Long Nose Fish

[Dragonfire2806]

Hi all, i have had three long nose elephant fish, but one died and now another is dying, i feed blood worm but have problems giving to them as the other fish eat them first, any ideas, the bottom is gravel and alot of it which came with the tank, its a 660 litre tank, so big enough, so not sure what to do
Any help would be good
Many Thanks
Richie

 

[Davo86]

Hi all, i have had three long nose elephant fish, but one died and now another is dying, i feed blood worm but have problems giving to them as the other fish eat them first, any ideas, the bottom is gravel and alot of it which came with the tank, its a 660 litre tank, so big enough, so not sure what to do
Any help would be good
Many Thanks
Richie

first of elephant noses really need a sand substrate, with anything else they will likely damage their nose as they hunt through for food,
They are also quite a delicate species so should only be kept with peaceful fish, with large or boistrous fish the elephant will not be able to compete for food and will suffer,

What other fish do you have in the tank?
Do you have a hospital tank or smaller tank where you could give it a good feed and treat if necessary?

 

[Colin_T]

Elephant nose are scaleless fish and need really good water quality. Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & PH? If so, what are the results?

Have you used any medications in the tank? if so did you use one that is safe for scaleless fishes? What dose rate did you use?

Do they get anything besides bloodworm? If not, they are probably suffering from malnutrition. They should be fed a varied diet including small earthworms or white worms, daphnia, brineshrimp, prawn and fish. Bloodworms can be offered several times a week but other foods also need to be fed.
Feed the other fish first and when they have eaten you can feed the elephant noses.

What did the fish look like when it died?