My auranti failure

[TomatoandEgg]

I purchased 5 auranti for my planted tank. 2 developed fuzzy fungus and died. The 3rd and 4th developed fin rot and edema near the rot which led to buoyancy issues and 3 days later 2 more dead. My last has tail fin rot and buoyancy issues so i expect him to die soon.

At no point have they eaten in past 2 weeks. Have tried floating and sinking carnivorous pellets. Meal worms mussels and prawns. As well as the nano fish existing there ready to be eaten.

My tank is well established and fully cycled @ over 1 yr old and stocked with healthy nano fish. No deaths in over 6 months. Temp is 22.

10 cardinal tetra
8 xray tetra
2 cpd
2 harlequin rasbora
2 baloon ram
2 khuli loach
4 cory
2 baby channa guacha 2 inch
2 juvie bleheri 4 inch

i put the autanti into that. No surface plant cover. The dwarf crays were removed prior.

with a bleheri

One of my other small channa.

24hrs in i saw a bit of fuzz on the mouth of this one. This fish arrived with a white mouth it looked like a jump injury.

i immediately dropped the water level and put in more plants. After this picture was taken i added a lot of java/xmas moss and java ferns. The surface cover was thick in most areas. If they wanted the channa could go into deep cover. I began dosing primafix, melafix and kh+. Lights were switched off entirely.

hiding out

flesh eating fungal infection. His lips appeared to have fallen off. The lfs i purchased from requested i bring him back as he was injured prior to purchase. He is currently there. This picture was taken there. They're dosing primaguard i think. Will check tomorrow to see if hes still alive.

last 2. Rear one has caudal fin and bottom fin rot. Edema by the rot. She floats tail higher than the head. Has trouble descending.

close up post mortem.

So whats the issue here?

Insufficient cover? Do i need a duckweed blanket?

Temp to high @22?

Aurantis intimidated by the bleheri?

 

[Gazham]

I don't think lack of cover has caused it. I keep my aurantimaculata happily without cover, in a similar setup to yours.
I've only ever heard of the fungal infection at prolonged high temperatures, but I believe once it's took hold, it's pretty much game over. I once had a group that all jumped out the tank after moving house, I could only take 50% of the original water. I concluded they are very sensitive to water change. I would guess that they didn't like the tank water and whatever was fine for your other fish, wasn't right for them

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Thanks for your input. After the last dies im thinking of nuking my tank somehow to make sure no bacteria etc is there and starting over.

This time i will try to source tank reared fry if possible. Or at least younger wild caught ones under 4 inches long.

 

[Madou]

From my understanding, channas get bacterial infection in 2 scenarios:
- Long exposition to high temperatures (should take months)
- Shipping stress (I've only read that about Pleuros, but perhaps it affects other species)

Needless to say, it is pretty much irreversible.

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Yes it sucks.

What i didnt mention was that the lfs replaced old meltyface with a male auranti. But he was aggressive so i put him in a solo tank temporarily.

Now i only have 1 half dead one left in the tank i decided to put the aggressive one in with him. They fought for 30 minutes but now seem to have settled down. If he remains healthy and the other one succumbs to his fin rot/edema ill have 1 solo male left...

If he can play nice should i get a few more and try my luck again? Or am i throwing good money after bad?

 

[Gazham]

How big is the new male? Fighting is pretty common, just fighting for first dibs on food if they are small. The smaller the better is the rule for introducing more snakeheads. I wouldn't risk it after about 5 inches. Especially if they are expensive wild caught. Better off seeing if the new one succumbs to fungal infection, you'll know if it's the tank of just the batch, maybe stress related as Madou suggested. Keep us updated

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Thr new male is the same size but possibly from a different batch. Around 6 to 7 inches. Im in malaysia and its not always easy to get detailed info from the wholesaler.

Hes been in for 12 hours no without any fighting. (After the initial scrap). But also 2 weeks without eating. These fish are weak willed!

 

[TomatoandEgg]

how long should i leave him in the tank solo and fungus free before getting more.? Im worried about turning him into a lone wolf murdering machine if he doesnt have others with him. Or will my bleheris and andraos be enough to keep him sociable?

They do all kind of follow each other around

 

[Gazham]

A lot of people will advise not to mix species of snakeheads, they may get along great when small, but trouble can arise when they approach maturity and become territorial. I've found snakeheads to be more tolerant of other types of snakehead , bit a lot less tolerant of their own type. Some have success in keeping species together, some don't. That's your decision to make though.
If he is fungus free after a week or so, I would be tempted to add more. The sooner the better really.

 

[TomatoandEgg]

Yeah i was sold 4 bleheris. Turned out 2 were andraos.

Had em a month and realised i could get a hold of aurantis and here we are. If the aurantis start trying to eat them I'll rehome them if i can rescue them in time!

Strangely my bleheri have turned very dark brown compared to their light blue colour before. Ever since i lowered the lights put more plants in and darkened the substrate... and addded the aurantis. Darker bleheris mean what?