BREATH

[drdpc]

Hi
i got a 6in ornate bichir last friday, and it's looking good, but it's more shy than the other. I know it's adapting! But it's brathing faster than the others! I didn't see it eating yet also!
What do you think? stress? (it's the bigger in the tank)
Help please!

 

[Roy L.]

Nice one there
I think you just have to give him time..

 

[redtailfool]

give it time.. as long as there is no aggression then it will be fine. What are you feeding the bichir with? i use pieces of chopped up shrimp. They love that.

 

[drdpc]

ok, i'll wait!
I use live shrimp, fish, sinking pellets! I think it's maybe the problem, as i said, this fish here is very expensive, and this one is bigger than it's used to sell, and he/she maybe was feeding with one specific food!

 

[redtailfool]

ok, i'll wait!
I use live shrimp, fish, sinking pellets! I think it's maybe the problem, as i said, this fish here is very expensive, and this one is bigger than it's used to sell, and he/she maybe was feeding with one specific food!

dont worry all of the ones i have were on feeder when i first got them. Dont feed for a few days and then drop slices of shrimps. Fun to watch how they tear it up.

 

[HiJinx]

You can try dimming the lights also.

 

[drdpc]

Hi,
he died this morning! he was eating normally, everything was OK, unless the breath!
I did the necropsy and the onli thing i noticed strange was that the gills was too dark! It might be an infection! I didn't get any material to the lab because it's too expensive!
I think this week is hard to many of we here in MFK!

 

[mjime714]

Sorry to hear about the loss. I was hoping for a happy ending for this thread.

 

[danny boy]

intrestingly none of you guys pointed out the obvious problem with that bichirs surroundings!!

its in a gravel bottomed tank. probably the worst thing you could do for a bichir. it could even be the problem. they often swallow the gravel along with food and it can get stuck in the fish at any point. this could be a reason for shortness of breath.

if that was my tank id replace that gravel with a fine 1-2mm gravel or a course sand. basically a substrate the poly can pass via its system

 

[mcblack]

sorry for the lost didn't you notice any gravel within its internal digestive system? or it might be cause by water quality, nitrite poisoning?