Help Pacu Really Sick

probably because of the age and how hard they are to come by.... i dunno.


well he is alittle better ti think... he moves around more and all but still is sitting on his tail facing the top of the tank just leaning against the glass... he seems to try or want to eat but its like he just cant do it... he seems like he remembers thats where i put the food in but i dunno. the hole type thing on his head area is pretty deep 1/8 " or so and im not sure if thats just the bacteria eatting away or what but im keeping the water changes/gravel cleaning/medicine up every day and so far he is fighting strong. Its weird though cause i do the gravel everyday and its dirtier then it ever was before in a week... odd... wonder why

you might need a more powerful filter for the waste. the tail standing is worrying and may show he has damaged internal organs or indeed his brain may be damaged. can you tell yet if he has had a poo recently and if so what did it look like? how are the inside of the gills? they should be a healthy meaty red colour.
still rooting for you both

no idea about poo havent seen anything really but i havent exactly looked cause i have no idea what to look for you know?
as for the gills they are redish/purpleish ... ..i really hope he can pull threw , he is acting really weird though... i might try to take a small video and host it and post it here if you think that could help , i think at this point its just hoping he recovers but it would be nice to figure out if he has brain damage or organ damage that couldnt be healed... he is a fighter though...

o yeah forgot to write this.... i think it might just be because the filter is basically off most of the time since i cant use carbon... just using the bio wheels and all ... i just checked the ammonia and that isnt up anymore at all ..its perfectly 0. Im gonna check nitrate and all now though but thats always been fine. when i get close to the tank he does respond now instead of just laying there so thats a semi good sign as well.. just wish he would eat cause that would help alot.. Should i try and use that garlic type stuff thats supposed to give the fish more of a appetite ?

can you not just take the carbon out the filter and replace it with some filter floss? at least that would help keep the tank clean.
as for food, try him with anything you think he might like.
gill colour sounds a little too dark as it should look a nice cherry red. with dark gills it means poisoning of some kind and usually due to high levels of ammonia and nitrites. maybe you should get an external filter to give more media for bacteria to work.
as for the poo if you havent seen anything then he isnt doing well at all. healthy is dark coloured and a solid mass. unhealthy is white and string like.

ok checked poo is normal colorish.... ammonia in the tank is 0 as of lastnight but nitrates are up alittle which is odd... can i use the ammonia chips instead of carbon? when i get back in from work im gonna do another water change right now he is back on his side which he hasnt been in a few days....

magicvega said:

Ok let me start with the basics... 55 g tank fish was bought the size of a nikel now he is way too big for the tank but he is semi happy it seems and has lived so far for 5+ years. nothing has changed in the tank in along time only just got him some gold fish and yeah he eats them since he was little lol. All of a sudden though he is laying on his side now for 3 days and i have no idea why. Everything in the tank tests ok ph nitrate ammonia etc and i did a 20% water change since and put in some medicine that supposedly fights many common diseases and bacteria. I noticed he hasnt been eatting the pellets or anything over the last couple weeks but everything else is the same.. he is putting up a great fight, he has been on his side with no noticable ick/cloudy eyes/ anything now he has bruises and cuts from laying on the rocks and sometimes he tries to swim but its more like a drunken float then swim. He is gulping pretty hard for breathes up to like 100+ times a minute although im not sure what is normal. Now the medicine stuff says to not run your filter and all and now in just like 2 days the tank has like alleage all over the glass which is odd cause i never had that problem so im guessing its from all the stuff i recently put in. any help would be great, thanks in advance, [email protected]


55 gallon tank
nitrate ph and ammonia all good nothing abnormal at all.
only new fish added were goldfish for food.

Click to expand...

You need to run the tank with the filter, all the time. What's making your pacu worse is stagnating water, and the fact that most meds reduce oxygen in the water. Thats why hes gasping.

he stopped gasping awhile ago really.... but thats my point the meds say to stop filtration thats why i have been alternating. im creating something up now and gonna run the floss with ammonia chips maybe and the bio wheels and with the like 5 air stones i hope thats good... should be i would think... then ill stick carbon in a few hours before i treat i guess and then remove as i put the meds in. never knew it could get so complicated haha.... usually i try and treat the diseases and the fish either get better or die after a couple days... he is trying his best.

ok gills inside look more red then any other color like purple but just on the outside of the gill area he has like greenish black spots ..very small almost look like blackish ick. he is breathing pretty slow as compared to the other days right now and is on his side just hanging out.

its good his gill colour is back to normal.
i agree you need to keep the filter running and add extra air if you can. dont worry about the meds, they are fine without carbon in the filter.
dont know what the spots are though, could be residual ammonia burns healing up.
just keep going

i am ..... i have the filer running with ammonia chips and the floss and bio wheels in stead of just the bio all the time and i got him to eat 10 pellets...i know its not much but 20 is better then none. has anyone ever seen a fish swim as i have said from being sick from this ever? im just wondering if it makes sense that it could be causing his weird "swimming"

ok new update.... so tank stats are no ammonia ph is good but theres some nitrates in the water that im working on... theres never usually any but im not sure if its to do with the filtration since theres no carbon or water or etc but its like .25 lowest on the list. day before yesterday he was swimming around all day and sometimes he even was swimming somewhat normal but most of the time it was upside down and sideways and with his tail on the gravel. Then yesterday he layed on his side most of the day...i came home did a water change and he was barely breathing...almost sleeping just all calm so i thought he wasnt gonna make it... so since lastnight he woke up kinda and has been swimming since and its been like a normal swim with a every once in awhile on the side or etc... now he has been treading water for 4 hours or more like he normally would ... i just came in from work and he is still in the same area... he hasnt eatten much but im trying to throw pellets in his mouth and sometimes he swallows some lol. some of his redness is back from the day he laid on his side so im guessing that its from that. The hole in his head is started to regrow and his fin is starting to regrow as well so thats good.

So question is should i keep treating with the meds since they say only 5 days and its been 10 or so? Keep up the water changes daily im guessing till he gets better but im wondering about the meds mostly.

PS im Looking at bigger tanks today because he sure deserves it anyway but if he lives he deserves a river not a tank haha , im gonna see what i can come up with for a idea to spread the weight over the floor lol.

Ok here is a pic i just took ... the tank is not clean at all because its hard to keep up with the water changes and cleaning the glass and im sure you guys understand lol... normally the glass is clean and all and the water also... but its decently clean.

He has some reddiesh marks from the gravel and fins missing and all but as you can see its alot better then it was and its healing. He is swimming and looking real good today. He is even getting alittle scared like normal when i go near the tank... just hope he gets fully better and starts eatting as well.

Around his gills theres kinda like extra skin and alittle bit of it is really a white color...i just wanted to know if thats normal for recovery....

You might wanna switch to some sand substrate soon, as the gravel is a pit painful looking for him.. Looking much better now ! Great job! Now to buy/build him a bigger tank! lol

He does look a lot better, but its important you keep with the water changes until you get a bigger tank for him. I hope thats soon or you could be back to square one again.
the extra skin i think is normal.