Sick Bristlenose

[marg]

Something is wrong with one of my Bristlenoses.

He is the largest one in the tank and about an hour ago I noticed him upside down in the tank - not normal for him - usually he sees you and hides.

He is just lying upside down with his mouth wide open and breathing heavily. No other Fish in the tank are affected - they are all doing their own thing as usual.

Does anyone have any ideas? Should I isolate him in the Hospital tank and put a bit of salt in - or would that just make him sicker?

[goldenpigeon]

is he near any drift wood or is he in the centre of the tank? because they sometimes lay on their back when they are resting and have been upside down on drift wood that is close to the ground.

sorry to hear bout him margot :( hope he is ok

[marg]

No, he's about 6 inches away from the driftwood.

He's definately sick because he doesn't move at all - if you put your hand in the tank and touch him he wriggles away a bit but doesn't go far. Normally you only have to go near the tank and he hides.

I just don't know what to do - if it was one of my Discus I'd put it in a salted Hosp. Tank, but I don't know if that will help Bristlenose.

[goldenpigeon]

hmmm.... is he very old? i would definetly separate him so that if he has something he wont spread it to the other fish. next give him a salt dose and pump the temp up to 30 degrees.

i cant really recoment anything else but a picture or 2 would help.

hope he gets better

[marg]

Well it is 12.11am. and he is still hanging on - I gave him a salt bath for about an hour - he is still sick though. Have taken a few Photos - one where he is lying upside down, and one where he is right side up.

[marg]

Picture No. 2 - where he is lying upside down - he keeps his mouth open and breathes fast.

[marg]

At the moment he is just sitting on the floor of the Tank in a corner, facing into the corner. The tank is a Community tank and no-one else is sick. Has anyone any ideas?

[Benny]

Yikes margot, i have NO idea what it could be (i have no experience with catfish however)

Hope he pulls thru,

Best of luck
Benny

[marg]

Thanks Benny. I feel real sad as he is pretty big (almost breeding size I would say) and one of the females is starting to get a bit of size about her - I was hoping that they would pair up, but he definately doesn't look well. I'm praying he will pick up, but I've got an awful feeling he won't.

[goldenpigeon]

did you raise the temperature?

[marg]

Yes Junior - the Temp. was 28, I have raised it to 30.

I am glad I only left him in the Saltbath for an hour - I did a bit of reading and found that Bristlenose don't like Salt. It is 2.26pm. now and he is still hanging on - on his stomach now but still really sluggish - has moved about 12 inches overnight. If you touch him he wriggles around a bit, but I'm trying to avoid touching him cause I don't want to annoy him. Normally if you went near the tank and he was out he'd shoot for cover. I guess all I can do is monitor him and hope for the best.

[sammigold]

I hope he gets better for you margot. Its horrible watching a sick fish and not knowing what to do... :cry: I wish I could help but I don't know what might help.

[Merrilyn]

Margot, I don't know a lot obout bristlenose cats, but I have found a site that might offer some help:-

http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/index.htm

[marg]

Ladyred that is a fantastic site - I have just quickly skimmed through it and it looks really interesting. I scrolled down to Flukes just out of curiosity and it even had a picture of one - I recall someone asking what a Fluke looked like - this site may be a good one to recommend.

As for my little feller, I think I'll just have to keep watching him, and in the meantime keep perusing sites like the one you found in the hope that I can work out what his problem is. He doesn't seem to be breathing as heavy today as he was last noght (hope that's a good sign).

Thank you for your help.

[mcloughlin2]

Is he skinny at all?? Ive never had this problem with any of my bn....sometimes they lay upside down if they are near driftwood but mine have never stayed there if i put my hand in the water... :?

I would put him in the hospital tank and SLOWLY change 20% of the water...if he starts to swim around a bit after that put some boiled peas that have been shelled io some flake but only a bit at a time...

Ps He is breeding size by the looks of it...

[marg]

He's quite fat Mcloughlin.

I will put him in the Hospital tank and give the Peas & Flake a try and see how he goes.

Thanks for the suggestion. I know some people would sayhe's only a Bristlenose and not one of my Discus, but I'm really attached to him (I'm a bit of a softie - I get pretty attached to my Fish/Dogs/Cats).

[mcloughlin2]

A fish is a fish...they are all special.,...i have a kuhli loach a $3 fish but i love him/her...ive had him/her for like 4 years now and if something happened i would be heapz upset... :(


Sam :wink:

[marg]

Bad news everyone - I have been away from the Computer this past week looking after a sick grandaughter, and unfortunately during the week my Bristlenose died. Don't know what the problem was, I just came out one morning and he was gone.

Thankyou to Benny, Junior, Sammi, Mac and Ladyred for all your words of support.

Strange how you get attached to a little ole Bristlenose, isn't it?.

[Merrilyn]

Sorry to hear that about your little friend Margot.

They're all special.

[sammigold]

I'm sorry about that margot... It is very upsetting losing any fishies... I lost one that I've had for about 4 0r 5 years last week just out of the blue! It is just devastating and I really miss seeing him swimming around the tank. RIP my scat and Margots' Bristlenose!

[wyldchyld01]

margot.

aarrgh sorry just noticed your post, catfish can do this a bit if they have too much protein in their diet, doing the salt bath def would have helped it increases metabolism and osmosis within the fish (apparently don't ask me how they measure this lol) and assists with recovery from disease.

Sounds like you certainly did all you can for your fish and i certainly know what it's like to lose one you really like, can't ask for much more, i'm sure he enjoyed life.

Brenton