Hello, I am new to the group and am still figuring out the site so if this isn't the place to post this then please let me know. I have 2 bichir fish, 1 is an endlicheri and the other is a Senegal. I've had them both for about a year now and have not had problems with either until about 9 or 10 days ago. My endli is at 10 inches and my Senegal is at 8 and a half. My endli started to develop a belly. They have feeder fish in the tank with them so at first I thought he just had a big meal. It's happened in the past but it goes down within about a day or 2. About 5 days after noticing the belly I noticed that it had not gone down at all, so I figured he may have been constipated. I talked to my local fish store and they suggested Epsom salt. They are in a 75 gallon tank, and the LFS suggested to put about 3 cups of salt in to help him use the bathroom. This is day 4 and his belly hasn't seemed to have gone down. He still swims back and forth in the tank, but I have noticed he is laying down a lot more than he usually does. He comes up for gulps of air on occasion and hangs out at the top for a little when he does (always right side up, never belly up or side up), and then slowly lowers himself down to the bottom again. His appetite has decreased though. They are eating feeder fish and Massivore pellets. I do plan on getting a floating log so he can hang out closer to the surface so he doesn't have to swim so high up to get a gulp of air. I'll post pictures when I figure out how to do so on this site haha so give me a few more minutes. Any help will be appreciated.
Help with my endli. Bichir
- Thread starter RicardoLopez567
- Start date
-
- Tags
- polyaddict86
I'll try and get a better picture when I get home. My wife took the best that she could while I am at work
Looks like your feeding goldfish, that's often a death sentence to fish.
Start by offering pellets, shrimp,krill ,ghost shrimp etc
Start by offering pellets, shrimp,krill ,ghost shrimp etc
I am feeding them goldfish. I didn't learn about the unhealthy nutrients until I got on this site. I have gotten another feeder tank started with mollies, guppies, and plattys. I still do the Massivore pellets, and occasional ghost shrimp when I can catch them at the fish store. They sell out pretty quick where I am. I will admit that I still do have 5 goldfish in the tank with the bichirs, but I do plan on removing them. Unfortunately I was just late on learning about them. This site has actually educated me a lot already. hahaha I knew someone would point that out though. I don't plan on giving them anymore gold fish or minnows though.
!["]["](/forums/data/avatars/s/166/166465.jpg?1534520929){kind=avatar}
Might have ate some gravel/rock or somethin.doesn't looked bloated.
Should be fine imo..
Nice planked out endli btw.cheers
Should be fine imo..
Nice planked out endli btw.cheers
See, I was thinking the same thing. He has had this belly for about 9 or 10 days now. It hasn't moved or gotten any smaller. When I noticed he wasn't eating as much is when I started to worry. He takes a bite out of a pellet but isn't finishing them now. When he used to swallow one or two whole. I was just concerned. Maybe I'm just being like that concerned soccer mom that runs out onto the field when her little boy scrapes his knee hahaha
