Lophiosilurus alexandri Need HELP.....please

[briankchung]

One of Lophiosilurus alexandri had fish blader problem.Its been floating on the water for nearly 2 weeks.What should I do and why did this happen to the fish?
Size of fish is 25inches
Water chem. PH6.5
29 degree
NO2---0
NO3---0
Amo---0.5

At first it didn't eat for 5 days later it start swimming on its belly..... its so fustrating just to see it there floating in the tank.....

[MatsP]

The water chemistry looks a bit scary: Ammonia level of 0.5, and no nitrate. How long has the tank been running? If the tank is well established, is it possible that the fish has grown to such an extent that the filter is no longer capable of giving sufficient biological filtration?

What size is the tank? What sort of filtration?

Sorry that I can't really give any advice on the treatment, but we should first establish what is wrong. Most fish illness is caused by something wrong in the tank, and if you fix that (quickly enough), the fish usually recover with minimal treatment.

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Mats

[briankchung]

The water chemistry looks a bit scary: Ammonia level of 0.5, and no nitrate. How long has the tank been running? If the tank is well established, is it possible that the fish has grown to such an extent that the filter is no longer capable of giving sufficient biological filtration?

What size is the tank? What sort of filtration?

Sorry that I can't really give any advice on the treatment, but we should first establish what is wrong. Most fish illness is caused by something wrong in the tank, and if you fix that (quickly enough), the fish usually recover with minimal treatment.

--
Mats

The tank been established for 11 months.It runs with a japanese Iwaki pump with 3200Liters per hr. with Ehiem filter media(looks like round ceramic balls). and cotton

1/3 water change per week,treated with stress coat
The tank is 4' x 3' x 3'
Thanks Mat

[Martin S]

OK then, more questions:
What do you feed it? How often?
Do you know it's age?
How are you testing the water - strip tests or individual liquid drop tests? Have you had the water tested at your LFS for comparison (I think this might be worthwhile).
Is there any swelling? When was the last time it fed?
Martin

[briankchung]

OK then, more questions:
What do you feed it? How often?
Do you know it's age?
How are you testing the water - strip tests or individual liquid drop tests? Have you had the water tested at your LFS for comparison (I think this might be worthwhile).
Is there any swelling? When was the last time it fed?
Martin

I feed it with frozen smelts like 3 inches big.Shrimps de-shelled and sometimes clam meat.
I feed them once every 3 days
I got it when its around 6 inches and had it for a year
Test water with individual liquid drop test. Water in local shops are usually 7.2 PH
I do have compressed peat in my filter to lower the PH
Don't see any swelling.The fish is just floating in the tank upside down.Haven't eaten in more than 2 weeks and its still alive......
Thanks for help

Brian

[Martin S]

Doesn't sound like a bad diet, nothing there that I wouldn't feed,
As Mats says

The water chemistry looks a bit scary: Ammonia level of 0.5, and no nitrate

.
Have you double-checked your readings? You say what the local shops PH is, but what about yours? With peat the PH will drop considerably - I'd avoid it unless keeping particularly sensitive fish, not that I think this is the problem.
All info you can give might help us find an answer - these fish can go some time without food as long as they have been well fed in the past (and it appears yours has), so don't worry about that side of things quite yet.
Martin

[amiidae]

I am not very sure what may be the problem. Do you observed any heavy breathing ? Any red streaks on the fins or body ? Any cloudy eyes ?

You may want to isolate the fish in a tank with much lower water level.

can you post a photo of that fish ?

[Richard B]

If it is a swim bladder problem it is due to something like a bacterial infection affecting the working of the swimbladder - these things are difficult to diagnose specifically & treatment can be lengthy & sometimes a little hit & miss.

Firstly, if the fish has bouyancy problems, this may increase stress on the fish so if possible i would drastically lower the water level to see if the fish can deport correctly in shallow water. Feeding is not your primary concern as if the fish is stressed it won't eat anyway. A treatment with an antibacterial medicine from the lfs would be my first action & with a fish like this i would probably try seek specialist advice from a vet with specific fish knowledge & interest

[briankchung]

First of all,thank you for all you guys helpin me out.
There are 4 fish in the same tank without any other kinds of fish.2 of them are just feeding like crazy.One of them stopped feeding and just float on top of the tank.I did apply an internal bac. med from Taiwan but I suspect it might be the smelt I feel to the fish because I didn't defrost it fully and might destroied the swim blader??Is this possible to happen?
I will recheck the readings tonight. In the process of setting up another tank for the sick fish with a lower water level
I put peat cause where they live in Rio San Francisco with PH around 6.5 if Im correct.....
Its just so depressing seeing the fish floating there suffering,is this even cureable or I should just take it out of the tank and freez it to end the pain?
Thanks once again

Brian

[briankchung]

I am not very sure what may be the problem. Do you observed any heavy breathing ? Any red streaks on the fins or body ? Any cloudy eyes ?

You may want to isolate the fish in a tank with much lower water level.

can you post a photo of that fish ?

None of the above....they just like the same since I got them and I have a chiller just to keep water below 30 cel....

[MatsP]

Freezing large fish is very slow. It's better to use clove-oil or another anasthethic product that is suitable for fish (try your local fish-friendly vet).

--
Mats

[Richard B]

I suspect it might be the smelt I feel to the fish because I didn't defrost it fully and might destroied the swim blader??Is this possible to happen?
I

Although this would not affect the swim bladder directly, feeding large food items to fish that will ingest it whole, where it is not completely defrosted doesn't sound like a good idea & may create problems with knock-on effects.

[briankchung]

Thanks for all the help and replies.Today I just set up another tank and will be transfering it over in a few days. Will up date on the fish..... sigh....

Brian

[briankchung]

sorry missing in action for awhile.Yes the 2 with the blader problem fish died One advice always defrost you food.The remaining 2 fish are doing well and hope they spawn after a few years.Think they are one male and 1 female? One is a bit bigger than the other.Any advice on the sex on Lophiosilurus alexandri ?