Armatus Nose Injured

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I would agree...keep it dim for a while. That egg crate can be troublesome in that it gets super bright when the lights reflect off of it. I've had fish in the past really freak out over it. There has been a lot of activity in the tank with him being newly introduced, harassing tankmates, and moving/shifting things around in there. I'd just leave him and the tank be for a while until he completely settles in. JMO
 
I would also check the water parameters. All fish are stressed by ammonia and nitrite, even in small amounts.

If this is something that just started then i would bet its a water quality problem. But if it is something that has been building over time then its a enviroment problem. Like tank mate stress or a decor change..
 
They do this from time to time. I wouldn't be to worried. I am considering putting that foam background stuff on the sides of the new 8ft when it comes in just to help protect them. Just something to consider. I wouldn't add salt yet. I would just loeave him be, unless it looks like it is getting infected.
 
he's calm now. as soon as the sun came out this a.m. he stopped whatever it
is it was doing. lights are off and only natural sunlight illuminates the tank. it cruises around the tank from time to time to catch guppies.

let's see what happens tonight if he'll do it again.
 
If it gets too out of hand put a blanket over the tank for a few days with your normal light cycle, when you finally remove it take the blanket off at night with the tank light on and the rest of the room pitch black and he should stop. My 3" did the same thing in his 55G and he's from the same batch as yours. Now he is very calm.
 
he' still calm.. he moves a little to cruise and check some stuff and guppies.
i think it was the divider last night.
 
okay.. not the divider. he really does this thing at night.
is this normal?? most fishes are more active at night right so could it be that??

if only he's not scrubbing his nose on the glass then i'd be ok if that's his thing. i already tried putting covers on the sides but he still does it.
 
UPDATE:

my armatus' nose is still injured. im not seeing any signs of getting infected tho. it heals up and just after a few bashes on the glass, its injured again.
i found out what makes him bash the glass. at 4" inches, he's agitated when it sees a human or somebody in front of the tank. thats why.. not anything in the tank but the people outsie the tank.

has anybody ever used melafix for armatus? i was told they dont do well with meds. or salt and high temp will be fine? he's still eating and everything is normal.
 
I would not use meds if it looks like it will heal up just fine and it doesn't have any infection. But I have used every med imaginable on scombs, Tats, cuda's, etc,etc. With no ill effects. But i have not owned armatus.

I think the med myth is the same one you hear about all fish. And thats don't use them.


But for the skittishness,

There is only 3 things that you can do that I know of.

  1. wrap the tanks front and sides in some type of paper like gift wrapping paper(black is best). And each day tear a 4"x4" section of the paper off. Working from right to left or L to R. This will allow the fish to very slowly get used to what is going on outside the tank.
  2. Pack so many plants inside the tank there is almost no open room to swim. Paying special attention to having them up against the sides really well and on top floating. So that the fishes line of sight is broken at all times. (this works very well with cuda's)
  3. Bigger tank, if you put him in a 125g or a 180g at its small size you will fix the problem. And as it grows it will slowly become accustomed to what is going on outside the tank.
All 3 of these things work very well with the most skittish fish i have ever seen. The yellow tail barracuda.
 
i added lots of drift woods and fake plants(floating and on the ground) in the tank. although its only in a 60 gal right now. im gonna check later tonight if it does its thing again. if not, then ill go cover the front and sides. i know what youre saying on this, i understand coz i have done it before with other fishes.

im just a little worried about the nose. i already upped the temp and added salt.

thanks hybrid!
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com