Some of you may remember Polly, my nice n fat studly P. Palmas Polli. I've had him for probably 3 or 4 years, since he was a tiny little 3'' eating machine. He has always been one of my favorites, and ranked third about a year ago when I lost my beautiful Izzy, then moved to second favorite. He's just such a beautiful specimen with so much green on him and so much personality...
A few months back, he had a cloudy eye and had a smaller appetite. As a general rule of thumb, I don't gamble and any fish that could be sick can NOT be around my Ansorgii. I down-graded him to the 29, and he was fine. Time came a few days ago to move him back to the 55, and... it went all wrong. It's really hard to explain, but when I net my bigger, energetic bichirs, I net them against the glass facing me, then pull the net straight up and flip it so they're held inside the net in a pocket and are guarenteed to not make a leap and splat on the floor. When I went to release him, I don't know what happened or how, but he was stuck firmly in the net. I couldn't get the pocket he was in to flip over and open the net so he could swim out, and I don't know why. I panicked, and it took a lil bit, but I got him out. His slime coat was completely gone. White and ghostlike lookin. He's a very hardy fish and always has been so I wasn't insanely worried - gave him some stresscoat and kept an eye on him. When I got home from work yesterday and checked on him, I swear I almost threw up in my mouth. He's a little bloated, and his entire body is septicemic. From the fins on his back to his belly, he's blood red. Some fins are completely gone. He even has it on his jaws and lip. He couldn't swim, and was for the most part, dead. I moved fast (which... I doubt it... but may help...) and got him into my hospital tank. Added salt, dosed with Maracyn-2, added stresscoat and boosted the temp. We sat n watched him for the better part of an hour. When I first moved him, he went to the bottom and ... stopped breathing. Probably 6 or 7 minutes passed and his gills just didn't move. I thought it was all over. A bubble came out of his mouth and he started again. Kevin gave him an hour to die, and I doubted he'd make it through the night. I didn't even come here and make a thread because I figured my next post would be to tell everyone he didn't make it. Somehow, he made it through the night. He is still blood red - the tank is a 10, and the light actually shines through him and illuminates him even more red. One of his eye looks a bit better... I'm afraid to get my hopes up. It really doesn't look good, but he made it through the night and that counts for something doesn't it?????
Keeper*
May try to take some pics later.
A few months back, he had a cloudy eye and had a smaller appetite. As a general rule of thumb, I don't gamble and any fish that could be sick can NOT be around my Ansorgii. I down-graded him to the 29, and he was fine. Time came a few days ago to move him back to the 55, and... it went all wrong. It's really hard to explain, but when I net my bigger, energetic bichirs, I net them against the glass facing me, then pull the net straight up and flip it so they're held inside the net in a pocket and are guarenteed to not make a leap and splat on the floor. When I went to release him, I don't know what happened or how, but he was stuck firmly in the net. I couldn't get the pocket he was in to flip over and open the net so he could swim out, and I don't know why. I panicked, and it took a lil bit, but I got him out. His slime coat was completely gone. White and ghostlike lookin. He's a very hardy fish and always has been so I wasn't insanely worried - gave him some stresscoat and kept an eye on him. When I got home from work yesterday and checked on him, I swear I almost threw up in my mouth. He's a little bloated, and his entire body is septicemic. From the fins on his back to his belly, he's blood red. Some fins are completely gone. He even has it on his jaws and lip. He couldn't swim, and was for the most part, dead. I moved fast (which... I doubt it... but may help...) and got him into my hospital tank. Added salt, dosed with Maracyn-2, added stresscoat and boosted the temp. We sat n watched him for the better part of an hour. When I first moved him, he went to the bottom and ... stopped breathing. Probably 6 or 7 minutes passed and his gills just didn't move. I thought it was all over. A bubble came out of his mouth and he started again. Kevin gave him an hour to die, and I doubted he'd make it through the night. I didn't even come here and make a thread because I figured my next post would be to tell everyone he didn't make it. Somehow, he made it through the night. He is still blood red - the tank is a 10, and the light actually shines through him and illuminates him even more red. One of his eye looks a bit better... I'm afraid to get my hopes up. It really doesn't look good, but he made it through the night and that counts for something doesn't it?????
Keeper*
May try to take some pics later.
