Some new fish...

Status
Not open for further replies.
The wholesaler I go to down here always has a bunch in from the Keys, so he usually has some sort of deal on them. Most are in the 1.5-3" range, so they are pretty small. I just hate to get a fish I know I can't keep for life. I have a naso I am growing out right now that is going to need to get traded in within six months and it sucks. Unfortunately in my current place I can't get a bigger tank, so either I can keep the fish for a while and trade it in or not get it at all.
 
Well, the scribbled isnt looking good... he's starting to really list to the side and start to basically have his belly float, then he catches himself by flapping his fins really hard. A couple seconds to minutes of swimming normal, then he starts leaning over sideways and floating again.

Doesnt look good at all.
 
This pic here:

scribbled001.jpg



That lump on its left side, that is it right?
 
Yeah, that is the bump, Dan, but it's much bigger than it looked in the bucket, it got bigger over the course of a week. It protrudes about half an inch more than that picture.

I think this one shows it best.

scribbled012.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14953003#post14953003 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Patrick12
Def use hypo at 1.009 on the Achilles. If you can do that for 4-6 weeks, he might pull thru.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the achilles is doing great. Not a spot on him since the second day of hypo. I'm not worried about him at this point, but the scribbled I'm pretty sure is a goner.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14953076#post14953076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by danorth
How long does the LA hold fish before posting on DD? Isn't it like 30 days they say?
Click to expand...
It isnt 30 days, 2 weeks... I pulled this right from their website.

"Once again, all fish brought into this facility are quarantined, observed and medicated if need be for a minimum of two weeks."

Obviously this one had some issues with shipping.
 
Recty, sorry to hear this. Yours has the same exact symptoms that mine did. Like you mentioned, his belly wants to float to the surface, and the fish must struggle to correct its position in the water. You mentioned shipping, and that is what I though the issue with mine was. But the fact that Two of these fish from the same location have the same symptoms, makes me think that shipping is not the case. When I was dealing with LA, they basically said that it was my fault, and that the fish was like this due to the fact that I did not QT it. They said that it was stress related. IMO this is just not the case.

I hope that you have better results than I did.

~Michael
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14954576#post14954576 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by danorth
Think shipping did this? Elaborate please......
Click to expand...
Well, I dont KNOW it's shipping related, but I trust LA to not ship out sick fish, so the fact that it arrived to me with a problem makes me think it at least began to manifest while in flight.

I just think something happened to it while it was shipping... maybe it got banged around real bad and just stressed. The water quality itself when it came in seemed excellent, so I hesitate to blame the water.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14954596#post14954596 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by michael_cb_125
Recty, sorry to hear this. Yours has the same exact symptoms that mine did. Like you mentioned, his belly wants to float to the surface, and the fish must struggle to correct its position in the water. You mentioned shipping, and that is what I though the issue with mine was. But the fact that Two of these fish from the same location have the same symptoms, makes me think that shipping is not the case. When I was dealing with LA, they basically said that it was my fault, and that the fish was like this due to the fact that I did not QT it. They said that it was stress related. IMO this is just not the case.

I hope that you have better results than I did.

~Michael
Click to expand...
Well, it could still be shipping... it could just be they are not a very hardy angel and quite a few of them dont survive the trauma of shipping. It's hard to even find much information about scribbled angels that are doing well in captivity in the average aquarists tank, which leads me to believe they might have more problems than I suspected.

For what it's worth, I did put mine right into my main tank after acclimating, it could be the other fish stressed it out, but I dont think so. It only got bugged by the emperor and that was only briefly. I separated it off with eggcrate and the two angels plus the other fish would come up to the eggcrate together and stare, no hostility there, I dont think it was stress that did in the angel.

Anyway, I started Prazipro treatment last night on the off chance that he has some internal parasites causing the bulge, or something else that maybe the prazi will help with.
 
Personally, here is what I believe about both fish. I do believe that it was a mixture of things. I 100% agree that DD gets all fish to eat prior to shipping and they are somewhat conditioned to captivity, BUT they are not disease and parasite free, nor are they ready to be thrown into the mix with all your other fish.

ALL fish need to be QT'd prior to entering the display with already accimated fish and need a place of relaxation to adapt. Once a large fish has a moment to settle in, it is almost indestructable.

1) Large fish tend to ship poorly due to the confined space. The bubble in its belly was more than likely due to the fish swallowing air while in transit. This goes away fairly quickly once the fish relaxes in its new environment. This could have been cured easily if the fish was set in an area where it was by itself and was allowed to relax. Even though there was no seen aggression during the day, there is a still a good 8-10 hour period at night that you cant see what is going on. Often times this is when the aggression occurs.

2) Both large scribbles (7-8") were placed directly into tanks with other large angels that compete for food and territory. As we all know angels are some of the most territorial fish in this hobby hence the reason most places will only sell one angel at a time.

3) Recty's angel was placed into a tank with ich, this compounded the issue and if there were any internal issues with the fish upon shippment this made it 10x harder to get rid of.

4) They did not eat due to the fact that they were stressed from the fish day. THey may have been in DD for 2-4 weeks, but they were shipped long distances to their final homes (Michael in NC and Grant in Alaska). I have NEVER had a fish not eat for me and after the fish has some time to relax they will eat as long as you offer them what they are used to eating previously.

This is a classic story for everyone that wants to mix large angels/semi-aggressive fish together. Time is critical in this hobby and going to fast just sets everything up for a big fall.

In hind sight this is a good lesson and people should learn from this. QT, QT, QT...
 
I was just reading here, granted it is for goldfish, but....

http://www.petplace.com/fish/buoyancy-problem/page1.aspx#

and they mention the green pea as well. What if you hold the fish to the side of the tank and force feed it a pea? I've force fed fish before. Kind of like when my little blue jaw didn't want to eat, I rubbed shrimp all over its face until it bit it and took it in, then kind of blocked its mouth so it couldn't spit it back out. Sounds extreme, but desperate times call for....
 
Last edited:
I doubt it's either constipation or swallowed air. Either one typically causes equilateral bulging, not one sided. Air also would have long since been expelled via fish farts ;) Unfortunately odds are high it has to do with collection and decompression practices. Internal infections from needle decompression often are one sided bulges like in this case :(
 
they were stressed from the fish day.
Click to expand...

Freudian fish slip? :)

So, would this be similar to a Harlequin Tusk wasting away because the QT is not a "comfortable" environment, and developing complications that it could otherwise overcome?

It did the pea thing with my piranhas, and it worked great, although I didn't have to hold their mouths closed.
 
I'd have to agree with Chris, at least partially my mistake for putting it into a display tank rather than into a QT.

This is my first fish I've had problems with and larger angels are notoriously more delicate to deal with at first, I should have QT'd, I know that. Still, we will see, it might recover, but it's doubtful.

As far as it not eating goes, I've never not had one eat yet either, until this guy.
 
Stupid question, but is it possible that the fish was not transported in a pressurized portion of the plane?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

R
Sandbed depth question
Replies
9
Views
316
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
B
NEED HELP!
Replies
2
Views
131
JohnL
JohnL
R
some random questions
Replies
1
Views
224
SantaMonica
S
T
New 55g setup. Advice for fish appreciated
Replies
6
Views
431
Uncle99
Uncle99
P
New installation / No a new Hobbits
Replies
14
Views
263
Pump_Guy
P
Back
Top