Wow sorry to see that. I hope everything comes out ok. I think Vamptrev has the right idea though.
Disaster!
- Thread starter Conner
- Start date
vamptrev;4101464; said:
The thing on his stinger is a piece of net that got caught on his stinger after I put him back in the original tank. He lashed out when I caught him and got himself stuck
. I had to cut the net to get him loose without injury. But that happened AFTER whatever is affecting his disk.I have considered the possibility of a tank mate harassing him. That's why I'm considering moving the female back with him in the original tank. I don't want the same thing to happen to her tonight.
What do you guys think about that? Move her back tonight, or wait and see how she does?
I think it was the pike cichlid . I had exactly the same type in my tank. It was about 10" long and it left my 15" diameter flower ray with a disc looking just like yours. What was strange is that the pike left the other rays(female) alone and only picked on the male flower ray. Salt and high temps healed the disc really quickly. Not saying it definitely is but watch the tank at night that is when it happened to me.
I would say that the cichlids possibly stressed and led to the fin rot. I doubt all that damage is from picking as it wouldn't be so uniformed. You would see bits missing like bite marks.
I scooped and dumped my flower from QT straight to the main tank and she didn't skip a beat. All my water parms (Temp, Nitrites, Nitrates and PH) Clean water and some salt. Personally I don't raise the temp when treating as in my experience (what little I have) the salt works just fine at whatever temp you maintain your system. Pike would be my first culprit, like Sam said. I tried to add one of my Lents and caught him behaving aggressively towards my rays. Needless to say Out he went.
I scooped and dumped my flower from QT straight to the main tank and she didn't skip a beat. All my water parms (Temp, Nitrites, Nitrates and PH) Clean water and some salt. Personally I don't raise the temp when treating as in my experience (what little I have) the salt works just fine at whatever temp you maintain your system. Pike would be my first culprit, like Sam said. I tried to add one of my Lents and caught him behaving aggressively towards my rays. Needless to say Out he went.
Well, the pike would be my first suspect as well. The strange thing is, the rays were living with 4 pike cichlids in the smaller tank, one of which was the same species (nearly the same size) as the one in the larger tank.
It could be that the pike was nipping at the rear fins of the male, and it stressed him enough that he got fin rot. Still just surprised at how quickly it progressed.
Update:
The male is still alive this morning, although he looks worse, and is breathing faster. I will pick up some salt after work and add it when I get home, if he's still alive by then.
The female still looks perfectly fine, not a single mark on her, and breathing normally (still in the larger tank).
It could be that the pike was nipping at the rear fins of the male, and it stressed him enough that he got fin rot. Still just surprised at how quickly it progressed.
Update:
The male is still alive this morning, although he looks worse, and is breathing faster. I will pick up some salt after work and add it when I get home, if he's still alive by then.
The female still looks perfectly fine, not a single mark on her, and breathing normally (still in the larger tank).
Well, the male was dead when I got home from work, which is what I was expecting. He just looked so bad, I didn't think there was any way he would recover from it. I feel terrible now, knowing that the only reason he died is because I tried to switch him to another tank. 
On another note, I noticed the end of the females tail starting to turn a little white, so I moved her back to the original tank as well. I will not be putting them into this other tank, unless I can get my larger tank set up and running. Then the current inhabitants will be moving up (or the rays will). Either way, they probably won't share a tank with most of those fish again.
The female looks good other than the little bit of white on the tip of the tail. I'll keep any eye on her, but no reason to think she won't be fine. I will be doing a small water change tomorrow just to be sure the water is pristine, since the male did die in this tank today.
On another note, I noticed the end of the females tail starting to turn a little white, so I moved her back to the original tank as well. I will not be putting them into this other tank, unless I can get my larger tank set up and running. Then the current inhabitants will be moving up (or the rays will). Either way, they probably won't share a tank with most of those fish again.
The female looks good other than the little bit of white on the tip of the tail. I'll keep any eye on her, but no reason to think she won't be fine. I will be doing a small water change tomorrow just to be sure the water is pristine, since the male did die in this tank today.
Oh yah, another reason today was not a good day. After I found the male dead, and had removed him from the tank, I was checking on the female. I removed one of the lids on the tank to drop in some worms to see if she was interested in eating (she wasn't). I got a phone call, and forgot to put the lid back on. 5 minutes later, I hear a splash and a thud. I walk into the room, but don't immediately see anything out of place. Then something moves on the floor in front of me (about 8 feet away from the tank). It's my 18" shortnose gar! He managed to launch himself almost completely across the room, out of a 5" x 18" opening. He seems to fine, even if he did get covered in cat hair...
