Is My Bn Sick?

[rust81]

i came home today to find my 3/4 month old bn lying on his/her back under a slate cave roof? I thought she was dead so lifted the roof off of the cave and then she moved to the bank of the tank. She is now hiding out at the back of the tank but is not her usual busy self. All the levels in the tank are ok (ammonia and nitrite both 0 and nitrate is about 20ppm) Bit suprised as to what is going on. Could she just be resting, or is she sick?

 

[dane261]

what other bn is in the tank with it they do hang upside down in caves,under wood anything where they can hide mine mainly go upside down when they are guarding eggs so theres nothing to worry about just doing his/hers daily routine

cheers dane

 

[rust81]

No other bns in the tank apart from this one. What was weird was that it wasnt actually hanging upside down using its mouth. It was more like resting on its back on one of th piece of rocks that i use as the wall (i then rest the slate on top to create the cave roof)!

 

[rust81]

Can i use Melafix to treat in case this is a bacterial infection? Will this be ok with my other fish?
Last time i had to use treatment was for fin rot - and this chemical killed my bn

 

[branjie]

I was about to post about the same problem. My female bristle nose catfish has been in the same spot, stuck to the underside of a decorative urn in the tank all day. Normally this pleco is busy all day. My other pleco (who is also female) is acting normal. I have 20 fish in total in this aquarium, so I've been worried about cross infection. I hope my pleco and yours is back to normal tomorrow.

 

[LakeyGal]

It was more like resting on its back on one of th piece of rocks that i use as the wall (i then rest the slate on top to create the cave roof)! .

A couple of weeks back my BN did exactly the same over a couple of days, I think in her case she was full of eggs and as I do have a Male in with her she laid eggs about 2 days later and since then she's been fine.

 

[Straydum]

keep an eye on your bn. does it still eat normally?

 

[rust81]

well she's not eating wafers - but is still eating the algae off the glass and substrate - she looks a lot more placid. I dont think she is ready to spawn as there is no male in the tank ;-), so dont think its that. I'm hoping she will recover. Can i use melafix just in case??

 

[branjie]

Mine has hardly moved for 24 hours. It hasn't left the urn it is stuck to. I don't think it has eaten anything. Can they still spawn eggs even if there isn't a male in the tank (ones that aren't fertilised)?

I'm reluctant to put medicine in my tank, as I've heard it may do harm to some other fish I have. rust81, maybe if you tell the others what other fish you have, they might be able to say if using melafix is o.k???

 

[branjie]

Me again. I called my LFS and the guy said that perhaps the BN is too well fed at the moment, and taking a rest because it's not hungry. He said if you don't feed it for a couple of days it might perk up and start looking for food. Mine has started to move about a bit today, so hopefully she will be o.k.

 

[rust81]

I woke up this morning to find my bn dead. She was behaving funny last night and was stuck on the glass at the very top of the tank - as if she wanted out!! The tank is wekk oxygenagted - so cant think it was due to low oxygen content in the water. I have taken some pics of her as she had a very thinn white slim underneath her. Again, not sure if this has appeared since she died, or whether thats what has killed her. All my other fish are looking ok, apart from the male dwarf gourami - who isnt eating and hasnt been for the past 10 days or so!:
3 tiger barbs
3 neon tetras
3 cardinal tetras
3 dwarf gouramis

 

[branjie]

Oh dear, sorry to hear that your BN died. I hope your Dwarf Gourami will be o.k.