I'm sorry to say that the RTC died tonight. A closer inspection showed two marks under his left pectoral fin and a raw patch on the fin. Something? Nothing? I'm not sure. Thank you all for your help and advice with this.
RTC Help
- Thread starter pittbulldogva
- Start date
Sorry to hear this. Thank you for the follow through. The patches look like simply removed skin from rubbing on the bottom.
I am much surprised there is no visible mark from possible sting by a ray barb. To me that means the fish was not stung.
Then the only explanation remains is Wed13's hypothesis of swallowing a barb and perhaps not being able to pass it or ingesting the venom from the barb.
It's probably too late but you could have cut the fish open and study the stomach and intestines.
I am much surprised there is no visible mark from possible sting by a ray barb. To me that means the fish was not stung.
Then the only explanation remains is Wed13's hypothesis of swallowing a barb and perhaps not being able to pass it or ingesting the venom from the barb.
It's probably too late but you could have cut the fish open and study the stomach and intestines.
The night he died, I knew I would have time to bury him. I wrapped him in plastic and put him in the freezer. Today I buried him, but not before a rudimentary autopsy. His stomach was empty and shrunken. I'm not a pathologist, but I did not see anything out of the ordinary.
