lost one of my TAT's in stranger circumstances

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mynheers_a_pint

Candiru
MFK Member
May 4, 2008
676
3
48
United Kingdom
Hi all,

Well i've had a bit of a crappy day. I have been treating my tank as one of my TAT's had been displaying very strange behavior and was not eating. It hadn't eaten in nearly 2 weeks before today. The unusual thing is that the water is good and all the other fish are absolutely fine. The symptoms were heavy breathing, and a general tatty appearance. The other major thing was that it did not have any front teeth. The other TAT is fine and very healthy so my first assumption is that perhaps it was due to being bullied however, the fact that it was not eating at all would suggest an internal parrasite or stress but i jsut don't know.

I was treating the tank in the standard salt and heat method but this apparently made no difference. i'm changing the water as i speak, but can anyone shed any light on this?

I want to replace the lost fish but I want to be sure it wont be fruitless.

:(
 
Whats the stock in the tank?

I had a tat that had a tooth come in that was outisde of its mouth. Like sticking straight out to the side. And the fish swam around flapping its jaws violently for a good week. And finally the tooth fell out. But it did not regrow another for a about 3 weeks. And during that time after the tooth fell out all the fish would do is lay under some drift wood and hide.

I would say that as long as there is no overly agressive fish in with it and the water parameters are good. And the ph level is not really acidic or fluctuating, that it was just a fluke.
 
have had payara loose teeth, they grow back. I've lost a few tats in recent days aswell from unknown cause. My guess is flight response, they bashed themselves against something in the tank. Mine were minor tattered as well prior to death. last one in particular appeared to have not eaten in a while either. Have had all of them for months, grew 25% in length. all other fish including other tats are vibrant.
 
i think the shock/flight scenario could be accurate as it did look like it's snout had had an impact.

The second TAT is still very healthy, pushing 10+ inches now and is getting progressively tamer, especially now the second has gone. It now waits at the top of the tank for food rather than simply scouting the tank for what ever falls near-by. It has been a very strange change in behavior, almost mimicking that of the Geophagus shoal it co-habitats with.
 
I have had 2 tats die in similar manner. In both cases they stopped eating , became weak and would swimm erratically. The water conditions were excellent and no other fish had symptoms. This occurred in both cases when the fish reached around 10in. I wonder if tats require higher percentage of Dissolved Oxygen and if they can be successfully kept in tank less than 400 gallon for a extended period of time.
 
back home. one tat is still struggling but it's got 1.5 fins in the grave, cant keep balance. I think I've finally observed what's killing them. Themselves... had the one struggling tat in a seperated box/divider with in same tank. he was flipping and turning around and around. So let it out thinking it would do less damage to itself. nope, disorientated as it was, it would roll around the tank and randomly dart and smash it's head against what ever was in it's way. Front lower teeth are knocked out.

While watching this guy, noticed another tat, swiming with his head pointing upwards, a bit off balance. watched for 45 mins or so and it did the same, dash into the next obstruction. appeared disorientated. Fish is fat, good color and healthy. I'm pretty sure he's next in line to die. The tats that are left 5 out of 11 are acting normal.

just not sure there's anything i can do about it. the disolved o2 suggestion might be something. it has been hotter these past couple weeks... will try a higher capacity pump
 
not convinced about the disolved O2. The main reason is that my tank is currently running reletively cool (80-82 deg F) and has a very high volume air pump. The main reason for the lower temps is, as you say, it is quite warm at the moment.

The one that died was closer to 7-8" and was considerably smaller and skinnier than the other. The larger one is still very healthy and active.

What do you mean by "Starlet"?
 
mynheers_a_pint;3290651; said:
not convinced about the disolved O2. The main reason is that my tank is currently running reletively cool (80-82 deg F) and has a very high volume air pump. The main reason for the lower temps is, as you say, it is quite warm at the moment.

The one that died was closer to 7-8" and was considerably smaller and skinnier than the other. The larger one is still very healthy and active.

What do you mean by "Starlet"?
Click to expand...

yea ... just desperately looking for an answer.

toyota starlet, your avatar
 
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