I dont know what happened but I came home from work tonight to find my male JD dead . He was one of my favorite fishies! I checked the water and all params are level and the female and the babies are all fine. 3 nights ago my 15" pleco jumped ship and I found him in the morning after my cats got to him . The pleco was in the same tank. Could the babies have stressed him out to the point of death? could mama JD have killed him? He was gasping for air the other day but I did a large water change and added another air stone and everything went back to normal. I'm at a loss! Now I need another male to breed with my female. I'm thinking BG this time.

Wow! Sorry to hear that Mike. If the water parameters were the problem the fry would be affected before the adult fish. I'm guessing momma may have kicked some ass protecting the babies. It's hard to tell though. What size is the tank?

I agree sounds like mama is doing her job....sucks dude. I would guess she is just as dawg said kicking butt.

55g tank. I'm now starting to think it might have been the heat. Yesterday I lost one of my large Synodontis eupterus which lives in my discus tank. I keep that tanks parameters level and any small fluctuation I do a water change. My girlfriend was the one who found the fish and said that the tank might have been too hot. When I looked at the thermometer it was reading well over 90! We have been having a heat wave here for over a week with temps in the mid to high 80's with 100% humidity. I though I was keeping the room cool but this says other wise.

Since the weather isnt going to break until Thursday (when we get a hint of fall 60-70's) should I unplug my heaters and let the ambient air temp heat the tanks? I live on the seccond floor and it gets well over 80 in here when we are not home.

Your heater should only warm the tank when it drops below your set temp so I really don't think leaving it plugged in will be a concern, unless you have it set really high or its malfunctioning.

Is there anyway you can get a fan to blow accross your waters surface? That should help lower the temp 3 or 4 degrees.

You might also consider dropping the water level in the tank some so that the filter return is makeing a bit of a splash. Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen and this could be a problem as well.

Sorry to hear of the loss!

Try what Ed said, or a cheap window AC unit for the room?

Be sure to check what your heaters are set to as well. I don't see it as much of an issue with Discus, but I've had turtles digging or rearranging things that have managed to turn tank heaters up to fish cooking levels.

Thanks Ed I'll try that. I checked all of the heaters last night and they were all set on the settings I put them on.

I'll see is I can get a fan to blow across the top of the water.

Thanks detroit!

Very well could have been the heat.

The temp has droped here and I haven't lost anymore fish thank god!! For next summer what should I do? I can not use an AC in this room because of my hedgehog.

Mabey a DIY or commercial chiller?