Dying convict - please help!

[rustymaize]

My 1.5 yr old male convict appears to be dying. He is resting on in a rock crevice, will move only if prompted by me or his mate. His fins are not clamped but are not moving regularly and he is not eating. No white spots, no change in the tank or introduction of new fish in over a year. I changed 1/3 water which I normally do.

Please help!! I don't want to loose him :-(

(No signs of bloating or white spots, either. Externally he appears ok, even his coloring is not terrible - more gray than normal but not too bad.)

:bawl:

-Alicia

[rustymaize]

Update - tested the water quality today and it is fine ... pH 7, 0 nitrites, 0 ammonia

Udie is still behaving the same, though. :?:

[Overawed]

Hi Alicia

Sorry about your problem with Udie.

Try raising the temp to 85 degrees F and adding aquarium salts. Maybe put some Stress Coat in to see if that doesn't help him out.

Is he gasping?

[rustymaize]

We gave him a methgreen dip last night, per suggestion from our local fish experts. It was clear he had swim bladder problems, but the cause was not so clear. The dip didn't work unfortunately, and this morning he was not moving at all--lying on his side breathing slowly. We euthanized him for the sake of his mate (didn't want to risk the ammonia). There was no turning back ... I just hope the mate stays healthy.

Thanks for the reply,
Alicia

[Rudy]

Sorry to hear about your convict. You don't feed them feeders by any chance do you?

[rustymaize]

We have fed them pellets and dried shrimp (mostly the former) since the beginning. Tried a few others, including the recommended house bugs, but they didn't take to those as well.

Why do you ask?

[Rudy]

I was jsut wondering if you ever fed them live food,. Mainly. Swim bladder disease is usually caused by introduced parasites. It can also be caused by not soaking pellets before you feed them, however I seriously doubt that was a factor with convicts. Did you bring any new fish into the tank?

I don't mean to beat a dead horse I just want to help you make sure it doesn't happen again. I have never been successful at curing this disease. It is a tough one. :(

[rustymaize]

No, the tank had not been changed--including its inhabitants--in a year and 1/2. We started with 4 convicts, but two of them quickly succumbed to stress related disease after the other two ganged up on them. They are such interesting fish. Udie was actually named b/c he was the smallest when we first got the foursome--and the only male. He was hiding in a plant when we decided to name him Udie, short for Underdog. He proved us wrong very quickly, though! He ended up being 4 times the size of the other fish, pretty much running the show the entire time. I'll sure miss him :cry:

Thanks for the post. It's nice to chat about it, and if you can help save my other I would greatly appreciate it! Do you feel we should add the parasite treatment to the tank as a precautionary measure? We also have antibiotics but have not used them yet. So far, she still appears to be healthy.

[Rudy]

No I wouldn't bother. If the fish is fine there is no need to medicate. I hate meds on my tank as they always seem to cause more trouble then they cure. A hospital tank works better than anything. Maybe the other did surcome to dry pellets. You should feed them some greens like spinach every one in a while. It works as a laxative and will stop things like swim bladder disease.

Good luck :wink: