Skeleton in my tank

bassbuster23

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I turned on the tank lights to "wake up" the fish before feeding. I have a very pregnant Guppy that's been hugging the substrate for the last couple of days, and I was looking to check on her.

In the area that she's been holding, I noticed something white off to the side of the tank. At first glance, it looked like a moult from a ghost shrimp, but I have none in my tank.

Upon closer examination, it was the complete skeleton of what turned out to be one of my white cloud minnows. There was not one fragment of skin, meat, or anything on this skeleton. It had been stripped clean.

What could have happened? I had done a 25% water change earlier in the evening, and did not have any dead fish. My tank occupants are guppies, long-finned leopard danios, white cloud minnows, spotted cories, 2 clown plecos, 2 ottos, and 1 blue mystery snail.

Which of these should I put the blame to?

Any ideas or suggestions would be great.

Thanks.

willow

hi
it is possible that this particular fish was unwell,and died.
any of those fish in there will pick at a dead fish,so very often
there is nothing left but the skeleton.

bassbuster23

Yes, it is possible that the fish could have been unwell. If that is the case, then it got sick very quickly. I watch my fish a great deal, and I did not notice anything out of the ordinary.

Thank you for your response.

willow

no problem.
did you use that particular fish for cycle your tank ?

Pleco_stomus

most likely your snail picked it clean. my nephew had one of his mollies die and one of his snails ate it in one night. plecos will also do the same thing.

Falina

What is the temperature of the tank?

It sounds likely that it has been unwell, however white clouds are not able to stand some of the temperatures that tropical fish need. This is why I don't believe they should be kept with tropical fish. Living in elevated temperatures outside it's comfprt zone will make it more susceptable to disease and stress over time.

bassbuster23

Thanks for the replies and info.

To answer the questions: This particular fish was not one of the "cycling" fish. It was a recent purchase.

I run my tank at 76 degrees. If I'm not mistaken, that' suitable for white clouds.

Also, when I returned home from work yesterday, the skeleton was gone. I could not find it anywhere. I'm quite sure it didn't dissolve that quickly. Could it have been eaten as well?

Falina

I wouldn't keep them above 72, with 64-70 being much better. 72 is about as high as they can comfprtably tolerate over long periods of time.