Bichir on land?

[neko1]

Hello my senegal was not eating for some time already. He was laying on the surface of the water most of the time since he stopt eating.
Now i found him this morning completely on land. He looks quite bad, has some red spots on his belly, cloudy eyes, some red fins.

any ideas? and whats the best way to kill a fish friendly? if necassary..
And why would he go up to the land? is it to get rid of parasites or someway ? or is it suicidal

bichir on land

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[kno4te]

Not sure why but could be a sick fish from bad genetics and breeding. If you plan on euthanizing then dose some clove oil, a few drops at a time, eventually should stop breathing.

 

[neko1]

Not sure why but could be a sick fish from bad genetics and breeding. If you plan on euthanizing then dose some clove oil, a few drops at a time, eventually should stop breathing.

What would it be then? internal problems of organs by being kept in a to small tank at young age?

 

[Hao]

Not sure why your bichir is doing this but I believe something is wrong with your water. If not, something internal (bacterial infection possibly) is going on with your bichir.
I don't think tank size has anything to do with it. I've personally grown out several bichirs in 1-5g tanks for awhile before I moved them into bigger tanks. No issues.

 

[fishdance]

Clove oil doesn't work well with air breathers, as the oil goblets only coat gills. Even at heavy dosage it will take a long long time for bichir to sedate.

I would simply chop it's head off with a heavy knife or hatchet.

 

[neko1]

Not sure why your bichir is doing this but I believe something is wrong with your water. If not, something internal (bacterial infection possibly) is going on with your bichir.
I don't think tank size has anything to do with it. I've personally grown out several bichirs in 1-5g tanks for awhile before I moved them into bigger tanks. No issues.

i meant the breeders. If you grow out a fish in a too small tank it can cause organ failure. Since he has red spots on his belly , what i think is internal bleeding.

And yes if you move them to bigger tanks than it should not be an issue. But if breeders keep them in a small tank for to long it might? Could also just be bad genetics i guess.

Water parameters are fine. Nitrate was a bit high (30/40) but its my cleaning day today, so its now very low again. All other fish are fine even my rare eelcatfish who is very susceptible to bad paramaters.

 

[Hao]

i meant the breeders. If you grow out a fish in a too small tank it can cause organ failure. Since he has red spots on his belly , what i think is internal bleeding.

And yes if you move them to bigger tanks than it should not be an issue. But if breeders keep them in a small tank for to long it might? Could also just be bad genetics i guess.

Water parameters are fine. Nitrate was a bit high (30/40) but its my cleaning day today, so its now very low again. All other fish are fine even my rare eelcatfish who is very susceptible to bad paramaters.

If your water is fine, then I would think it’s bacterial infection of some sort. Redness/cloudy eye is usually a sign of bacteria infection.

 

[neko1]

If your water is fine, then I would think it’s bacterial infection of some sort. Redness/cloudy eye is usually a sign of bacteria infection.

could someone explain the behaviour of going onto land? She keeps crawling on the land. is it a way of suicide or to get rid of bacteria?
And would someone know what bacteria it could be? or are common death causes for bichirs

 

[Hao]

could someone explain the behaviour of going onto land? She keeps crawling on the land. is it a way of suicide or to get rid of bacteria?
And would someone know what bacteria it could be? or are common death causes for bichirs

I’ve been keeping bichirs for about 15 years now (with some time off in between) but I’ve rarely encountered disease/sickness so my experience is limited there.
Most common death I’ve seen among other poly hobbyist are usually “sudden death”, usually fish looks perfectly normal, no signs of redness or anything. Eating just fine as well then suddenly found dead upside down one morning. Very likely, something internal happened/organ failure. Happens to wild caught specimens as well.
Another common cause of death is usually them escaping the tank. Otherwise they are generally pretty resilient.
Another one is usually septicemia/bacterial infection if left untreated, but early stages generally can be fixed with just clean water.
One of my congi developed a “bad” case of it over night a few years ago but healed after few days with just waterchange. Fish was still eating just fine though (usually a sign the bichir is doing well).

 

[neko1]

I’ve been keeping bichirs for about 15 years now (with some time off in between) but I’ve rarely encountered disease/sickness so my experience is limited there.
Most common death I’ve seen among other poly hobbyist are usually “sudden death”, usually fish looks perfectly normal, no signs of redness or anything. Eating just fine as well then suddenly found dead upside down one morning. Very likely, something internal happened/organ failure. Happens to wild caught specimens as well.
Another common cause of death is usually them escaping the tank. Otherwise they are generally pretty resilient.
Another one is usually septicemia/bacterial infection if left untreated, but early stages generally can be fixed with just clean water.
One of my congi developed a “bad” case of it over night a few years ago but healed after few days with just waterchange. Fish was still eating just fine though (usually a sign the bichir is doing well).

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View attachment 1506600

wow all that red? Good to hear it healed. This is the second bichir i lost (in around 8 years). The first had similair symptons and was a young delhezi who also died of something internal after the blood became visible on his stomach. That was around two years ago. Luckily all the other fish seem fine.

I hate this, i had the bichir for already 6 years i think maybe even longer.
It died yesterday night. the senegal reached up to 19cm. Was a beauty.
I kept the body in the fridge. Im thinking about cutting it open to see if i can find any clues of the death.
If i decide to cut it open what should i look for and where?