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Been having bichir fish for more than 2 year now, although i already own a small Polypterus endlicheri, i decide to invest a bit more $$ in a larger Polypterus endlicheri in my other tank with my ornate, senegal senegal and albino senegal with the average size of about 14-16cm long.

But to my horrer this afternoon , the bichir i just bought 2 days ago just turn over upside down in the tank near the filter, it was still alrite in the morning b4 i leave for school....

I try to save it and put in a backet with air pump provided...it move its mouth a little and its gill is moving a tiny bit....after about 4 hr pluz it stop moving completely....i am really sad and disappointed and guilty about this....and really have no idea what in the hell happen to the bichir...the water condition everything is fine....and i never seen any other bichir attack him, his fin and everything is fine....

i remember a similer situation happen in the tank long long ago...a 10cm senegal senegal, been having for 3 month or so...can't solve the mystery too...other bichir in the same tank are all fine and healthy...
:#(

I'm so sorry you have had such a bad experience

For anyone reading in, I believe this is the fish you speak of, no?

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=110

How did you acclimate him?

I didn't really notice it in your post, so sorry if it is there, but what is the tank size and what other fish or animals were in the tank when he was introduced? Maybe it was just too much. Or, maybe it was just too much load on your bacterial filter with just one more fish.

Have you checked your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH? If the fish was new, do you know how your pH compared to the pH of the tank he came from? If your tank or the lfs tank was aged, there could have been a big difference. High nitrates can really affect fish too when first introduced (over 40ppm).

Also, according to that article in Practical Fishkeeping, these fish are often wild caught and it would not be surprising that it would have came with flukes or other parasites.

Did it ever eat in your tank? What did you feed?

Last edited by Cory_Di at 02-Mar-2005 22:03

Last edited by Cory_Di at 02-Mar-2005 22:04

Thank for the reply ,
truth enough i never seen it feed on anything for the 2 days it is in my tank,i never find it any wrong cause his stomach is full of food when i bought him , the lfs just feeded him some life prawn.

I put him in a 120 gallon us tank together with my ornate bichir ,senegal senegal , albino senegal and a picus cat fish, these four have been in this tank for more than half a year from a 80 gallon tank i previously own. Inside is decorated with quite a lot of drift wood, i only test for ammonia level in the water to make sure it is near to zero as i do 1/4 water tank change every week.

i just don't feel good and splash out some $$ to bought a 'small' Polypterus endlicheri about a 5cm long , in a 30 gallon tank together with some cory and another bigger small dehezi bichir....i been examining carefully since yesterday i bought it...but it hasn't eaten anything yet...i consider normal since it is just adapting to the new environment...one positive thing i notice that this time the bichir is abit swimming more active...hope i can raise it well

in all my tank i put few tea spoon of aquraium salt, don't know if it will have an effect on newly intro fish ?

I'm assuming you predissolved your salt. It can burn them otherwise if they make contact.

Ammonia being near to zero isn't good enough. If a tank has any ammonia reading at all, it is stressful to the fish and even low levels can be deadly to some species.

Are there bacterial starters available in your country - like, Cycle, Stress Zyme, Fritz Zyme, etc.? When adding fish it's always a good idea to add some to give the bacterial colony a boost. You may also want to get a nitrIte test kit to make sure that part of your biofilter is working correctly. Any ammonia or nitrite that shows on a tester is capable of making them sick.

Thank alot for the advise, although my tank been running for more than half a year , think its a great idea to boost the bacteria colony, i will start looking for the bacteria starter right away.