# mysterious deaths of bottom dwellers



## daltonbailey (Apr 8, 2012)

Hello everyone,
I'm new to this website, so bear with me as you read this, as this is my first forum post ever.
I have a quick question regarding the deaths of two of my fish. But first I'm going to give the background.

About three weeks ago, my friend gave me his peacock eel because he is moving soon and is beginning to clear out his fish tanks. I made sure the eel would be compatible with my other fish, and researched some of its behavioral qualities (e.g. burying itself in the substrate during the day, coming out at night, etc.), and decided it would be a great addition to my tank.
About a week later, my pleco died. It was extremely unexpected, and when I went to fish out its body, I noticed (it was pretty hard _not_ to notice) that there was a huge hole in its stomach, and that its organs appeared to be completely missing (eaten perhaps?).
For the next two weeks, I also began to notice that my black red-tailed shark was behaving a little differently. It was beginning to eat the flake food and dried blood-worms I feed my other fish during their regular feeding times, and it wasn't skimming along the bottom or the decorations or the glass for food or algae (despite the fact that a little more algae was popping up due to the recent death of my pleco). The red color in its tail was also beginning to fade a little, which was worrying me, so I tested the water and the readings were all almost perfect (unfortunately I don't remember the exact levels of everything). Then, one day, I found him dead - the exact same way my pleco died: with a hole in its stomach, and all the organs apparently eaten. This was pretty upsetting, as my red-tail was the fish I have had the longest.
I tested the water after both of these deaths, and all the readings were spot-on.
None of my fish have ever shown signs of aggression - not even my gourami.
And, according to the additional research I've done on peacock eels, my eel shouldn't be aggressive at all.

So, my overall question is this: How do you think my pleco and red-tail died? Did the eel kill them, or even just eat them after they died?
I'm pretty puzzled by all this, so I would really appreciate any responses. Thanks so much, everybody.

-Dalton


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## daltonbailey (Apr 8, 2012)

I forgot to mention my tank details, so here they are, hopefully it'll help a little:

size:
29 gallon freshwater tank

fish:
1 male golden gourami
2 male red and white swordtails
4 male danios
1 peacock eel
2 butterfly loaches
1 zebra snail

water quality (approx.):
PH 7.2
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 30 ppm
78 degrees Fahrenheit


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

It's going to be really hard to figure this one out, because the holes in the dead fish could be the result of scavenging and not wounds. I expect the eel made the holes, but it could easily have been after the fish died. It's a pretty standard gruesome discoovery.
I've never read anything about peacock eels being aggressive or predatory toward equally sized fish, and if the articles and books are correct, it's really not likely. The old line about fish not reading could be true here, but a red-tailed shark is more likely to kill an eel than an eel kill a red tail. 
There could have been an element of competition - the pleco, eel and red tail all had the same niche. It could be as simple as two coincidental deaths and an opportunistically scavenging eel. 
I've had butterfly loaches kill tankmates - they can be extremely territorial, but I doubt they could kill a pleco or a red-tail. Red tails are very nasty fish.

You have no evidence, so I think you will just have to watch and wait. I'd be very nervous about replacing your losses though.


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