i've got three tanks of zebras - the main one with six zebras has been the focus of my attention as it has some cave sharing of healthy and plump looking beauties.
in another tank of three much younger zebras, i was upset 10 days ago to find that one of them had died. two days later, i discovered three babies swimming about. i am unsure if there are others. also unsure if the young adult that died was a male. i hope it wasn't the mother. any ideas what might have happened?
Paul
unexpected arrivals
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NetsuaiAngel
- Obsessed!!
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:04 am
- Location: Las Vegas, NV - USA
I'm sorry for your loss ;(
Unfortunately there are many factors that are missing for some of us to give our theories.
Main items to regard are:
- Water quality
- Did the body of the zebra have any redness or did it look swollen?
- Environment (introduction of a new tank mate, enough hiding places...etc.)
I would assume that since you've had a successful breeding that the remaining zebras were happy and seem healthy. Although I will forewarn that I've had species breed in horrible water conditions and have been told that species will breed as a survival instinct because they are under stress and their instinct to survive is to breed. I hope it's the first assumption, that your tank is happy and healthy.
The best case would be that it was the zebra's time.
I hate to admit it, as anyone else on this forum, but sometimes they pass away unexpectedly. Even with an autopsy done, it would be difficult to determine the cause of death. My female passed away with no signs of damage, no redness, just found her sitting pretty at the bottom of my tank.
If you still have the zebra that passed away, a clear photo from the top could give those with more experience a better chance to guess if it was the female or male...
I would focus your attention to the babies. At what stage do they look like? Do they still have their egg sack? I assume that since they're swimming that the egg sack is gone and it would be a good time to make sure they're getting of food and have a happy home.
Just my theory, best of luck!
- Angela
Unfortunately there are many factors that are missing for some of us to give our theories.
Main items to regard are:
- Water quality
- Did the body of the zebra have any redness or did it look swollen?
- Environment (introduction of a new tank mate, enough hiding places...etc.)
I would assume that since you've had a successful breeding that the remaining zebras were happy and seem healthy. Although I will forewarn that I've had species breed in horrible water conditions and have been told that species will breed as a survival instinct because they are under stress and their instinct to survive is to breed. I hope it's the first assumption, that your tank is happy and healthy.
The best case would be that it was the zebra's time.
I hate to admit it, as anyone else on this forum, but sometimes they pass away unexpectedly. Even with an autopsy done, it would be difficult to determine the cause of death. My female passed away with no signs of damage, no redness, just found her sitting pretty at the bottom of my tank.If you still have the zebra that passed away, a clear photo from the top could give those with more experience a better chance to guess if it was the female or male...
I would focus your attention to the babies. At what stage do they look like? Do they still have their egg sack? I assume that since they're swimming that the egg sack is gone and it would be a good time to make sure they're getting of food and have a happy home.
Just my theory, best of luck!
- Angela
unexpected arrivals
thanks for your reply. no, the water conditions are perfect, no new tank mates, plenty of hiding places.
there are in fact five perfect babies. i wondered if the young adult fish was killed by the new father?
however, there were no marks on the deceased - he/she looked fine, but maybe it was bullied, even though the three young adults had been together at least a year. that's what made me wonder if there was a connection between the spawning and the death.
Paul
there are in fact five perfect babies. i wondered if the young adult fish was killed by the new father?
however, there were no marks on the deceased - he/she looked fine, but maybe it was bullied, even though the three young adults had been together at least a year. that's what made me wonder if there was a connection between the spawning and the death.
Paul
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NetsuaiAngel
- Obsessed!!
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 7:04 am
- Location: Las Vegas, NV - USA
water is fine ( sorry to be vague) , i had this problem around the same time last year. Then as now, they were all fat females. I didnt check the first 3 that died, 2 were beat up pretty bad and the third didnt appear to have been beaten as bad. But this time I had to check. All 3 this time had eggs.. = ( I'm down to 2 and the funny thing is they both appear to be males. Last year and this year they died over a matter of 2-3 days. ( like 1 a day.)[
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