Hi guys looking for some help about a taft (tanzania tigerish) that i purchased last month. When i got him about an hour or two after placing him in the tank it went belly up and died. I got a replacement a week later after paying half the cost of the last one and it did the same thing. I want to know why this may of happened as i want to get another but am worried i may waste more money.
Looking for some help about African tigerfish
- Thread starter FishMad90
- Start date
What are your perimeters? Water temp? Nitrite? Nitrate? Ammonia? Harness? PH?
How did you introduce him? Bag dump? Floating? Drips? Bucket?
Please fill us in with the greatest level of detail possible on what you did so that we can ascertain what the cause was and we as a community can learn together.
How did you introduce him? Bag dump? Floating? Drips? Bucket?
Please fill us in with the greatest level of detail possible on what you did so that we can ascertain what the cause was and we as a community can learn together.
My water temp is about 26c/78f Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 40 dont have a hardness test and Ph a steady 7.4
I floated it in my tank to get the exact temp then placed it in a bucket while adding my water. I left it to sit so it can adjust to my water then placed it in the tank. Left it for a while came back and it was struggling to swim and upside down. The first one would sink to the bottom then when i got the second he would float but then crash hard to the bottom.
I've seen tigers do that before. IME, it's most often caused by temperature shock, but I've had a couple do it for unknown reasons as well. I've managed to save most of the fish that do this on me, but I've lost a brevis and a tanzaniae to this strange condition.
ATF are very delicate fish and don't ship well. I suspect that the fish you are getting were probably in rough shape and the stress of the trip was more than they could take. That, combined with even a few degrees off in temp when you acclimated them, caused them to go into shock. A healthy ATF heals like Wolverine and can bounce back from things very well. An unhealthy ATF tends to act just like a healthy one which can lead a new owner into a false sense of security. Unhealthy tigers die if you look at them wrong it seems.
The only exception to this pattern for me was one very healthy TATF that died for no apparent reason during acclimation after an eight hour drive. I suspect that he may have either gotten stuck in a fold in the bag or he smashed into the tote so hard that he gave himself terminal wounds. The loss of that previously thriving TATF has me flummoxed.
To sum it up, I suspect that your fish were probably weaker than they looked and the stress of the move combined with a small temperature variation caused them to go into shock.
Don't give up on ATF, just try to get one from a different vendor.
ATF are very delicate fish and don't ship well. I suspect that the fish you are getting were probably in rough shape and the stress of the trip was more than they could take. That, combined with even a few degrees off in temp when you acclimated them, caused them to go into shock. A healthy ATF heals like Wolverine and can bounce back from things very well. An unhealthy ATF tends to act just like a healthy one which can lead a new owner into a false sense of security. Unhealthy tigers die if you look at them wrong it seems.
The only exception to this pattern for me was one very healthy TATF that died for no apparent reason during acclimation after an eight hour drive. I suspect that he may have either gotten stuck in a fold in the bag or he smashed into the tote so hard that he gave himself terminal wounds. The loss of that previously thriving TATF has me flummoxed.
To sum it up, I suspect that your fish were probably weaker than they looked and the stress of the move combined with a small temperature variation caused them to go into shock.
Don't give up on ATF, just try to get one from a different vendor.
The first one i got was in the shop for 6weeks i and even saw it eating. The second one only came in a week before i got him but again was eating. So i would probably put it down to temp shock as nothing else really ads up. I did have a vatf that traveled overnight by APC and had him for a couple months then went to feed him and found him on the bottom dead i was so gutted. I just dont know if i want to waste more money on these as i dont seem to have good luck. I did try and save the tatf both times but there was no going back at all. The new place i can get them from have had them for a couple months now and has two left and i am so tempted but scared at the same time. i need to let him know my decision tomorrow but I'm still so unsure as they will be traveling overnight.
Same thing happened to me man, like chic said atfs are delicate ive been trying to get my LFS to get some so i dont have to bother with the shipping thing, that plays a huge factor i feel
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I personally do not think this is a fish that should be sent overnight, ask the seller if they can ship airport to airport for same day delivery,,less stress on the ATF and you..
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Im not shipping them in its a courier service because the guy who imports fish does live local to me. He has had them for a good few months. But it still worries me about buying them after losing two the same way
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My suspicion is on the amount of O2 in your water. I think if you ship it any longer than 30 mins. make sure you have an airstone blowing air into the bag. I've found that they are not that sensitive to temp changes but do need a lot of O2.
So your saying to place and air stone in the bag with the tigerfish before it goes in to the tank? I want to buy another one so bad but just dont know if its worth the risk