What to do with sick Ansorgii?

[gangster]

I would do bigger wc's. 5-10 litres is a waste of time. A 30-40litre wc once a week would be better.

 

[micro]

Try to do water change about 50% warm up the temp up to 84F-86F and add salt about 1tsp per 3g. I think it got nitrite poisoning.

Hi!

I did what you said and he is still hanging in there. Thanks!

He is not moving very much and when he does he ends up on his side/back.

How often will I need to change his water from now on? Keep putting in the salt as I change the water?

Thanks for your help!

 

[gangster]

If it were me Id do 40-50% wc's every 4 days. What do you have for filtration?

 

[micro]

If it were me Id do 40-50% wc's every 4 days. What do you have for filtration?

Hi!

In the big tank I have an eheim 2224 prof. and in small tank that I moved him to I have an aqua-el fan-1.

 

[West1]

When he swims, does he swim stiff from half his body towards his tail?

I agree with King on WC's (I would do 20% once a day), bump temp to 84-86* (make sure the water is well aerated) and would add aquarium salt. I wouldnt feed him more than once a week as Bichirs can go a little while with out food

The tank you moved him too, just make sure u are using a cycled filter

 

[micro]

When he swims, does he swim stiff from half his body towards his tail?

I agree with King on WC's (I would do 20% once a day), bump temp to 84-86* (make sure the water is well aerated) and would add aquarium salt. I wouldnt feed him more than once a week as Bichirs can go a little while with out food

The tank you moved him too, just make sure u are using a cycled filter

Well, he dosen't really swim but just moves a little bit ending up on his side or back. I really don't know if i can save him. I haven't seen him taking air at the surface. Poor guy! =(

 

[Infblue]

honestly i'm not sure what else to suggest. a bichir that loses balance is not good IME does it have any external injury or signs of infection? red streaks on body? based on your description, my guess is no, but figured i'd ask anyway. it's probably internal problem, which is difficult to treat.

If WC, salt, temp aren't doing anything, i'm not sure what else a normal hobbyist like us could do other than keep doing it and hope for the best, or start throwing fish meds at it (e.g. broad spectrum antibiotics that can be readily absorbed into the body) as a last resort. usually this would be more justified if you can see signs of infection at least. if there's no signs of anything that you can see, it may or may not be a good idea.

anyway just my 2 cents. good luck.

EDIT: did this happen suddenly? Was it eating well and acting normally up till this happened?

 

[King-eL]

Just remember to count the ratio of the amount of salt you added from your first water change every time you do water change as you don't want to put too much salt.

Is there any signs of infections? Slime coming off, red streaks, fins rottening etc etc?

How is the fish doing now?

 

[micro]

Hi!

I really apriciate your help!

Im sorry to say that he is in the same condition as before. Non I have not seen any external injuries. There might be slightly red on his fins but Im not really sure, it's hard to see.

In case of redness on the fins, what do you suggest? Otherwise I will just keep doing waterchanges and put right amount of salt in the water.

Thank you very much again!

 

[Infblue]

is it getting redder or more area getting red? and do the fins look like they're rotting away? is it on a number of fins? if so, you need to treat with antibacterial meds like antibiotics.

if there are red streaks lining the scales on the body, then you need to treat with antibiotics.