Hello,
New user here. I'm facing the mortality of my Clown Knife Fish (Pennywise). Background info: Pennywise was introduced to the tank a little over a week ago. Tank is 75 gal, fairly new and has only had live fish in it for a little while, though I had it running for several weeks beforehand after treating with live bacterial culture. Pennywise has six tankmates, one royal pleco, one fire eel (NOT an intentional add to the tank; hitchhiked inside a piece of driftwood I purchased from the pet store) and four turquoise rainbows. Sand substrate, some live plants (Anubias and Anacharis), and driftwood (purchased from PetCo.). I have two Marineland Emperor 400 power filters running (rated for 400 gal/hr. turnover), heat is set to 80 but is closer to 78.
Since introduction, Pennywise has had it rough. He has not shown any interest in eating. I've been trying to feed him blood worms, which the store was feeding him before purchase. Feeding was done at night, usually around 10 PM after shutting off the tank lights for ~15 minutes. Food was always gone in the morning, but I have only actively observed the Fire Eel eat, and the Rainbows casually pick at the worms. I have avoided feeder fish as I have read this can be unhealthy and problematic. After a few days in the tank, I noticed Pennywise rubbing on some of the decor and thought this may have been symptomatic of parasites, but his behavior self-corrected within a day. No other fish showed any signs of illness. Further on Pennywise was often listless and lethargic, which I assumed stemmed from not having eaten much or at all and still adjusting to the tank. Recently he had become more active and seemed in better spirits, but still was not accepting food.
Yesterday I did my water quality tests and got 0's for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. pH was a little high at 7.6, but everyone seemed fine. Upon returning from work today, I saw Pennywise in extremely poor condition. No visible signs of illness, but was lying on the sand, unresponsive to stimuli, and breathing very infrequently. I immediately performed a PWC of 40%. It's been several hours now and Penny's condition only seems to have gotten worse. I fear he will not live through the night.
My monetary investment is safe, but my biggest concern is; what did I do wrong? I've been out of the aquaria game for a bit, and this is my first major project getting back in. I've been taking advice from some locals in the business, and I was led to believe a knifefish would be fine in my tank. I've tried to be cautious and do all my research. No other fish in the tank are showing any signs of stress or sickness (in fact, my Rainbows are much more colorful in my tank at home than they were in the pet shop -- I didn't expect this for a few weeks, months even). I've treated incoming tap water with API Tap Water Conditioner, Stress Coat, and Stress Zyme, when appropriate. Could one of these have been harmful to Pennywise? I've tried to find an active ingredients list, but the MSDS for these chems is woefully inept (I used to work hazardous materials for the Coast Guard, so I should be good there) and I know knifefish can be very sensitive.
To sum it all up, I'm looking for any guidance as to what I may have done wrong, if I should be concerned about the rest of my tank's health, etc.
If you have any questions for me or need any more information, please ask. I will update tomorrow with any changes in health.
New user here. I'm facing the mortality of my Clown Knife Fish (Pennywise). Background info: Pennywise was introduced to the tank a little over a week ago. Tank is 75 gal, fairly new and has only had live fish in it for a little while, though I had it running for several weeks beforehand after treating with live bacterial culture. Pennywise has six tankmates, one royal pleco, one fire eel (NOT an intentional add to the tank; hitchhiked inside a piece of driftwood I purchased from the pet store) and four turquoise rainbows. Sand substrate, some live plants (Anubias and Anacharis), and driftwood (purchased from PetCo.). I have two Marineland Emperor 400 power filters running (rated for 400 gal/hr. turnover), heat is set to 80 but is closer to 78.
Since introduction, Pennywise has had it rough. He has not shown any interest in eating. I've been trying to feed him blood worms, which the store was feeding him before purchase. Feeding was done at night, usually around 10 PM after shutting off the tank lights for ~15 minutes. Food was always gone in the morning, but I have only actively observed the Fire Eel eat, and the Rainbows casually pick at the worms. I have avoided feeder fish as I have read this can be unhealthy and problematic. After a few days in the tank, I noticed Pennywise rubbing on some of the decor and thought this may have been symptomatic of parasites, but his behavior self-corrected within a day. No other fish showed any signs of illness. Further on Pennywise was often listless and lethargic, which I assumed stemmed from not having eaten much or at all and still adjusting to the tank. Recently he had become more active and seemed in better spirits, but still was not accepting food.
Yesterday I did my water quality tests and got 0's for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. pH was a little high at 7.6, but everyone seemed fine. Upon returning from work today, I saw Pennywise in extremely poor condition. No visible signs of illness, but was lying on the sand, unresponsive to stimuli, and breathing very infrequently. I immediately performed a PWC of 40%. It's been several hours now and Penny's condition only seems to have gotten worse. I fear he will not live through the night.
My monetary investment is safe, but my biggest concern is; what did I do wrong? I've been out of the aquaria game for a bit, and this is my first major project getting back in. I've been taking advice from some locals in the business, and I was led to believe a knifefish would be fine in my tank. I've tried to be cautious and do all my research. No other fish in the tank are showing any signs of stress or sickness (in fact, my Rainbows are much more colorful in my tank at home than they were in the pet shop -- I didn't expect this for a few weeks, months even). I've treated incoming tap water with API Tap Water Conditioner, Stress Coat, and Stress Zyme, when appropriate. Could one of these have been harmful to Pennywise? I've tried to find an active ingredients list, but the MSDS for these chems is woefully inept (I used to work hazardous materials for the Coast Guard, so I should be good there) and I know knifefish can be very sensitive.
To sum it all up, I'm looking for any guidance as to what I may have done wrong, if I should be concerned about the rest of my tank's health, etc.
If you have any questions for me or need any more information, please ask. I will update tomorrow with any changes in health.
Its very possible the Clown Knife had issues prior to you purchasing it. Blood worms alone will not be sufficient enough for raising a Clown knife. Btw a 75 is absolutely too small for a Clown knife.
