Goodbye my beloved Sluggie....

LadyMinion · Dec 8, 2004

Woke up and came downstairs yesterday to see a sad sight. Slug, our Congo puffer, had died.

How? We have our (strong) suspicions. Less than a week ago, we removed our Chaca Chaca catfish from another tank because he was getting hassled by the other tankmates. He's only tiny, so we popped him in a breeding box in Slug's tank.

A couple of days ago I noticed Slug sitting on the sand and huffing more than usual. A quick test showed the PH had dropped from 7.4 to 6.2 - we had heard Chacas can do this but never in the previous tank he was in. A 50% water change was done and the levels were back to normal.

At this point, I should have relocated the Chaca, but I decided to regularly test the PH and change the water as necessary. I didn't expect the PH to drop back down again in less than two days. At the time of Slug's death, it was 6.8.

It's possible the drastic PH rise when we changed the water hurt him. I'm kicking myself for this. I should have done a smaller change and got that Chaca out of there.

Anyway, here's a photo of my beloved Slug. We didn't have many of him. May he rest in peace. :byebye:

Discomafia · Dec 8, 2004

Poor Sluggie. RIP! :byebye:

technium · Dec 8, 2004

sorry for your loss

What a lush fish, at least you had the pleasure of keeping it for some time.

BichirKeeper · Dec 8, 2004

Oh thats terrible, I'm sorry about Sluggie's loss.

Our local fish expert, Chris, told me over a year ago that Chacas secreted some sort of acidic substance that caused the pH in it's surroundings to drop. Something about removing waste from it's kidneys directly into the water. In it's native habitat in Asia, thats not a problem, seeing as they sit in rivers with millions of gallons of water to dissapate the effect of the secretion. In an aquarium, they can kill everyone else around them by dropping the PH as low as 5.5

Your Chaca got him im afraid.

bunjiweb · Dec 8, 2004

Thats such a shame, Slug the congo was a gorgeous puffer.

Are you thinking of getting another or do you have other plans for the tank?

Ben

Puffer_freak · Dec 8, 2004

Noooo! Please! Not Slug!

:-(

Slug, you were the most beautiful Congo Puffer in the world! Rest in peace, beautiful one!

:sad:

Bad chacas, I know it isn't your fault, but I thought you were great!

I'm so sorry LadyM, he was such a great puffer, will you be trying to get another, or what are you going to do wiht the new spare tank?

CFC · Dec 8, 2004

This is why frogmouths are recomended as species tank only, their ability to alter the pH is well known and well documeted. Im sorry to hear about your loss but not suprised due to the evidence provided by my own experiences and those of other sites.

LadyMinion · Dec 9, 2004

Thanks for the sympathies folks. As to whether we will get another one, I'm not sure yet. First we'll sort out somewhere permanant for the Chaca, we may leave him in that tank and make it a species setup as CFC recommends. I do think Chacas are wonderful fish and don't want to stop keeping them.