So I've had a Senegal Bichir in my 65 gallon tank for probably a month now. He hasn't hurt anyone (That i've seen, but a tetra did go missing 2 weeks ago) and is probably about 4 inches. He is a nice little fellow and spends most of his time sitting up by the surface wedged between the heater and the glass. Not the part of the heater that heats up though. Today I was planning on moving him to a 20 gallon all by himself (Very very temporary mind you) but he is acting very strange. His stomach is lumpy and when he swims it looks like his back 1/3 of his body is floating upward. I feed him shrimp pellets daily and there are usually algae wafers in there for the plec that he steals. I also feed bloodworms as a treat once and a while. When he sits near the surface his back 1/3 is usually floated to the surface while the rest is underwater. Should I be worried?
Lumpy Bichir :/
- Thread starter Terabyte
- Start date
Sound like trap air, stop the feeding ans add some epsom salt, move him in the 20g and lower the water for now.
Thanks! Is there any specific epsom salt to use? Does scent matter? Also I don't have a sponge filter so I can't really lower the water level. Is there a specific dosing for the epsom salt? Sorry for all the questions i'm very new to bichirs
Dont use a epsom with scent, it will kill the fish, dosing epsom is 1 tblsp per 5 gallons, as for the water lvl its ok not to have a low water, its just to help the fish not to struggle to much on swimming down the tank.
I moved him and added 4 tbsp of pure epsom salt by first dissolving it in water and pouring it into the tank. He is really struggling and he can only sit at the surface. He keeps trying to swim down but can't. Is there anything else I can do for him or do I just have to wait it out?
Well he is looking a lot better thanks to ya'll! He made a big splash and pooped quite a lot and now he is swimming around on the gravel pretty well. Thank you very much!
Just wait couple of days before feeding and when your feeding dont feed everyday.
Mine had the same issue and I fasted him for a few days. I'd be careful with gravel though... a hungry Sen can eat a piece and it can cause some major digestive issues