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View Full Version : Re: Geriatric Fish - getting lethargic - help ?


RedForeman ©®
December 8th 03, 06:09 PM
just for curiosity, how big is this 18 year old fish?? And what size tank is
it in??? Have you slacked off on water changes recently???

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RedForeman ©®





"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> OK... I'll be the first to admit that my fish is old. I need a
> little help and I can't find anyone around here who will say
> anything but "he's old". (I can accept that, but I still feel
> a need to ask about care). Sorry for the long post, but hopefully
> this will answer most of the followup questions about him.
>
> He's an iridescent shark, approximate age 18 years old. He's
> the last of a group of the only 4 fish ever in the tank, all of whom
> lived long lives of up to 16 years. These fish have always meditated
> at night, sitting on the bottom at rest. A tap on the top of the
> tank or opening the cover would always bring them up for food. Now
> he goes into a deep meditation multiple times in the day, and even
> raps on the tank will not stir him. I've had to touch his tail
> with the net to get him to wake up to eat. Once awake, he eats
> normally and stays active for a few hours.
>
> Two days ago he nearly went to fish heaven. He was not moving, and
> at one point even curled onto his side and looked like he was done.
> Although the tank was not too dirty, I did a 50% water change and
> let him rest for most of the day. He came back around and was active
> for the next day. Now he's getting lethargic again, and I've had
> to "wake him up" with a tap from the net twice to get him to eat.
> Once up, he stays up a couple of hours, then goes back into a deep
> sleep.
>
> I see no other evidence of illness, although I don't know that I
> know what to look for other than fin rot or funny colored spots.
> He's not losing weight.
>
> So, anyone have nay advice for this ancient fish ? Do fish get like
> this when they are old ? Is there anything I might look for, or some
> special treatment he needs... perhaps he has an illness ?
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Mel
December 8th 03, 09:20 PM
Have you checked your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)? there
could be something not right there which if fixed could improve things for
your shark. if he was mine I would start daily 30% water changes to see if
it improved things
Mel.


"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 8 Dec 2003 13:09:37 -0500, "RedForeman ©®"
> > wrote:
>
> >just for curiosity, how big is this 18 year old fish??
> >And what size tank is it in???
>
> Surprisingly, none of them ever grew past about 7 inches.
> It's a 30H tank. There were originally four, which I figured
> limited their growth. But as they passed away over the years,
> the remaining fish never grew to greater than this size.
> Maybe they were already "seniors" and unable to grow (?)
>
> >Have you slacked off on water changes recently???
>
> I've always been a little slack on water changes, to tell you
> the truth. But, since they lived long lives, I figured I must
> be doing something right. I haven't changed the pattern
> lately, although for the last year or so this guy has been
> alone so the ecology of the tank has probably changed a
> little. I have tried to cut down on food to compensate for
> the single fish. They do like to hunt and seek at eating time,
> so they find most of the food. I've been trying to feed him a
> little every few hours to keep him active rather than larger
> amounts twice a day as I used to do.
>

Donald Kerns
December 10th 03, 08:00 AM
Bob wrote:

> I haven't checked ammonia (etc) because I'd heard varying stories as
> to whether that mattered with a fresh water aquarium. I'm assuming
> from your post that it does.

Yes, ammonia matters for freshwater fish. Probably the #1 killer after
systemic poisoning via overfeeding.

-D
--
"When you've lost your ability to laugh, you've lost your ability to
think straight." -To Inherit the Wind

RedForeman ©®
December 10th 03, 05:24 PM
"Bob" > wrote in message
> On Mon, 8 Dec 2003 21:20:27 -0000, "Mel" > wrote:
>
> >Have you checked your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)?
there
> >could be something not right there which if fixed could improve things
for
> >your shark. if he was mine I would start daily 30% water changes to see
if
> >it improved things
>
> I haven't checked ammonia (etc) because I'd heard varying stories as
> to whether that mattered with a fresh water aquarium. I'm assuming
> from your post that it does.
>
> Would daily 30% changes remove too much good bacteria ?

A good 30%-50% wouldn't hurt at all, especially if you only do a regular
water change once a month... this one should be ok...

--

RedForeman ©®

RedForeman ©®
December 12th 03, 02:35 PM
The bacteria isn't 'in' the water, as much as it's attached to everything IN
the tank, the decor, filter, glass, gravel, etc... the water is just a
medium for breathing, persay...

I was under the impression that you hadn't done water changes in a while, so
my suggestion to do a large WC was only to wake up or refresh the tank...

HTH....

--

RedForeman ©®





"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 12:24:05 -0500, "RedForeman ©®"
> > wrote:
>
> >A good 30%-50% wouldn't hurt at all, especially if you only do a regular
> >water change once a month... this one should be ok...
>
> Red:
>
> The previous poster suggested *daily* 30% changes. I think that's
> too much too often.
>
> I did do a 50% change the day I noticed he looked like he was going
> down. That seemed to help. I changed the filter/charcol a day ago and
> that seems to have helped too. His inactivity periods are becoming
> smaller, although he still sleeps a lot sounder than he used to.
>
> I'm thinking of maybe 25% changes once a week for a while... any
> thoughts on that ? Should I do only 10% changes ?
>
>