Sudden bichir deaths??

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Cohazard

Cohazard

Arapaima
MFK Member
Jul 13, 2005
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I'm really really down right now.

I have lost 2 bichirs in the past two days and I have no idea what's going on.

Two days ago, I got a small albino sen and a 10" weeksii.

The albino sen perished the next afternoon. When I came home, I saw it upside down on the substrate, twitching, it tried to go to the surface, sank down, and died.:(

Today, I came home for lunch, and my 10" congicus is dead, upside down, and not moving. :(

The skin on it's ventral side is sort of red, but no signs of parasites. :confused:

I really hope someone can help before I loose any other of my prized fish.

I'm going to treat the tank with "jungle labs parasite clear" and salt tonight.

Any thoughts? Advice?

Water params are spot on: Am: 0, Ni:0, Na: 10, ph 7
 
Are there blotches on the fish? It could be some bacteria like Columnaris, Pseudomaonas, or something, I'd do a round of tetracycline. Parasites generally won't kill your fish quickly like that-their goal is to live off the LIVE fish.

I would do a strong antibiotic instead of an antiparasite because it sounds more like a bacterial problem, and antiparasite meds tend to be kinda tough on fish because of how and what they are targeting (other animals).

Is the tank temp OK? make sure it's staying steady and not fluctuating because of a faulty heater.

Did this just pop up from nowhere, or have you introduced any new fish lately?

BTW, if you do a round of antiiotics, keep a separate filter culture going somewhere to replace the lost nitrifying bacteria after you have cleared your water with carbon (which, if you have any, should be removed before medicating).

Good Luck, hope this helps.
 
Oh yeah, when doing antibiotics on something rampant like what you have, I do an initial 50% water change, double dose the first dose, and then daily, for 5 days or so, do 30-50% H2O changes before doing single doses.
 
I am so sorry for your loss.. i hope you find out what is causing it and hope the medicine etc help keep the others safe.. losing something because you expected it is one thing but suddenly is very strange.. sorry again:(
 
I have added several new polys to the collection (the albino sen that died, the large weeksii that's doing fine, and a male ornate that is also doing fine).

Now that you mention it, I believe it is bacterial. I don't know where it would come from though.

I will go get the meds and get started. Thank you for the quick response. :)
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your recent lost. That's really weird. As you can see the albino senegal was doing fine before you got him and he was doing fine after you got him too. That was one nice looking albino long body senegal too. I would do a water change and add salt just as a precaution.
 
FishGoneWild;1161615; said:
I'm so sorry to hear about your recent lost. That's really weird. As you can see the albino senegal was doing fine before you got him and he was doing fine after you got him too. That was one nice looking albino long body senegal too. I would do a water change and add salt just as a precaution.
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Yeah there was nothing wrong with them. I need to find out if anyone at home used my bucket for anything. I get a bad feeling. :(
 
This reminds me of a Columanris outbreak I had years ago when I was keeping Discus. I brought home 3 large, healthy fish that had been sitting in an immaculate tank at a guys house for a few weeks. I didn't quarantine (do as I say-not as I do...) and within two days had an outbreak ravage my collection immediately wiping out the smaller discus. Interestingly, the new fish never got it, they were just carriers. My treament described above (including jacking the temp up to 90) wiped the disease out in no time, with no more fish losses. I know discus and bichirs are worlds apart (or at least an ocean), but you can't discount the possibility of a carrier that doesn't show symptoms. It happens all the time in nature.
 
I know this doesn't help much now but, PLEASE-PLEASE-PLEASE, everybody set up a quarantine tank!!! NEVER-EVER put a new fish into an established tank with your other prized fish!:( Sorry for your loss!
 
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