Stressed male after very long transport

[Brandon Beck]

Okies. He looks be be in good condition. Can’t see pelvic bones or anything. I had a stubborn BD male hunger strike. He ate 1 small cube of shrimp in 6 weeks. Obviously he deconditioned some over that period of time, but he eventually started to eat.
Be patient. Keep the water clean. Try to feed him every other day. If you notice the gals harrassing him, put the divider in so he has peace. You have plenty of time.

He may have just ate a bloodworm or 2. Was hard to tell. He was definitely doing the chewing motions you could see it in his spiracles. I hope he will have some more in the morning this is worse then trying to feed my baby

 

[Brandon Beck]

Well its been up and down. I have removed the females 3 days ago to leave him by himself.

2 days ago he was chewing on a small piece of dew worm but wouldn't eat it.

Yesterday I seen some poop in the tank. Must of been from him as the females are not in there.

Back to refusing food completely again today. Hes almost scared if it. Even if a small bloodworm touches him you can tell he gets irritated and tries swimming up the glass and away from food.

Im not sure if I should try a metro/prazi mixture of medication. Thats all I can get here or pure prazi. Both in powder form. I know im running out of time

 

[danotaylor]

I know im running out of time

Brandon I know the emotional & mental strain of your situation. My BD male hunger striked for 6 weeks. As each day passes it is a day you cannot get back but I wanna encourage you to continue to be patient w clean water and a stress free environment.

I am not against medicating, but I am if it’s random and not specific in what you’re treating.

This type of toxic/organ/neurological damage is not really something traditional meds you mentioned will treat, and they would likely cause further organ damage d/t the way they’re metabolized.

Can you make a small batch of gel food with some dew worms, a little shrimp, maybe some ground up massivore pellets? Something that will smell great to him and not need much work to chew? There may be some commercially available as well

 

[Brandon Beck]

Brandon I know the emotional & mental strain of your situation. My BD male hunger striked for 6 weeks. As each day passes it is a day you cannot get back but I wanna encourage you to continue to be patient w clean water and a stress free environment.

I am not against medicating, but I am if it’s random and not specific in what you’re treating.

This type of toxic/organ/neurological damage is not really something traditional meds you mentioned will treat, and they would likely cause further organ damage d/t the way they’re metabolized.

Can you make a small batch of gel food with some dew worms, a little shrimp, maybe some ground up massivore pellets? Something that will smell great to him and not need much work to chew? There may be some commercially available as well

Well im glad you can understand. Its definitely not easy on a guy.

I hear you, that was my thought as well. A couple importers have recommended doing a metro treatment as well as the seller. They figure he has gastrointestinal inflammation, but im no fish doctor unfortunately.

I could try some gel food but he seems to be shying away from food. Its like food irritates him wants to get away. Its very discouraging

I picked up some live blackworms today so I will give those a try later but with how I've seen him act when a piece of food touches him I cant see him taking any. Dam they are so small though lol

 

[Brandon Beck]

Well he inhaled a small ball of blackworms last night. He became very active for a good amount of time right after.

I tried this morning but he just swam right over a ball of them. So I let him be for the day.

This evening I tried a small piece of dew worm about 1/2" long. He chewed on it for at least 5 minutes, spit it a few times but would go back and chew on it some more. He flattened it like a piece of paper but didnt eat it. I left it in the tank checked back 30 minutes later and its gone. So hopefully he ate it

I hope he is starting to feel better. I have had metro/prazi medication in the tank for 2 days now. Maybe thats helping. I will leave him alone now for the night. I dont want to push more feeding on him.

 

[danotaylor]

Cool mate. That’s great news. You can leave the live black worms in the tank as well

 

[Brandon Beck]

Well 2 days of no interest in food again. It would stress him out/irritate him. This morning chewed on a piece of dew worm again like 1/4" piece. Seems like swallowing the food may be the issue.

Its sure been defeating seeing some progress maybe and then back downhill. I wish there was more I could do for him

 

[phreeflow]

It’s a great sign that it’s still alive and like mentioned, they can go a long time without eating. It may be “inhaling” small amounts of black or bloodworms whether you see it “chewing” or not. You can also drop in a bunch of live ghost shrimp for it forage on. If it becomes excessive and you start seems signs of malnutrition like the ribs showing or the head indenting, you can try force feeding with a syringe

 

[Brandon Beck]

It’s a great sign that it’s still alive and like mentioned, they can go a long time without eating. It may be “inhaling” small amounts of black or bloodworms whether you see it “chewing” or not. You can also drop in a bunch of live ghost shrimp for it forage on. If it becomes excessive and you start seems signs of malnutrition like the ribs showing or the head indenting, you can try force feeding with a syringe

Yeah I would agree it's good that hes still alive. I let him relax for 36 hours before trying to feed again. Immediately stressed out starts swimming into the glass I am starting to see his hip bones poking up. Forehead indentation isnt visible yet.

I could try some ghost shrimp but by the way he acts around any sort of food im not so sure.

I notice when I put a piece of food right in front of him he will suck it under his disc but then lift himself up and just push it straight out the back. So sad

 

[phreeflow]

Yeah I would agree it's good that hes still alive. I let him relax for 36 hours before trying to feed again. Immediately stressed out starts swimming into the glass I am starting to see his hip bones poking up. Forehead indentation isnt visible yet.

I could try some ghost shrimp but by the way he acts around any sort of food im not so sure.

I notice when I put a piece of food right in front of him he will suck it under his disc but then lift himself up and just push it straight out the back. So sad

That is worrisome and odd about how it’s reacting to food. Seems like you’re doing all the right things. Maybe you can raise the water temp to boost its metabolism