Dying Botia Striatas...don't know why!?

poeticpyro · Post by **poeticpyro** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:07 pm

I have no idea why my new striatas are dying. All perams are normal Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites and Nitrates both very low. pH is 7.2 (hasn't changed)

They're not eating... new little guys, and don't come out or anything. There's plenty of flake that has fallen into the substrate and I've also tried a couple of shrimp pellets. They're definitely not eating and now have little energy to eat.

What's going on? Can I save the remaining little guys?

I started with 8 (1"-1.5") and now have 6... it's been under a week since they've been introduced to their new home... which has been cycled and established for three years now.

Thanks!

Diana · Post by **Diana** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:08 pm

Try flavoring some food with garlic.
Try live foods such as small worms, brine shrimp... something alive that may trigger their instincts for chase and catch (and eat)

Does the new tank water match the tank water in the store where you got them? Did you test the water in the bag for GH, KH, and pH?

poeticpyro · Post by **poeticpyro** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:06 pm

I did... I'm an experienced fish keeper... and that's why I'm so freaked out.

I'll try some live food... hmm... now just need to find a quality store tomorrow. Thanks for your help, truly!

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 5:52 am

if you cant get good quality live food, dont get it, poor quality stuff could do you more damage. as long as you have decent current in your tank, defrosted frozen stuff is better and it will still move around plenty. or try finely chopped prawns

do you normally just feed flake? try them on hikari sinking carnivore pellets, they have some sort of an attractant in and loaches love these.

if they have stopped eating on arrival in your tank, they should not be starving, assuming they were eating where you got them from. were they healthy or skinny when you bought them?

its quite normal for them not to come out, especially if you havent got them onto a favourite food. they can be quite shy. what other fish do you have in the tank? what sort of times of day do you feed them?

i assume there were no signs of any problems on the bodies?

sorry to hear about the problem, i hope you get it sussed and save the others

mickthefish · Post by **mickthefish** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:47 am

did you test the water that the fish come in if it was different from your that alone could have put your striata of their food.
try them on a piece of prawn leave it whole so it's easy to remove if not eaten.
wish you luck with the rest of them.

mick

poeticpyro · Post by **poeticpyro** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:40 am

I did test the water and it was the same pH and their params had a little more ammonia in the bag, so that shouldn't be the problem.

Other fish in the tank: 2 angels and a leaf gourami. They get fed twice a day, 12 hours apart. so 7am and 7pm usually.

They were skinny little guys when I bought them, but usually baby loaches are skinny so I didn't freak about it. No one is harassing them and the bodies don't have any markings on them.

One did die, I have been feeding shrimp/bottom feeder pellets and they end up rotting away. I've also been siphoning the leftover food out (when it gets rotten looking....so not every single day).

I'll try the prawns, how do I prepare them?

What about zucchini?

and can I put garlic on the prawns or zucchini to help stimulate their little appetites.

I've been waiting for a year to find these guys and now at $10 a pop I'm losing them...

mickthefish · Post by **mickthefish** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:15 am

the ready to eat prawns will do as well as uncooked, they don't have a preference.
but what you've said about them being skinny does'nt give a good omen as it sounds like they were'nt eating in the shop either.
the striata we buy in the UK are usually well fed little fish even very small ones.
you did pay a wack for them, they are only around $5 here for small ones.
if you want to dust the prawns in garlic it's worth a try.

mick

poeticpyro · Post by **poeticpyro** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:22 am

Thanks Mick.

I'm rather ticked at the store I got them from.. if many more die I'm going there and raising hell... hopefully they'll give me some credit or order some new ones in for me. I mean $60 on them... I feel horrible that they're dying on me...because they're usually pretty hardy little guys. Thanks for all of your help...

I have some frozen blood worms as well...might try those after the prawn.

mickthefish · Post by **mickthefish** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:57 am

if you have a turkey baster use it, the bloodworm can be squirted right under their snouts, then watch if they eat some.
best of luck with them and i hope something works for you.

mick

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:03 pm

What was the quarantine and acclimation procedure used for these fish?

You said you tested water parameters. Exactly what did you test and what were the results? Some fish stores will salt their water to treat the fish for parasites. Did you test for salt? Did you test the TDS?

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:07 pm

You said the nitrites are very low. If the nitrites are anything above 0, that is a problem.

poeticpyro · Post by **poeticpyro** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:51 pm

Nitrites are 0ppm! Just tested them with the test kit... made my the same manufacturer as stress coat... it's a little test tube one with reagents, not the dip stick.

One little guy found the shrimp pellets and started clicking away...happy sign for a loach, thank goodness! One more passed away this morning... 5 remain in the tank. This tank has always been my hospital tank... the angels just moved into it for the hell of it... no one's been sick in any of my tanks for years... so the new hospital tank is a 10gal and I didn't feel right putting 8 of these guys into that. Trying to get a larger hospital tank... but the angels needed more swimming room (30gal-->75gal).

They're still skinny, but not sunken in anywhere... which I'm assuming is good. One of them is doing his loach dance and relishing over the food. you would think the others would hear him and come along. Maybe the other 3-4 that I never see are shy and getting food at night.

Store was out of frozen bloodworms and the live food did not look good...so I didn't buy any. Hopefully tomorrow.

Temp is 80... I can lower it a little if need be, just usually keep my tanks around 79-82.

Acclimation process was drip for 1 hour.
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates very low...not remembering the number, want to say 0 by now they got a small water change today...
pH is 7.2

Testing for salt... how do I do this (realize this is a dumb question)

And on the turkey baster note... I use a medicine dropper, because it's smaller, but it's a very good tip regardless

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 5:54 am

as they were skinny before you bought them, then that could be your problem. Mick said the little striata we get in teh UK are normally fat in te shops, but he must have some better shops in his area - in my area there can be some painfully skinny loaches.

are you able to post a photo? people on here could then advise you if they think it would be worth you worming them.

could you try giving a very small feed last thing at night, after the lights have gone off. try some bloodworms or similar when you manange to get some.

soul-hugger · Post by **soul-hugger** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:21 am

Since I keep Serpentine Loaches, and have no experience with Botias, I usually don't have much to offer. But I just wanted to say, if you can't get live or frozen food, you could try the freeze-dried. I use both tubifex worms and bloodworms, and my Loaches go crazy for them, almost as much as for the frozen. Every Loach comes out of hiding when I offer these, and because they float for awhile before they sink, it encourages them to come out. I think it's also a great idea to try some zucchini or other veggies. Try putting it in just before lights out, so the shy ones can have a chance at some. I have a Catfish and some Kuhli Loaches that I rarely ever see eating, but they are fat and healthy. I think a lot of fish like it best to eat at night. Sure hope you find out what's wrong with the little guys!

Take Care..,
soul-hugger

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:05 pm

poeticpyro wrote:

Acclimation process was drip for 1 hour.
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrites 0ppm
Nitrates very low...not remembering the number, want to say 0 by now they got a small water change today...
pH is 7.2

Testing for salt... how do I do this (realize this is a dumb question)

A TDS meter is the easiest way to check for inconsistencies, like salt, or other potential problems. If the water was salted, 1 hour drip acclimation is not enough time to prevent osmotic shock. IMO, the fish would of needed at least 72 hours to acclimate if they were healthy. If the fish were not healthy to start, then acclimation attempts are usually unsuccessful no matter what you do.
It's best not to do a heavy acclimation process when you get new fish. It's best to match the quarantine tank water to that of the LFS water, which means not only duplicating the Kh, Gh, and pH, but also matching the TDS. The TDS is perhaps the most important water parameter when acclimating new fish. A hydrometer will work just as well, but it can be more difficult to get a reading from a plastic fish bag.

TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) is a foreign water parameter to most new school and old school fish keepers alike. TDS meters only cost about $20, but can be worth it's weight in gold. TDS meters basically give you a number reading from 0 to 9,990 of how pure the water is. Distilled water will give you a reading of 0. Sea water has a TDS of around 35,000, which is off the scale for these meters. That doesn't matter because most fresh tap water that we use for are aquariums will have a reading between 50 and 400 ppm.
Tap water that has been treated with salt will probably give a reading well above 500, most likely from 1,000 to 3,500 depending on the dosage used. 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons of water will raise the TDS by about 1,000 ppm. That extra 1,000 ppm is what you look for when testing for salt. With these meters it can be confusing though, these meter only read 3 digits, so it will read a 100, but a "x10" also blinks, indicating that it is 1,000.

Loaches Online Forum

Dying Botia Striatas...don't know why!?

Dying Botia Striatas...don't know why!?

Who is online

Go to page

About us