# Came home to a dead rusty



## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

I've recently finished cycling and added fish wednesday 5 yellow labs (breader), 5 rusty (breader), 5 cobalt blue (breader), 3 demasoni (from LFS), Everyone was fine thursday morning, water looked good, most ate. I come home 9 hours later and there is a dead rusty. Everyone else was ok. But one of the demasoni looks a little strange, like he has half of a tail fin.

55g, 48" wide
78 degress 
0 ammonia
0 nitrite
10-20 nitrate
8.2 ph

Can I attribute this to the stress of shipping and new home?

And please take a look at the demasoni:


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

Looks like your Demasoni has been scraping; could have been with the Rusty, but more likely, from my experience, it was with another Demasoni. They do not always play well with each other. I have 4 males and 12 females in a 55 gallon species tank; they get along OK most of the time and not at all some of the time.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

I haven't seen any bullying towards any one of the fish.

Thankfully that may be an isolated loss, the remaining rusties are the most active in the tank and seem to be doing great. The Demasoni are the least active.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would remove that demasoni so he can heal. Also then you will have 2 separate individuals...no worries about managing aggression with a small number.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> I would remove that demasoni so he can heal. Also then you will have 2 separate individuals...no worries about managing aggression with a small number.


Actually I'm missing a demasoni now. He either hasn't come out to eat or has died somewhere and I can't see where.

I've read all about the digging these little guys do but I never realized the scope of it. They get under everything. So this demasoni could have dug a home under a rock from the back where I can't see and now he's lost.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Your rocks should be on the glass so they can't dig under and topple décor. This can result in fish death and tank damage.


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## Cyphro (Mar 23, 2018)

From th pic you don't seem to have anywhere for them to hide, that is probably why they are behaving like this.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> Your rocks should be on the glass so they can't dig under and topple décor. This can result in fish death and tank damage.


I do, I have a whole base of large flat rock right on the glass, stacked up from there. It's between them where no harm can be done. I did it just like you mentioned in the setup thread months ago.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

Cyphro said:


> From th pic you don't seem to have anywhere for them to hide, that is probably why they are behaving like this.


They have plenty of hiding places.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

OH, and still no sign of the demasoni.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

Another dead rusty last night.

Water is good 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20-40 nitrate, ph is 8.2

I'm having a lot of trouble reading the nitrate and ph though. I cannot discern the colors from each other. Regardless, the Ph being off wouldn't kill them right? At worst its 7.8 according to my eyes. But the nitrate could be 160, but I can't tell and that would kill them.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Shoot for 10ppm after a water change and 20pm before. The colors are easier to read at the lower amounts.

I would also remove the demasoni and add fish for the other species.


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> Shoot for 10ppm after a water change and 20pm before. The colors are easier to read at the lower amounts.
> 
> I would also remove the demasoni and add fish for the other species.


You think the Demasoni has something to do with this? Those two guys are hardly an issue. One of the cobalts looks like he's turning into the tank boss but there is no real aggression in the tank.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Two demasoni are expected to end up with one over the next 6-12 months, but you might beat the odds.

Meanwhile you have 4 species in a 55G and you have fish dying for unknown reasons. Either aggression or disease, and aggression is often not witnessed by the fishkeeper.

Do you think it is a disease killing the rusties?


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## ironspider (Dec 5, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> Two demasoni are expected to end up with one over the next 6-12 months, but you might beat the odds.
> 
> Meanwhile you have 4 species in a 55G and you have fish dying for unknown reasons. Either aggression or disease, and aggression is often not witnessed by the fishkeeper.
> 
> Do you think it is a disease killing the rusties?


Ok, I figured I'd see some aggression but I guess not. As far as disease, I really don't know what to look for, they all look well, all seem to be eating. In fact, the rusties are the most active in the tank.


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## Moabismything (Dec 9, 2017)

You have a half eaten Demasoni. My guess is you have a crazed single Demasoni that will kill everything in your tank. I have one too. He lives in a sump by himself now. Demasoni are a handful to keep. Truly, keeping two or three is not the way to go. Ditch the Dems and restock your losses on your other species.


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