UPDATE: Now my RPB is sick.

[Dez]

depends you can always use those meds in the future if needs be, its up to you and each situation. My last rhom was so bad i euthanized it cos i felt bad keeping it in that state when i knew it would prob wouldnt recover.

As i say its your decision. I find the best way is decapitation but if you cant do that try clove oil in water (in a bucket) to sedate and then freezer.

True enough... I suppose I'll go with your first suggestion. Considering the horribly bad luck I seem to have with any kind of caged/tank animal these days, I may need any remaining medication if I decide to reuse his tank for a new community. Thanks a lot for your help though, even if in the end I can't save my fish.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

keep us posted. I wanna know if it's a fairy tale or tragic ending

 

[Dez]

keep us posted. I wanna know if it's a fairy tale or tragic ending

So far its looking like a tragic ending.

I'm treating him with Melafix, Primafix, and salt. If he lives through the night there may be hope, but as he's currently floating around the top of the water... I'm not optimistic.

 

[Lupin]

you need aquarium salt as it has no iodine in it

Iodine is rarely of any concern contrary to popular beliefs. The concentration of iodine in table salt is not high enough to worry about. If anything, check the labels and look for salts that contain yellow prussiate. Those are the ones you have to avoid.

Dez, from your photos alone, bacterial infection is involved, possibly columnaris as already suspected. There is another common bacterial infection, Aeromonas hydrophila. Both are gram-negative bacteria so broad spectrum antibiotics are useful here particularly a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to combat the issue.

Please stop using Melafix and Pimafix! Give the fish a rest. Both of these treatments will do nothing to its current state at all.

 

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

Iodine is rarely of any concern contrary to popular beliefs. The concentration of iodine in table salt is not high enough to worry about. If anything, check the labels and look for salts that contain yellow prussiate. Those are the ones you have to avoid.

Dez, from your photos alone, bacterial infection is involved, possibly columnaris as already suspected. There is another common bacterial infection, Aeromonas hydrophila. Both are gram-negative bacteria so broad spectrum antibiotics are useful here particularly a combination of Maracyn and Maracyn 2 to combat the issue.

Please stop using Melafix and Pimafix! Give the fish a rest. Both of these treatments will do nothing to its current state at all.

agree 100%

 

[Dez]

I appreciate the post and advice Lupin, but... I'm sad to say, he's already gone.

He died a couple hours ago or so. I checked on him and his gills were no longer moving, so... I'm assuming the tragic end has indeed come.

As usual, I thank everyone for their help... I only wish I could have done something more, or caught the signs much sooner. I will really miss my first 'monster' fish and I regret I couldn't have done better

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

Sorry to hear man. Sounds like you've lost alot of pets recently, what's the next project for you? Or are you just gonna take a break from it all until somethin catches your interest?

 

[Otherone]

Never really been sold on herbal remedies, for externals I use Mardel cleeted cooper - works every time in my house. However with Piranha because they are a small scale fish - I use only 50% of the recommended doses, this also includes salt doses.In your original posting you mentioned the ammonia was a lil' high, you also mentioned feeding the fish and he wasn't eating - was this daily? Did you remove the un-eaten food? Lotsa leftovers on the bottom of the tank - esp. chicken & shrimp can become a breeding ground for bacteria. It's a horrible lesson, but one that must be learned.
So sorry for your lose. When fish are floating at the top upside down the odds of survival are slim to none.

 

[Dez]

Sorry to hear man. Sounds like you've lost alot of pets recently, what's the next project for you? Or are you just gonna take a break from it all until somethin catches your interest?

Thanks very much Ballin', it has indeed been a rough ride lately.

Next project? I'm tempted to continue keeping fish, yes, but I'm going to take a break and really do my research before deciding what kind of fish or community I'd like to keep, as well as find myself a bigger tank. Attila (The piranha) came into my possession rather suddenly and on a whim of "Sure I'll take him!" so I wasn't prepared.

I'm really interested in snakeheads, polypterus and eels, so I think I'll have a look around. A Lungfish would be cool but I think they get almost as big as me

 

[Dez]

Never really been sold on herbal remedies, for externals I use Mardel cleeted cooper - works every time in my house. However with Piranha because they are a small scale fish - I use only 50% of the recommended doses, this also includes salt doses.In your original posting you mentioned the ammonia was a lil' high, you also mentioned feeding the fish and he wasn't eating - was this daily? Did you remove the un-eaten food? Lotsa leftovers on the bottom of the tank - esp. chicken & shrimp can become a breeding ground for bacteria. It's a horrible lesson, but one that must be learned.
So sorry for your lose. When fish are floating at the top upside down the odds of survival are slim to none.

Aye, I know their food tends to make the water nasty... Who knows, maybe that was my error that caused this. I did remove the food if he didn't eat it but some times I'd leave it in for a while... Hoping against hope that he'd give in and eat the damn thing.

As a sudden thought, I'm wondering if by chance the water could somehow be to blame. My first beta lived a year or so but then got ill and died. My second beta got super ill and died a mere couple days after buying him, my rats got skinny and unhealthy-looking before suddenly dying on me, and now this with my piranha. I can't be /that/ horrible of an owner so maybe there's a real problem here I'm not noticing.