I have a XB bought from OTF last December. Presently about 8-9 months old.
Diet at the start was pellets and freeze dried shrimps.
Then graduated to small fishes after it is tired of dry food.
Then it got tired of small fishes so I changed to small frogs (about 2-3months). 2 meals a day (9am, 8pm), 6-7 frogs at a time.
Water change is about 10-15%, every 2 weeks. No tank mates.
Just last week, in the morning it refused to eat any frogs. I was surprised since it has never ever rejected frogs before. So I got worried, but let the frogs swim in the tank thinking maybe it will eat later. Fish did not display any abnormal behavior except for 1 loss scale from 2 weeks ago and a bit of self-inflicted injury due to hitting the internal pump in the tank when it is aggressively feeding on frogs. I observed that the fish mouth is opening quite often like it is burping.
I went out for 6 hours and when I am back, the fish is swimming very weakly, the frogs are all dead (not eaten) and the water is now foul-smelling with small white bubbles at the surface of the water. The dead frog's skin seem to be peeling-off and off-colored as well. I noticed that the fish continues to burp and it's body is losing its shine and turning white. I immediately scoop up all the frogs, thinking the water is polluted by the dead frogs. At this time, the fish is already struggling in the water as if from pain. It started swimming upside down. Thinking that the water is contaminated, I quickly pour in a bucket of tap water (with a small cup of de-chlorine) in an attempt to dilute the contaminated water. I know this is not the right move but at that point in time I am already at desperate end. I cannot possibly let the fish continue to swim in contaminated water, and at the same time I do not have the time to let the tap water stay overnight to age.. I read online that the next best thing to do is to reduce water to just around the fish height and continue to hold it in upright position. The fish died before I could completely get the water down to half the tank. It died in my hands, while I was holding its body in upright position.
The whole drama didn't last more than 30mins.
I'm really confused. What have I done wrong? The fish was still eating normally the night before.
Was it because of the new batch of frogs I purchased? (I have been buying frogs from the same place, every week - the frogs are not quarantined, fed straight away to fish)
Sharing this story here in hope that you guys might have an answer to this mystery.
Why did it died so suddenly? What could I have done better to increase it's chance of survival? Was diluting the tank with tap water a wrong move given the situation? (I assume a better move would be to keep spare age water for such emergencies instead of introducing fresh tap water..)
Is there a reason why it waited for me to be back before dying? My sister was at home and she said the fish seems fine (just swimming slowly) till I came home. It was as if the fish has been waiting for me to get home before saying good bye.
Diet at the start was pellets and freeze dried shrimps.
Then graduated to small fishes after it is tired of dry food.
Then it got tired of small fishes so I changed to small frogs (about 2-3months). 2 meals a day (9am, 8pm), 6-7 frogs at a time.
Water change is about 10-15%, every 2 weeks. No tank mates.
Just last week, in the morning it refused to eat any frogs. I was surprised since it has never ever rejected frogs before. So I got worried, but let the frogs swim in the tank thinking maybe it will eat later. Fish did not display any abnormal behavior except for 1 loss scale from 2 weeks ago and a bit of self-inflicted injury due to hitting the internal pump in the tank when it is aggressively feeding on frogs. I observed that the fish mouth is opening quite often like it is burping.
I went out for 6 hours and when I am back, the fish is swimming very weakly, the frogs are all dead (not eaten) and the water is now foul-smelling with small white bubbles at the surface of the water. The dead frog's skin seem to be peeling-off and off-colored as well. I noticed that the fish continues to burp and it's body is losing its shine and turning white. I immediately scoop up all the frogs, thinking the water is polluted by the dead frogs. At this time, the fish is already struggling in the water as if from pain. It started swimming upside down. Thinking that the water is contaminated, I quickly pour in a bucket of tap water (with a small cup of de-chlorine) in an attempt to dilute the contaminated water. I know this is not the right move but at that point in time I am already at desperate end. I cannot possibly let the fish continue to swim in contaminated water, and at the same time I do not have the time to let the tap water stay overnight to age.. I read online that the next best thing to do is to reduce water to just around the fish height and continue to hold it in upright position. The fish died before I could completely get the water down to half the tank. It died in my hands, while I was holding its body in upright position.
The whole drama didn't last more than 30mins.
I'm really confused. What have I done wrong? The fish was still eating normally the night before.
Was it because of the new batch of frogs I purchased? (I have been buying frogs from the same place, every week - the frogs are not quarantined, fed straight away to fish)
Sharing this story here in hope that you guys might have an answer to this mystery.
Why did it died so suddenly? What could I have done better to increase it's chance of survival? Was diluting the tank with tap water a wrong move given the situation? (I assume a better move would be to keep spare age water for such emergencies instead of introducing fresh tap water..)
Is there a reason why it waited for me to be back before dying? My sister was at home and she said the fish seems fine (just swimming slowly) till I came home. It was as if the fish has been waiting for me to get home before saying good bye.
