dead fish

[lightning]

did my bi weekly water changes today, about 4 hours later one of my red zebra's on his side at the bottom, he was still alive, every once in awhile he would right himself and struggle around, finaly saw the pleco sucking on him, he was still alive, put him in a large breeders net in the tank, but i dont think he made it,
i did nothing different, all the chemicals were the same, none of the other fish as showing any problems, what would have caused it to do this?

 

[Managuense]

what were you feeding him and what were his tankmates?

 

[lightning]

ive had this fish for about 8 months now, tank has been set up over a year, use seachem ph buffer and salts, water temp 80 deg, tankmates are other mixed mbuna cichlids and a pleco, feed osi cichlid flake at night and osi spirulina in morning with live brine 1 time a week, sometimes a snack of tetra cichlid mini granuals , zuccini once a week or so, but the pleco usualy devours that

 

[Managuense]

gosh, to be honest your feeding sounds superb and your maintenance is also top-notch......

with no other fish showing any symptoms of disease, this is a crap-shoot to try to figure out.

the only thing i can think of would be bullying by a tankmate.....

have you noticed any of your fish becoming overly aggressive?

 

[lightning]

no aggression noticed, just the usual activities, the fish didnt have any odd colors anywhere or marks on body other than where the pleco started sucking on it, thats what is so weird,

 

[phOOey]

it could have just been a mild change in the water, and that your red zebra couldnt handle it.

 

[FroggyFox]

Sorry to hear about that Lightning. ya know...maybe it was just his time to go. Since none of your other fish seem worse for the wear...and I agree with Managuense (glad to see you back man) that your maintenance and feeding sound awesome...who knows... I'd watch the other fish for signs of getting sick though, in case he was just the weakest one in the tank and it got him first...

 

[Lotus]

I think sometimes fish just drop dead for unknown reasons Sorry to hear about your loss. As everyone says, keep an eye on the other fish to make sure they're fine.

 

[nynick]

Could be bloat...very common problem in Malawis. Is he sort of bent to the side? If so add more veggies in their diet.