my del's a retard...

[Savier808]

I have a 5" del that's a little lame. He's in a 60g with two 2.5" gymnogeos, a 3" dempsey, and five 2" congo tetras.

He was my first bichir and i didn't notice that the guy at the lfs picked me out a del that was missing one of his dorsal finlets. It's about 3/4 down his body where the finlet is gone, and the one behind that is bent as well. The lower 1/4 of his body is a little smaller and it droops downward. He can't swim with the same type of agility as my palmas, and now the difference has become obvious.

I want to keep him just so he can have a good home, but he just burrows into the sand all day and doesn't come out to eat until almost all of the food is gone. I've started feeding after turning the lights off, but i don't think it's really helping, and the palmas is being overfed now.

Any ideas?

 

[Savier808]

so i guess i should just give up on the runt delhezi then?

 

[richierichdollar]

no dont give up on him. just make sure he gets his share. And if he is new it may take him awhile to get use to ur feeding habits they may have been feeding him differently at the petstore

 

[knicks791]

I would try putting the food under a cave like structure where only the Del can get to.

 

[Savier808]

Unfortunately, if the del can get to it (i.e. under a cave, wood, etc.), then the palmas WILL get to it 1st!
And, He's been in the tank for 9 months now.

Has no one else ever raised an injured bichir before??!!!

 

[Wretched5705]

put him into a quarantine tank?

 

[Savier808]

Yeah, but i think that'd be a temporary solution at best.

guess i'll just continue to feed after lights out and monitor his progress...

 

[tcarswell]

shoot the food at him with a turkey baster Or hand feed. Dont give up on him !

 

[Savier808]

Quick update:

I've started allowing a 5-10 minute period to elapse AFTER lights out. This allows the water to cool significantly and the del becomes noticeably more active, making feeding more effective!

 

[RobE]

I got a little endli at about 3" and while in qt he got spooked by something and ended up breaking his back. He was a little lethargic for a while but I just kept making sure he got his pellets and he has grown up just fine. He has a permanent hunch in his back and my wife calls him quazimoto. He has made it to about 12" now and has learned to use his pectoral fins to crawl around and even competes with my peacock bass that are in the tank with him. So don't give up yet it just takes some extra effort.