they are fine at that temp...i see many bowfins freak out and lay there when i am bowfishing...if it is still not eatting try some garlic soaked food...i had an aro feak out and smash its head on the top...it stopped eatting and died...i could see a dark spot where it hit and then it died...hope your gets better...they are very fragile at that size...
OMG what just happened to my bowfin?! Someone please help!
- Thread starter bahamaqt00
- Start date
Thanks. Yeah I hope this little one pulls though. If he starts eating he should be fine. I will definitely try garlic soaking the food.
I would do a waterchange to drop those nitrates, and drop the temperature down a bit, and add some airstones. Coldwater fish need a lot more oxygen then tropical fish most of the time. And warm water holds oxygen a lot less efficiently then cooler water. So that's what I would do. And maybe keep the lights off, and make sure it's quiet around the tank while he recovers
hope he does ok sry but i have no info to give except the garlic stuff because the fish go crazy over that stuff 
Thow428;4082856; said:
Already did a waterchange yesterday but will do another small one tonight. I have an airstone and quite a bit of water movement in the tank so I should be fine there, but will lower the temp a bit.
Also, I am about to try the garlic juice here in a couple of minutes so I will let you guys know. I tried mysis shrimp earlier but that was a no go
they can breath air with a primitive lung...they can thrive in stagnent swamps as long as there is some kind of food like frogs...D.O. is not the issue...they are mainly nocturnal, but they readily feed in the day...also temp isn't the issue eathier they are a "cold water" fish, but i find them is 80f+ creeks happy as can be...
Yeah, I don't know much about the species, being able to use their primitive lung blows my theory out of the water. I'd still do a waterchange, but don't disturb the fish too much. Good Luck!
Bowfin are generally very tough fish, they will almost live in a hot tub, farmers have found then buried in fields. It sounds like something serious, hard to judge from a distance, have you tried live food like daphnia or black worms? In the wild bowfin carry a very high internal parasite load but young ones should be reletively free of internal parasites.
Try a large water change and some live food and see how thys do.
Try a large water change and some live food and see how thys do.
one thing to do with any bowfins is to treat for tapeworms...it is the most common parasite they have...sub-adult to adult bowfins are tough mean fish...young ones are very very fragile...live food is a great idea...most people on here bash the food sorce...i don't know the op's opinoin of live food so i din't suggest it as i am stong in support the idea of live food...
Well I tried the garlic juice idea. He wouldn't go for them. I just made my last trip to the LFS tonight but I will try to get some guppies or ghost shrimp tomorrow if he isn't dead by then. His stomach is definitely caving in so we will see... 
