Lost one of my baby honey's

[Ami]

I had 3 juvie honey gouramis until this morning. They were fine last night, I'm paranoid so count my fish every day, and it didn't show any signs of distress so I'm baffled.

I've also been checking my water stats every few days so all should have been fine. Unless my tap water has gone dodgy cos I did a 10% change yesterday and that's the only thing that's different.

I guess the lil guy could have had some sort of digestive problem because they quite often have some trailing poo, but when I give them peas and lettuce n stuff they never eat it, prefering instead to pull wee pieces of my wysteria.

Feeling very sad now - it's typical that it should happen just as I was starting to relax about the tank a little.

 

[Briarmoor]

Ami, I'm real sorry about your baby honey. I lost an opaline and there is something about gouramis that is so endearing that it is harder (for me anyway) to lose them. We do get attached.

My tiny one got caught on the intake filter in my 55g, don't know if she had problems that caused her not to be able to swim away from the intake or it the suction was too strong. She also had seemed fine beforehand.

If all your levels are fine, what about sharp changes in temp? toxin in the water? larger fish bullied the baby? Did your pH change a great deal with a water change? I am grasping at straws.

I didn't like it when the LFS guy said that fish just die sometimes, I would never accept this with my cats or dogs, but maybe he is right. I just can't figure out what makes some get sick. I am trying to learn more.

Again, sorry about your gourami.

P.

 

[CFC]

All the common dwarf gourami species are extreemly delicate and prone to internal bacteria infections due to mass inbreeding by fish farms in the far east, most are also riddled with internal parasites and fish TB so their lifespans are compromised from the start.

 

[@ombomb]

I lost a Honey this weekend too no signs of anything wrong with it at all, went shopping and dead when I got back.

 

[jollysue]

Sorry, Ami and all. I really hate death.

 

[sylvia]

Realy sorry for your loss It's always realy sad when a fish dies and it's worse when you don't know why. Still, don't give up on honeys as they are actualy one of the hardier species. Yours was probably just a little stressed and already carrying something from when you bought it. Just keep an eye on the others and it should be fine. Anyway, I wanted to say that if your gouramies won't accept peas to help digestion, daphnia are a meaty substitute that most enjoy.

 

[Ami]

It was weird. No symptoms that I could see and certainly not TB I'm sure after the graphic description that CFC has already given me!

Pam - no sharp changes in temp (steady at 25c), the pH is still holding at 8-8.5 (we've got a lot of hardness in our water despite being in the Blackwater Valley), the honey's are the largest fish in the tank and no toxins I guess otherwise the other fish would be affected?

I do think I have (had I should say) 3 males rather than the 2f:1m ratio I was looking for. The honey that died and one of the others seemed to be matching each other development wise, as the colours were all coming through at a similar pace. The other honey seems to only now be catching up.

Could it have been bullied by the other developing male becuase they were in direct competition? For what I dunno though seeing as Im not sure I have a female and there's plenty of room.

I'm stumped and think I will just chalk it up as one of life's little myteries.


Thanks guys,
Ami

 

[sylvia]

Slow developers are not unusual. Many gouramies are just born smaller or mature later - it's just like with humans or any other animal. It could also be that it was being bullied or beaten to food or more stressed than the others during trasport. Maybe it was just slower to settle down or had suffered during the journey to the LFS originaly. It may even have been sick or weak while at the LFS or any number of other things. My point is that it's developing at a slower pace shouldn't be anything to worry about unless it's actualy showing symptoms of ill health or stress.

 

[Ami]

Slow developers are not unusual...unless it's actualy showing symptoms of ill health or stress.

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Cheers Syl - I'll try not to worry but it's hard when there's so many things that can go wrong with the lil guys!

 

[jollysue]

Right now it's like every day a new dilema. I see others are having some recurring problems, too.

I think the temp fluctuations are affecting my tanks. It's triple digits (100+ degrees Faranhiet) for about 3 months in the summer. Even at night it stays warm. I have kept my air conditioner on all summer never raising the temp above 76 degrees. When I'm here it gets set to 71 or 72 degrees. It blasts cold air intermitantly. The larger tanks maintain some stability, but the small ones I'm afraid are getting severely tested.

Because of the heat I have lowered the tank heater settings too.

 

[Ami]

Jollysue - I've always found that directing a fan across the surface of the water helps or freezing a plastic bottle of water and standing it in the tank.

Hope you don't have too many casualties!

 

[jollysue]

Actually the trouble isn't that my house is too hot, it's that the air conditioner periodically blows very cold air on the tanks, so the smaller tanks have fluctuating temps.

I'm along in years and take meds, so the heat makes me ill. So when I am around I turn the air down to 70 degrees +or-. That keeps the house in the low/mid 70's. (72 degrees Faranheit is about 20 degrees Celcius, I guess.)

Because of the extra electricity costs I turn the temp up to 75 or 76 degrees Faranheit when I'm out or in bed. (I have a small air conditioner in the bedroom, so I can sleep days.) I keep the 20+ usg tanks in the mid/low 70's because they heat the house and conflict with the air conditioner.

Well the gist is that I am changing the temp in the house by several degrees during the day and night. The larger tanks are able to handle it, but the smaller ones are at risk, I think.

But even using ice or fans to cool the tanks as you do will cause temp fluctuations between day and night. It is an extra stresser, I would think.

It just seems I've had more problems with my guys in the small tanks since the long hot summer started. I've lost a lot of fish in the smaller quarantine tank. So far 4 diamond head neon tetras out of 12 and 2 out of 4 otos. I am still treating the 8 little neons for columnaris. That is I'm treating the whole tank of new fish: 3 honeys, 4 sparklers, 8 neons, and 2 otos. And they are growing larger in a 12 usg tank. They were babies.


EDIT: Did he say anything? Did I miss anything? It didn't make any sense to me.

 

[jollysue]

) Sorry for the monologue on your thread, Ami

 

[Ami]

) Sorry for the monologue on your thread, Ami

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That's perfectly ok Jollysue!


Could you possibly keep your smaller tanks in one room and keep that at a constant temp? Maybe a spare bedroom? I'm presuming you don't have heaters with thermostats on those tanks?

Ami

 

[jollysue]

Hi Ami sorry i am so long getting back.

The major sick problems seem to be mostly under control now. I had new fish in the quarantine. I think they brought something with them. There were new otos, too. Maybe the temp fluctuations increased the stress, which started the downward cycle: stress, lowered immune, stress, sickness, environmental stressers, etc.

The very hot 105+ farenheit days and 85-90 degree nights summer is almost over. It is cooling off to below 100 days and 65 nights, so the temps are more stable. The heaters are good heaters with all the bells and whistles.

Next summer I may look into moving that 12 usg tank (it's next to an outside wall and in the same room as the main air duct. It's just that I like it's location because it is in view from my computer.

Right now I'm trying to determine a location for a new Hex 5 Betta home.

Thanks for your responses and concern.

So how are your babies?