Help please!! Sick JD!

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

krj6988

New Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2020
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Location
USA
yr old, 7 inches, no signs of bloat or parasites. Water parameters are within limits, nitrAtes were high yesterday, 60ish ppm. 50% wc, added AquaSafe to 76 degree water. This morning he appeared distressed, pale but speckled illuminated. 8pm he started erraric behavior, swimming sideways, nose dives in the corner, bumping, jumping, etc. Color darkens to almost black, starts having what appears to be seizure activity. Doing another water change now, but he will seize, turn white, turn black, then swim again as normal (almost). Body bends in half, jaw locked, no motion towards end of seizure except fins. Any advice on saving our Fat Fish would be appreciated!!
 
Any chance of a video of the sick fish. If it doesn't fit on this website, put it on youtube and copy & paste the link here.
A couple of clear pictures might help too.

Wipe the inside of the glass with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until we work out what is wrong.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use them.
 
What are your exact test results?

@Colin_T can maybe help here
 
Any chance of a video of the sick fish. If it doesn't fit on this website, put it on youtube and copy & paste the link here.
A couple of clear pictures might help too.

Wipe the inside of the glass with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until we work out what is wrong.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use them.
Lol same timing
 
Thanks! Yes the nitrates are too high.
 
Any chance of a video of the sick fish. If it doesn't fit on this website, put it on youtube and copy & paste the link here.
A couple of clear pictures might help too.

Wipe the inside of the glass with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until we work out what is wrong.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media/ materials in a bucket of tank water and re-use them.
Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time to save him, but I absolutely appreciate you and JuiceBox taking the time to respond!
We were doing daily water change to help with nitrates, adding AquaSafe to tank. Should we have used something different? I see where it says free of chlorine before adding to tank, I wasn't aware and now feel terrible that I may have caused this. :(
 
Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time to save him, but I absolutely appreciate you and JuiceBox taking the time to respond!
We were doing daily water change to help with nitrates, adding AquaSafe to tank. Should we have used something different? I see where it says free of chlorine before adding to tank, I wasn't aware and now feel terrible that I may have caused this. :(
I do not think that chlorinated water would kill just him, it may have weakened his immune system but all fish would be affected by this. Dont feel to bad. Everyone makes mistakes:) good luck
 
It's unlikely to be chlorine or chloramine that did that.

This morning he appeared distressed, pale but speckled illuminated. 8pm he started erraric behavior, swimming sideways, nose dives in the corner, bumping, jumping, etc. Color darkens to almost black, starts having what appears to be seizure activity. Doing another water change now, but he will seize, turn white, turn black, then swim again as normal (almost). Body bends in half, jaw locked, no motion towards end of seizure except fins. Any advice on saving our Fat Fish would be appreciated!!
These symptoms would indicate either a stroke, an infection in the brain, or internal organ failure.

There's nothing you can do about organ failure, but most brain infections are caused by dirty environments or poor water quality.

Doing big regular water changes and gravel cleaning the substrate will go a long way to help prevent this from happening. Cleaning the filter at least once a month will also help, and wiping the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge also helps.

Part of the issue is the fish's age. As they get older their immune system weakens and they become more susceptible to health issues.

High nitrates weaken fish and can shorten their lives and make them more likely to die before their time. If you have nitrates in the tap water, then you should remove the nitrates before adding that water to the tank. If you don't have nitrates in the tap water, then just do big (75-80%) water changes and gravel clean the substrate every day until the nitrates are below 20ppm.
 
Thank you so much! Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time to save him, but I absolutely appreciate you and JuiceBox taking the time to respond!
We were doing daily water change to help with nitrates, adding AquaSafe to tank. Should we have used something different? I see where it says free of chlorine before adding to tank, I wasn't aware and now feel terrible that I may have caused this. :(
Aquasafe removes chlorine so you didn't do anything to harm him. Sorry for your loss.
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top