Fish looks near death

[CodeBlueMedic]

Hey folks, so I placed 3 Bangaii cardinals in my 29 gallon reef two days ago, after a 3 week QT and copper treatment. They seemed to be doing fine, but today I noticed that one of them is very lethargic, letting the current blow him around and his color is off. I attached some photos, any ideas on what I can do?

Thanks

Water parameters are all good..ammonia 0, nitrite 0 nitrate 0-5, phosphate .2, SG 1.025

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

My phone only lets me attach one pic per post...here's another

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

Well he died :-( wish I knew why

 

[fishhuman]

Cardinals pair in groups of 2. If there are any others the pair will kill them. Two of your cardinals probably ganged up on the third and killed it

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

Cardinals pair in groups of 2. If there are any others the pair will kill them. Two of your cardinals probably ganged up on the third and killed it

That would explain it...it was the smaller of the 3 and looks like he was beaten up.

 

[PD Monkey]

does this mean you should always buy cardinals in multiples of 2, 4, 6?

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

Makes sense...only reason I bought 3 is because the LFS said that you are more likely to get a pair that way and that one typically dies. Obviously he was partially right, but that still irritates me a bit.

 

[alf1096]

Did not know the pairing thing but I have never had any luck with them.

 

[fishhuman]

No you should only buy 2 cardinals unless you have an over 125 gallon tank. Good luck with your other two though

 

[CodeBlueMedic]

The other two seem to be doing fine so far...Eating like champs and swimming all over the tank.

 

[Nina51]

Makes sense...only reason I bought 3 is because the LFS said that you are more likely to get a pair that way and that one typically dies. Obviously he was partially right, but that still irritates me a bit.

glad the remaining two are doing well. seems like some kinda sucky advice from your lfs. i can't imagine selling a fish that they know ahead of time will soon die.

 

[Shawn O]

So they could make an extra fish sale.