Sick bichir, can anyone help diagnose him?

[Polyaddict86]

Albinos aren't necessarily weaker, instead it's the constant inbreeding , this is why I always recommend outbreeding

+1, and for the heavy breeding, maybe the poly is just not used to swimming handicap, it will learn how to adjust and maybe that handicap will fix it self.

This is the video of my poor genetic endli when it started to be handicap, it fix itself in after a few months.

 

[mirs]

+1, and for the heavy breeding, maybe the poly is just not used to swimming handicap, it will learn how to adjust and maybe that handicap will fix it self.

This is the video of my poor genetic endli when it started to be handicap, it fix itself in after a few months.

Aww poor guy. Glad he's ok now. Hopefully my guy will recover the same!

It just worried me because my new baby palmas isn't eating and is swimming funny too... not sure if he's gonna make it, he was doing death rolls a few days ago but seems a little better now (though still has swimming problems and refusing food). Hoping they're unrelated...

 

[Polyaddict86]

Aww poor guy. Glad he's ok now. Hopefully my guy will recover the same!

It just worried me because my new baby palmas isn't eating and is swimming funny too... not sure if he's gonna make it, he was doing death rolls a few days ago but seems a little better now (though still has swimming problems and refusing food). Hoping they're unrelated...

What are you feeding the palmas, sounds different from the albino sen, does it dash around the tank when spooked?

 

[mirs]

What are you feeding the palmas, sounds different from the albino sen, does it dash around the tank when spooked?

Yes he does. When he was doing death rolls he would swim around the tank erratically and land on his back, staying there for a few minutes... very distressing to see.

I've tried all my normal foods with him, but he doesn't touch the pellets or krill. I've been trying blood worms- but I'm not sure if he eats them or if they're getting sucked up by the filter eventually. I got him about 2 weeks ago and I haven't seen him eat once is there anything I can do to help him?

 

[Polyaddict86]

Have you tried frozen tilapia or frozen shrimp?

Also when you do water change do you use the same water temp as the tank or you put colder water?

 

[mirs]

Have you tried frozen tilapia or frozen shrimp?

Also when you do water change do you use the same water temp as the tank or you put colder water?

Oh that's a good idea, I'll try that. I use the same temp water ~80 degrees when doing water changes.

 

[Polyaddict86]

Oh that's a good idea, I'll try that. I use the same temp water ~80 degrees when doing water changes.

Ok thats good.

Usually those sympthon is cause by huge water temp change, it gives a shock to the fish nervous system thats why it acts like that.

Another cause is if the fish had a trauma cause by being bullied or getting injured(jumping out the tank or hit its head in the glass/lid or decor).

 

[mirs]

Ok thats good.

Usually those sympthon is cause by huge water temp change, it gives a shock to the fish nervous system thats why it acts like that.

Another cause is if the fish had a trauma cause by being bullied or getting injured(jumping out the tank or hit its head in the glass/lid or decor).

Oh that makes sense- I noticed he was being bullied by another poly in my QT so I had moved him to a different tank. He hasn't death rolled since and his movement has slightly improved since. I'll try feeding him fresh food and see if he continues to improve. Thanks for the advice!

 

[magpie]

Hope things settle and it's the water change temp difference, which it could be. Curious what your water parameters will read, too.

FYI, a death roll in polys is when they are 'killing' something like frozen tilapia, not when they're injured.

For picky eaters you can get frozen bloodworm cubes and soak the pellets in the thawing bloodworm juice, gradually phasing that out once they take the pellets. I've also found that just soaking them for a few minutes in tank water before feeding helps, as it seems to get them softened and stinky.

 

[mirs]

Hope things settle and it's the water change temp difference, which it could be. Curious what your water parameters will read, too.

FYI, a death roll in polys is when they are 'killing' something like frozen tilapia, not when they're injured.

For picky eaters you can get frozen bloodworm cubes and soak the pellets in the thawing bloodworm juice, gradually phasing that out once they take the pellets. I've also found that just soaking them for a few minutes in tank water before feeding helps, as it seems to get them softened and stinky.

Water params were all good- not sure what went wrong with the new guy but he didn't make it The other bichir that was in quarantine with him is thriving though, so I take that as a good sign that the sickly one didn't spread any nasty disease.

My albino from my main tank is also doing fine now, fortunately! It seems like he does the body-bending thing after a good feeding, so I'm guessing it's related to his digestion.

Thank you guys so much for all your help- and thanks magpie for getting me square on my poly-jargin