Help!!Paroon shark is sick!!

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 15:37

It's 2 " in length and i have 2 of them in a 4ft aquarium...one of them looks sick to me..i had one last time acting the same way and finally died...so i'm trying to save this one..it's my fav ..

ok..here it goes..it looks normal from the outside..it has not been eating for some time,and it's getting very weak...i can even catch it by hand(which is quite impossible)
it seems to me that it has just lost it's senses or maybe i should say receptors..(the whiskers etc)...i say this because he cannot feel anything..not even the net in front of it what more to say food...

well,that as much as i can think of now...someone please help me...i really would not want to loose any of my fishes...

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Aug 2003, 15:40

Did you test your water?

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 15:48

Silurus wrote:Did you test your water?

yeah..water is fine...i had to keep my water fine coz i have delicate fishes in there...everyone else is okay...

and yeah..they are all in blackwater..

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Aug 2003, 15:56

What is the pH of the water? Paroon sharks are not inhabitants of blackwaters (the pH of which is too low for them), and it is likely that they are suffering from osmotic shock.

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 18:49

oh...they cannot take blackwater...and yeah...the water is acidic...okay..thanks..

nad how bout now...though i wont repeat the same mistake again..i need a cure now..

currently,i put him in yellow powder and salt...would it help??

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Aug 2003, 18:50

There is no need to medicate the fish if it is suffering from osmotic shock. Just transfer it into less acidic water and it should recover, provided that its gills are not irreparably damaged.
In fact, adding salt just makes it worse, as this would exacerbate the effects of osmotic shock (osmotic shock is primarily caused by the electrolytes in the water and adding salt just puts more electrolytes in the water).

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 18:56

alright..i'll do it right away...thanks bro...and i sincerely feel very sorry for the fish...
i hope it post no offence to catfish lovers...

DeLBoD · Post by **DeLBoD** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:05

NO offence Iâ??m sure. The fact you posted and asked for help is a good sign I think.

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:10

thanks bros...so i changed 30% of the water...hope that it would be better..
btw,how long would it take for these sickness to go away??

so at least i roughly know what to expect and what went wrong..

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:18

Depending on the amount of damage to the gills, recovery may be as soon as a couple hours.

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:22

sorry for asking too many question but i would really like to know more about it..

so,are there any significant physical changes that is within our visual capability??

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:29

To the gills or to the fish? Since the pH affects the enzymes in the gills primarily, there might not be anything physically visible.

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:33

alright..meaning that as long as it starts to eat again...it's alright..is that it??

btw,bro silurus...you've been really helpful..while i was about to burst into tears when i really dont know what to do...been posting everywhere but no one seems to know or reply...

anyway,if only i could upload an image...then at least you can get a peek at the main character here...

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Aug 2003, 19:36

If it goes back to being more active and you are no longer able to catch it with your bare hands, then it's on its way to recovering.
I've been there myself, having transferred my electric cat into a new tank with a much lower pH. The electric cat recovered in a few hours after a 50% water change.

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 02 Aug 2003, 01:47

I just couldn't fall asleep as I felt so guilty and sorry for it.So i sat there beside it hoping and praying that everything would turn out fine when the sun rises.As I sat there,I noticed that it was getting weaker and weaker by the minute.By 0655 hrs ,it's colour was starting to fade.
Later,it's condition didn't seem to be improving but instead,things got worse than I expected.I had no choice but to prepare myself mentally for the worse.
By 0732 hrs,it landed on it's belly but still struggling to catch it's breath.
52 minutes later,it took everything that was left in itself and swam it's last distance.Sadly,it didn't last long.Finally,it went into a spastic situation and is less than a minute,we parted from there.I felt so lost at that moment as it left me with nothing...only memories and in tears.
At that moment,the times we spent seems so short though the good times we had seems neverending.

But......it has come to the end.It left me....and somewhere,there it would rest in peace.

It shall always be remembered!!!

Post by **Silurus** » 02 Aug 2003, 03:57

Sorry to hear about that. Looks like the gills had suffered irreparable damage.

shawnme · Post by **shawnme** » 02 Aug 2003, 07:28

Silurus wrote:Sorry to hear about that. Looks like the gills had suffered irreparable damage.

yeah..i guess...learned a very painful lesson there....

Help!!Paroon shark is sick!!

Help!!Paroon shark is sick!!

The come and goes in life.