tolstoy21 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) Ok so my female apisto died today. I had a sneaking feeling something was up, because she's been very active every day except the past 2 during which she's been hiding under a Catalpa leaf, waiting to shuffle off this mortal coil. Her belly looked full-ish last I saw her alive, slightly rounded, but nothing I'd call bloated like you see in dropsy cases. I just assumed she was well fed. Only one side of her shows that red patch you see in the picture, which was not part of her coloration before becoming ill and dying. She and her fry were the only fish in the tank, a 29 gallon. The male was moved to a community tank over a week ago so he could avoid the female's aggression after she spawned. He appears healthly as can be. There are/were maybe 20 - 30 two-week old fry in the tank. The fry are still in there, just hard to get a count and determine their number/mortality rate, as there are lots of places for a baby fish to hide. But I did just see at least a dozen happily eating BBS. Really not good at diagnosing fish illness or cause of death, so any help would be appreciated. Tank params: pH - 6.8 Nitrates - 5.0 -ish. Definitely well under ten and closer to 5. Hardness - 7 Nitrite - 0 ppm Ammonia - 0 ppm KH/Buffer - 0 Water Temperature - 78 Picture of the deceased below -- Edited October 28, 2020 by tolstoy21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted October 28, 2020 Administrators Share Posted October 28, 2020 What were you feeding in the tank and when was the last time you saw her eat? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 (edited) @Cory I was feeding fluval bug bites. A very occasional small piece of chopped-up red wiggler. Baby brine and micro worms for the fry along with some half grown-out live brine. Now that you mention it, that was the first sign. I did notice she stopped eating a few days ago. I just assumed she was grabbing food when I wasn’t looking because her tummy appeared rounded in a non-alarming way. But, maybe It’s been three or four days since I saw her actually eat something. It was also my observation that I never witnessed this specific fish eat Fluval bug bites, or any food that wasn't alive and moving. I tried some crushed up Xtreme flake a few times. The male would eat anything, and pick food from the gravel. But, like i said, for the female, I never observed her eat anything that wasn't free swimming or wiggling. So, most of her diet was probably baby brine shrimp and some older brine shrimp. Edited October 28, 2020 by tolstoy21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostiesFishes Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Did you happen to look at her gills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 18 minutes ago, FrostiesFishes said: Did you happen to look at her gills? No. But for next time (hoping there is no next time) what does one look for there? Parasites? Coloration? I’d love to know more in general about diagnosing fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostiesFishes Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 @tolstoy21 Well I had lost an angelfish that had spawned two days prior. Seemed perfectly healthy with no issues. Water tested fine, I just had the pair in a 29 gal. I found her dead with in 4 hours of the last time I saw her alive. And I did a little inspection and her gills were all puffy and white. I think it was some sort of gill fungus. But you wouldn’t think she would have spawned if she was distressed and this (fungus) was not noticeable without flipping the gill plate over and looking. The only real thing that was out of the ordinary was she had a very small spawn compared to a normal one. Also in my research into this I came across gill mites/flukes but I didn’t see anything like that. I have an older aquarium book on fish diseases. But maybe we can get some recommendations on something more up to date. The book I have has all kinds of meds that I don’t think are commonly available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 8 hours ago, FrostiesFishes said: I have an older aquarium book on fish diseases. But maybe we can get some recommendations on something more up to date. The book I have has all kinds of meds that I don’t think are commonly available. I think I remember that book, what is the title? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 59 minutes ago, Daniel said: I think I remember that book, what is the title? If you do remember a good book, that would be awesome. I was actually just thinking about that this morning while replying to this thread -- that I should see if there is a good book on the subject that can help me get started in this area of understanding. I know that I can read the heck out of the internet, but usually I like to start with a book on a topic to get the basic gist and background, then I use the internet to supplement that and dive deeper or see what people in all the various communities, etc., have to say on a specific topic. Even if the book is older, that's fine. I'm not looking for the latest greatest up-to-date info. Just a good primer on the subject I can read in my chair. So yeah, book recommendations are welcome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I just ordered this book: It's publication date is 2019 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share Posted October 29, 2020 (edited) Wow, that book is at college text book level pricing! Let me know what you think of the book after you receive your copy. Ohhhh . . . . maybe a high-level book review would be a good forum thread! Edited October 29, 2020 by tolstoy21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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