I'm not forgetting anything T1, I'm fully aware of the fact that there are numerous species sold/marketed as "shrimp" and/or "prawn". This is precisely why earlier I mentioned/questioned shrimp from the supermarket, which often do contain a lot of added sodium. And on that note, yes it is possible that some types of shrimp/prawns could cause more problems than others.
BTW - I'm not in any way attempting to tell you what to advise people, you're big boy do as you please.
The problem with some people is they get so blinded by the forest, they fail to see the trees. This isn't my first rodeo, and as I previously stated .......... Do you have any idea how many THOUSANDS of times over this past decade I have read where someone stated that (pick a brand) of pellets has killed their fish?
Yet in the vast majority of those cases the food had nothing to do with the death of the fish. Yet many of these people will to this day swear it was caused by (pick a brand).
Been there, done that, and could write a book about it.
Personally I find it very difficult to believe that certain small juvie tigs have absolutely no issue with MP, while others outright die from the same food stuff. I think that there's a bit more than that going on .......
Most people that own small juvie tigs feed every day, so if/when their fish becomes sick, vomits, and/or dies, it is going to have recently eaten something, correct? So using the logic posted here, whatever that food was, must be the source of the sudden death. Have I got that right?
The reality is that many juvie tigs are sickly & malnourished when they are recently imported, a percentage have internal pathogens etc, and only after a period of time & they are acclimatized, eating, and otherwise acting & looking normal can one begin to treat them like any other catfish. Anyone that imports SA fish on a regular basis deals with this on every order.
This isn't much different than many other species of SA fish, that have been collected, kept in cramped often less than ideal conditions, and fed live feeders until they are exported. I have a couple of different people I know in these parts that import large orders of fish from SA on a regular basis, including tigs. One of them treats everything with Clout straight away. Usually a half dose for more sensitive species, followed by another dose days later. Sometimes even then he gets fish that for one reason or another simply don't make it through the quarantine period. That's life when you deal in thousands of WC fish on a regular basis, and in that regards tigs are no different than any other fish. Some arrive in very good condition, eat straight away, and live a long healthy life in captivity. Others become sick from the stress of the entire ordeal, and sometimes just don't make it past a few days, weeks, or months.
Add feeders to the equation & you are only asking for more trouble, unless you are raising your own feeders.
123456 ........ if you back to what happened to your tig that vomited & later died, it certainly doesn't seem so clear cut to me, at least not by what you posted on arofanatics. To start with your tig was on feeders by the previous owner/vendor, which I assume you have no idea as to the source or health of those feeders. Within approx. 1 week you got it on MP, along with your other tig, and then posted this.
25/09/2010
http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=436121
"I recently picked up 2 Tigs and they just settled in about a week. The seller told me he could not get them to eat anything but feeders. But after a little patience and luck, I manage to get them to take frozen shrimps.
Now that they are eating, I was wondering if it is necessary to deworm my Tigs. I have read many threads about not giving them anything until symptoms appear. But would it be a good idea to deworm them at least to begin with?
I have read about how sensitive Tigs are to meds so I am not exactly sure how much to deworm them with. Any one care to help?"
At that point I would have dewormed them & treated for IP's, but that's just me.
Then on 26/09/2010 you posted the following.
"I just got them on MP so I am going to see when they will start taking pellets. I was thinking about soaking the pellet or MP in a little deworming med but am unsure what meds Tigs can handle.
I've read so many threads about sudden deaths in Tigs and most of them point to over feeding. I can control the feeding, but I would like to make sure they don't have internal parasites also. I have also read about the red viral outbreaks that cause sudden death that has no cure. Seems like the out breaks could be caused by stress."
Then approx 1 week later on 07/10/2010 you post the following;
"One of my tigs has thrown up a small piece of cut shrimp. I changed the water in the morning and fed him that night. Found the thrown up piece the next morning. I have fed him 7 to 8 times, and this is the first time he has thrown up.
He is about 7 inches and has be breathing with his mouth open the since throwing up.
Is this a normal behavior for them to breath with their mouth open after throwing up? Just want to make sure it's not something else."
"How can you tell if he over-are or panting?
He was definitely panting, but I am not sure if he was panting because of parasites or panting from over-eating."
You clearly didn't know what the cause was at that time, and you not only considered parasites, but also over-eating.
Yet now, you seem quite certain that it was neither.
Then we have this.
30/09/2010
http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=436296
Where a couple of different tig owners suggested to not feed on the same day as you do water changes, as the tig will most likely vomit whatever it has eaten. One of these tig owners stated;
"Basically yes, they likely will vomit the food and just dirty the water again at best. BUT there are many instances in which the fish dies from the stress of a water change with a full belly. In short, the fuller the fish, the greater the risk of death."
Now back track to what happened when your first fish became sick and vomited out its MP, according to you, it was sometime during the night
right after a water change.
So now we have those that state no tig under 12" should be fed MP (due to high salt content?) those that state never feed MP more than once every 2-3 weeks, even if the fish is over 12", and others whom I take simply refuse to feed it at all.
But hey, according to Taksan both you & T1 must be morons, because the only way that tigs die in captivity is due to morons that don't have a clue.
Now lets get things stragiht about tig's.
Most Tig's do not die in captivity...they are killed by morons who don't have a clue.
Nice to have a world class expert such as yourself come in & set the record straight. I'm sure those that have imported
dozens of juvie tigs, over the years and had their share die while in their care, are all morons too.
Gotta luv MFK, where in the absence of facts, experts abound.
