4 otos in the clean up crew. I have been watching ammonia. I am doing some small WC's. How long till these rotting fish stop emitting amonia? Should I do more? Saturday is the 50% WC.....should I do one before that?
Thanks
jB


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## bharada

Firts off, are the decaying fish actually resulting in measurable ammonia levels. In a well planted tank the ammonia will be sucked up pretty quickly so you may not even have a concern on your hands...espcially if the other fish have been making a meal of them to begin with.


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## BSS

I have lost a fair number of fish that I could never account for. If I look for a while and can't find them and I can't smell anything foul, I usually just let it go. It is definitely a curiousity, but I've grown to accept it. When a 6+" SAE can frequently hide where I can't seem to find him, I don't frequently have a chance with 1-2" tetras :tongue: .


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## New 2 fish

When my fish go missing, they have usually jumped overboard! :icon_redf


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## kkentert

I was just going to ask the same Question- Glad there was already a thread! I hate it when I can't find fish!!!


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## RoseHawke

I have three otos that I NEVER see! I swear, they were MIA for about 4 months until about 10 days ago when I did a larger than usual water change (I'd neglected the tank for a while, my bad,) and up they pop! That's why, if somebody disappears I don't worry about it.


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## PasD

My crew of large amano shrimp take care of dead fish I've had in my tank. One time I saw them fighting over a ember tetra's head. They're great algae eaters but also underrated scavengers as well.


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## wantplantsnotwork

I never bother loooking in the jungle for them.
They just get recycled, unless they are BIG. Then they float up, and I can get 'em. Unless they get eaten first. It's a jungle in there!


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## knuggs

Think of them as fertilizer.


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## Blacksunshine

knuggs said:


> Think of them as fertilizer.


yep. from time to time (not so much anymore) some of my fishies go missing. never to be seen. never seem to have negitive effects on the overall wellness of the tank. But of course we are talking about cherry barbs and neons nothing too substantial. if it were a large fish then yeah I'd say you could have soem significant issues. or if you have alot of fish die at once and leave them in.


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## Mr.ThomasWalls

knuggs said:


> Think of them as fertilizer.


I agree with this. UNLESS you have a bunch drop dead at once.


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## fresh_lynny

jason you should be fine with your cleanup crew. Plants help our cause. Tetras are small so you should be ok


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## Booger

Fertilizer. You won't have any problems.


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## wood

This all depends on the size of the tank more importantly. Any dead inhabitants in my 10 gallon have to be removed immediately. Not enough water to let the dead just get eaten.

-Ryan


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## dpalmer99

Leaving dead fish in a tank can cause a lot of harm to your aquarium inhabitants. First off it can severely alter your water parameters, increasing ammonia levels, Nitrate levels etc. For a seasoned tank this can pose a significant threat as your fish have become accustomed to stable parameters. Some fish are more susceptible to these changes and therefore may be affected more severely than others. This may not kill the fish but it will cause them significant stress as their bodies try to cope with the sudden changes. This leaves them vulnerable to bacterial infections like ich or fungus growths like a flexibar infection, neither of which are pretty. So in other words if you notice a fish missing, find it. If you think it’s been in there for more than 12 hours then do a partial water change. If your tank has not had a partial water change in a long time then start off slowly skimming just a little bit, say half a gallon from a 10 gallon tank, hence 5% total volume every week for awhile. If your tank is accustomed to partial water changes try to get out as much of the old water as possible, (replacing it with water of equal parameters reflecting that of your general aquarium.) Use a ph buffer and some tap water conditioner if it helps. If nothing else put some extra waste control products in this week. Hope this has been helpful.


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## lauraleellbp

Old thread, but welcome to TPT, dpalmer99. 

My 2 cents is I remove them also to decrease the risk of spread of diseases/parasites when the other fish go to cannabilize the dead body.


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## Jason Baliban

I never did find that fish >!!

jB


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## cah925

My shrimp usually find them before I do. When I get home I find a half (or more) eaten carcass. Then I start counting the fish to find out which one died.


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## Sterving

I had a swordtail die on me (broken heart anyone? :icon_roll) after his long time partner (much older) kicked the bucket :angel:. I couldn't find the poor thing for a few days. At last I noticed something white reflecting in the back wall - the body was stuck in the jungle of vals. There was no way for me to pull him out, so I let him be. The snails took good care of the carcas and other fish were too large to even get close. Also, a few weeks ago I noticed that one of my otos was missing. I bet his final resting place will never be known to me.

I never noticed any ill effects on the tank and inhabitants. Of course, it if were a 3" angelfish, I would not dare leave it in the tank. It's all about the fish size vs. the tank size and age.


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## Taryn Nation

I have a question i just recently established my 10 gallon and moved all my fish from the 5 to the 10. I had 4 tetras but they all died at once, 3 guppys, 2 baby guppys, 2 ottos, 2 snails, and one frog. Anyways a bunch of my ghoast shrimp started dying then i left one in teir cause the guppys were eating it. after that there was white fuzz balls suronding a yellow thing, maybe part of the dead shrimp. then i did a water change and right after that the tetras started to wigg out and they died. What do you think caused this? were the shrimp sick with something? also the same batch of ghost shrimp that i put in my 29gallon died too.


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## F22

ok, the ghost shrimp either were a bad batch, which does happen, or they came from radically different water paramters... I know alot of shops, myself included keep the ghost shrimp slightly brackish to avoid losing them. My advice to you is to ask the manager of the shop how they were keeping them in house... I would also advise you to use a more in depth acclimation than the usual float and strain method... Try to drip acclimate all new invert acquisitions, as they can be a real pain to keep... fresh water and marine inverts, especially shrimp can be lost pretty quickly if acclimated poorly.

Secondly, how was the water you put in when you did the water change? Was the Temp the same? PH? Did you add dechlorinator?

As far as leaving the dead shrimp as a food source I would advise against it.... I have found that dead inverts, shrimp and snails mostly will really screw up water parameters if the deads are left in the tank... they break down quickly and will really make a mess of things in the tank, not to mention cause a horrible smell.. Pull them immediately, its not like a dead neon tetra that something will eat... 


I hope this helps

F


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## lauraleellbp

Taryn Nation said:


> I have a question i just recently established my 10 gallon and moved all my fish from the 5 to the 10. I had 4 tetras but they all died at once, 3 guppys, 2 baby guppys, 2 ottos, 2 snails, and one frog. Anyways a bunch of my ghoast shrimp started dying then i left one in teir cause the guppys were eating it. after that there was white fuzz balls suronding a yellow thing, maybe part of the dead shrimp. then i did a water change and right after that the tetras started to wigg out and they died. What do you think caused this? were the shrimp sick with something? also the same batch of ghost shrimp that i put in my 29gallon died too.


You'd better check your water parameters in both tanks. When you said you just "established" your 10gal, does that include cycling the tank?


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## marrow

The temporal qualities of this post are evidence of the existence of practical life extension.


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## lauraleellbp

marrow said:


> The temporal qualities of this post are evidence of the existence of practical life extension.


But the question is- WHOSE life extension? :hihi:


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## F22

hahaha


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## Taryn Nation

*No I had the 10 established but after what happened I'm re-establishing it*

:iamwithstNo the temp wasn't the same and i do know that matters greatly, i was being hasty and I'm learning in this hobby that is the worst thing you can do. as of now I have 10 gallon empty and am going to put white sand in it that can be used successfully in fresh water aquariums. I love how the tanks on this web site have so many plants and plan to get my 10gallon to flourish before I add the 3adult guppys, 2baby guppys, 2octo catfish, and 1 dwarf frog. Could I add another fish or schooling fish that would help keep the guppys from over populating? or is the 10 gallon already over crowded? 

I know you want to pay more attention to the body mass rather than the total length unless its a loach or something that is is long and requires more surface area. So the guppys have a small body mass and aren't big on waste unlike the otos who can poop a lot.

Also i do change my tank weekley and sometimes twice a week and only feed 1-2 times a day. I use algea waffels and brake them off into small pieces for the oto catfish.

Lately i have been having major problems w/the 10 gallon which was my 1st tank 4months ago. I'm starting volunteer work at the Denver aquarium, do 3-9 hours of research on my fish and plants weekly, and will be going to school for Marine biology in a year. 

Any suggestions on what plants to get for my 10 gallon and how to manage them? I have flourish liquid plant fertilizer and a 15watt life glow light.


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## F22

anubias/java fern/java moss


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## elihanover

So long as you have good biological filtration and aren't seeing any rise in ammonia levels, I wouldn't worry about it.


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## GTR

I always laugh when they tell me at Petsmart to save my receipt in case a fish dies. Like I'd even know one died. lol

SteveU


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## F22

lol, missing fish = me not feeding for 2 days...


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## kisame1235

Would that work as a fertilizer?


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## F22

As long as you don't wipe out 50 fish it should be ok.


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## Ttgarcialau

*Dead fish*

One of my goldfish died! I think it was because of too much food, because he is flotting, should I leave him there to decompose? 
Mines is a 30 gal 
3 angels 
1 goldfish
2 comets
3 snails 
1 big plecus. (really big)


So could he take care of that dead fish ?


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## astrosag

Take the dead fish out.

If you ever see one, you take it out. This forum was really targeting the people who loose fish and can't find them in the thick of their plants.


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## Patriot

I lost a few fish in my plants somewhere. I didn't even find the bones unless they dissolved. I think i lost about 5 fish in my plants, now they rejoined the circle of life.


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## GitMoe

Holy ancient thread.... I thought Jason was actually posting again which would've been awesome. Oh well. Yeah, always take the fish out asap.


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## iskandarreza

I once lost a betta I was trying to rehabilitate in my 8g (he was in a small jam jar before for several months before I rescued him). Snails took care of his carcass and within 4 hours he was completely gone, bones and all. Of course I have 30+ snails in that tank at any given time. I suspect it's the reason the GH is in the low 2-3dGH despite the tap water having a GH of 20; I don't do water changes, I just top-up. Probably also why the bones disappeared; these snails had very brittle shells compared to their forebears.


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## astrosag

Is it possible to lose a fish without having an ammonia spike or any other detrimental effect on the other tank mates? Yes

Does that mean that if you see a dead fish in your tank, you should just leave it? No


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## wetworks

If I can find them I take them out. If I cannot see them or if they are in a place I cannot get to, then I do not worry about it much. I have never noticed an ammonia spike when fish have gone missing. My plants do seem to grow a bit better though.


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