PlanetCatfish.com

hi - one of my albino cories died yesturday. She had been in the tank with 2 males for the last 3 yrs. She ate heartily the night before she died, showed no symptoms of disease. I tested the water - nil ammonia, nitrite and low nitrate(approx 10) - none of the other fish in the tank are sick, no new fish added.

Can cories become egg bound as she was full of eggs and I had been expecting her to lay them very soon - she has done so in the past and has been enormous prior to laying.

The tank is an established 18 x 12 x 12 well planted tank with gravel, UGF, an aquaclear mini - other residents are guppies, otos and a apistogramma borellii. Fed a wide variety of food - flakes, frozen bloodworms,brine shrimp and daphnia, spirulena tablets - had no health problems in the tank with any of the fish. pH is 6.7 - water is rainwater so no chlorine/chloramine added, water changes have always been frequent as there are guppies in the tank and they grow better this way.

any ideas please - I don't lose many fish and would hate to think that something I was/wasn't doing had contributed - thanks - sue

If she has layed eggs before without problems, i don't think it's so likely to have been egg bound. From what i know, eggbound mostly occur in 1. time spawnings OR if the fish has been hormonethreated or threated with an mutagene chemical (used any medicine in the tank lately?). Of course, there are no rules without exemptions.
Just noticing your use of rainwater - like the idea, but not if you live close to a highly populated area, coal-powerplant or other heavy industri. Guess you have good quality rainwater in NZ?

Maybe you should just come to terms with the fact, that mystery thing do happen. If no other fish are showing bad signs, i don't think you did anything wrong. People can also collapse without any apparent showing reason.

and would hate to think that something I was/wasn't doing had contributed - thanks - sue

I can not see anything wrong with what you have posted, just somtimes for many different reasons we all lose fish.