Damnit I hate losing fish especially when I don't know why

[Artax]

did you do an autopsy on your sen? Was anything in its throat like a piece of food that was too big for it to swallow and choked to death

 

[herefishyfishyfishy]

The best place to start when anything goes wrong is to test for the following:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Get those readings and we should be able to help.
Also provide as much info as you can.... what size tank, tank mates?

 

[Stump]

Not really. I'm going with the close top/no airflow as a cause unless somebody has a good reason why it's not. I don't aerate specifically as I get a ton of surface agitation from my w/d return pump, but with it off none of that was happening (my fx5's return is underwater).

I guess that could be it... I have only used HOB filters with my bichirs, so I always have gaps for air to get in and out... Maybe too much gas got trapped between the water and the tops, so when he went for air, he didn't get the oxygen he needed? I don't know...

 

[CTU2fan]

The best place to start when anything goes wrong is to test for the following:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Get those readings and we should be able to help.
Also provide as much info as you can.... what size tank, tank mates?

My levels are 0/0/10 right now after the 40% w/c I did last night. When I do them my nitrates are usually around 15; they never get to 0 because my tapwater comes out close to 10ppm ammonia.

170G tank, one year+ with these fish: 18" Florida gar, 10" chocolate cichlid, 2x7" severums, 6" JD, 2x4" convicts, 8" pinktail chalceus, and my 9" or so senegalus. Recently added 1 8" silver arowana. No damage to him though so not a tankmate issue. I'm thinking it's an oxygenation issue or he got an internal injury from a krill spine.

 

[uting]

I am sorry to hear to hear about it.

 

[JunO]

I mentioned this before in another thread, but I experienced the same thing with my senegalus too... Pisses me off, no real reason whatsoever... The common thing: heavy eating before dying. Any ideas?

 

[CTU2fan]

Could be. Any chance that a piece of f/d krill, swelling as it absorbs water, could do internal damage? He'd eaten several that night.