Breeding/genetic problem

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Dairy

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 11, 2010
108
0
16
Central NJ
Did anybody encountered or found research about breeding problems with senegals? I previously had a senegal died from a "spine curvature" (reference: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?370473-Spine-Injury-Tumor&highlight=). I now have another senegal who is 1 year old and is suffering the same thing (more like a lump beside the dorsal fins as of now). I am guilty of not being able to change the water for 2 weeks. And also in those 2 weeks i wasn't able to feed regularly everyday. I am starting to think that maybe i'm doing something wrong... Both said senegals are bought from Petsmart. I heard that since it's a large commercial store, breeding grounds might not be up to par resulting to some genetic problems...

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate maybe even >80 (2 weeks of no wc)
Temp 83F
 
Senegals are mass farmed in such big amounts, you are sure to run into many many effective fish!

Just save yourself the hassle, and buy a WC Sen!
 
So you do think it's because of a genetic problem, and not that I'm doing something wrong... Or maybe both?

I might just buy a wc from a reputable dealer... It hurts seeing him like this :( not to mention there's nothing else i can do right now to heal him
 
Thanks for the input. That nitrate reading was before i did a wc in 2 weeks without wc. I managed to get in down to <40. Will do another wc tomorrow. I'll look into floating plants. What kind would you suggest? I'm not good with their names lol
 
Senegals are very tough, most being able to live through a cycle and what not, I dont think 2 weeks of high nitates would do any real harm to them, probably a genetic problem.
 
tokyogasmask said:
Senegals are mass farmed in such big amounts, you are sure to run into many many effective fish!

Just save yourself the hassle, and buy a WC Sen!
Click to expand...

agreed. although you might pay about 4x as much (in my country) to get a WC specimen, they usually come in bigger sizes which makes up for the higher costs.

i always believed that such defective fish should be relieved of its suffering :(
 
did these senegals look ok when they were in the shop? these fish are very hardy and no way would those high nitrates cause that problem ive had nitrate reading like that before and never experienced any problems,in the aqualog book it states they can survive in unfiltered water! the food thing is disregarded as all bichirs can go weeks even months without feeding,wild bichirs rarley eat as much as we offer them food in captivity and ive found 2-3 times a week when there fully developed (senegal around a year) is fine and leaving a week on occasion to give there digestive system a chance to clear.i would suggest poor quality fish from petsmart!
 
I'll look into watersprites. Gotta find a nearby lfs that sells them since i believe they arent available on most petco/petsmart. Or are they available at nurseries?

Thanks guys for the comments. Make me feel a bit better from thinking I'm a bad mama. But... I do still think that my fishkeeping is at fault...

I've been doing some research. I came across the topic "stunted fish growth." I haven't found an actual journal or research, but most forums mentioned spine deformities. I have my senegal in a 40g tank (36x18x16) with an Eheim 2217. He has no tankmates for most of his life. He is now 9 1/2". The lump on his back is fairly recent, about 3 weeks ago. The senegal I had before this one had his deformity a bit earlier on his life. His on a staple diet of Hikari sinking pellets once a day. I do feed him shrimp, brine shrimp, salmon, squid and tilapia. I do 40% wc every week. But at times, like what I have stated in my previous post, I dont get to do wc til 2 weeks.

Do you guys think this setup has caused my polys to suffer stunted fish growth?

I have purchased senegal for this 40g tank, with the knowledge from Beblondie's primer that a 40g breeder is okay for the smaller sized polys. I don't think I'll be purchasing senegals anytime soon, as upgrading to a larger tank isn't feasible at this moment. (Or maybe I'll find other lfs that sells wc sen :D when I can't held back my fondness of them anymore).

Here's a pic of him now. Do you think it's so bad that I need to put him down now? I know he must be in pain but I cant decide when to euthanize... =( I'm still hoping there's still a chance... but... :(

photo.JPG

photo.JPG
 
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