Some new fish not looking so go

[lpiasente]

Today I got a couple of new fish off a private seller. Lovely fish. He met me half way ( about 3/4 of an hour drive for him) with the fish in a bucket. When I saw them they were very black and had some marks on them so they hadn't travelled very well. I wasn't all that worried as I knew of the other people that had bought his other fish and they were all fine and the fish are big n fat. They abviously ahven't travelled well at all. he said they have never been out of his tank in 2.5 years. I got them home making sure all waters were the same the dripping water from qt tank into the bucket. They are now laying flat on the bottom of the tank black as black can be one is trying to get up but the other is hardly breathing. I have never had fish react like this before. Has anyone else. Right now it looks to me like they are going to die. I have added some salt 2 air stones and covered the tank so it is in darkness. :( poor fish. Is there a chance

[Melissa]

If you could, pictures would help. Doesn't sound good though... Odd that they would be in this shape just over a short trip in a bucket.... How long exactly were they in the bucket between his drive to meet you, your drive back home, and acclimation time?

And how many fsh are we talking about? What size?

[lpiasente]

In the same bucket all the time but then transfered over to a qt. they were like this when he came to me lying on their side but I believed they were just stressed. I was thinking twice about taking them....I should have trusted my own instincts. like I said the other buyers were very happy. i think maybe the bucket had something in it. I can't take a photo as they are sooo distressed already I want to keep them in th dark. I guess it is a wait and see. 2 x14 cm adults

[Second Hand Pat]

You might consider contacting the seller and ask for replacement/refund especially since the fish were in that condition prior to you receiving them. Sorry about the fish.

[vera]

when i shipped my wilds 1 of them was on his side for 3 days i was advised to remove half water to keep the pressure on them down
clean water and some salt in it did the trick ,i think yrs will recover as well

[lpiasente]

I will take some of the water out of the tank. i kept dreaming last night that I got up this morning and they were ok. They asre in struggletown for sure. I don't think they will survive. They are black as black and struggling to breathe. I definatly think the bucket he bought the fish in had something in it.

[lpiasente]

One is up and about. She is still very stressed but looking better than yesterday. Her friend is still on his side, black and struggling.

[vera]

keep doing what u do they will come around

[lpiasente]

I hope so. I can see their fins are quite damaged and hey have some marks on their bodies. I am keeping my finger crossed.

[jimg]

very common for discus to lay on their sides and get dark right after being taken from their home especially adult discus they have harder times and better "memories" than the juveniles. A little salt will help the fins, marks will go away soon.

[Elite Aquaria]

Although I agree with Jim that larger fish acclimate worse than smaller fish, I personally have not found it to be very common for large fish to be in such bad condition after such a short time. I would suspect that the issue was due to high levels of ammonia and low levels of oxygen.

[wendy9722]

I'd add meth. blue to help them get more o2. Best of luck getting them up right and the way they are supposed to be.

[lpiasente]

He is still hanging in there. The shedding is not as bad as it has been. The cobalt is looking good now I can see her colour. I am not sure about adding meds at this stage. I am changing about 25% of their water 2x daily doing it very slowly as to not scare them. The man who sold them to me is upset, these were his babies. He said the only thing he kept in the bucket was aqua soil then he washed the bucket and put the fish in there. Would there be anything in that which could upset them?

[judy]

depends on what he washed the bucket with... it really doers sound a bigger issue than just slow acclimation.

[lpiasente]

Day 6 and he still on his side. No better no worse. The slime production seems to have stopped. They have been in complete darkness for the whole time. Do you think it is time for some natural light? Maybe 1/2 the tank

[discolicious]

Sorry man, I hope they make it. If they don't, I hope the guy realizes that they were already in this condition when he delivered them to you and returns your money. Good luck.

[lpiasente]

He does realise this. he is upset as well and hoping for a good outcome. The blue cobalt had a few nibbles on food this morning but the big fella still won't get up. What causes them to lay on their sides? I know it is some kind of shock but what actually happens in their bodies to make them do this.Even when he does get upright he swims like he is a wobbly jelly fish.

[lpiasente]

I was able to take one fish out of sick bay today. She is doing very well feeding and doing everything else right. Her ventrils are nothing but stubs and she still has white lenses. I think these are scratched. So being that the ventrills are missing do you think ammonia burn??? I really can't believe she survived I was sure she was going to die. The other fella on the other hand is still in struggle town. I think he had been getting a bit of a hard time from her. He is still black laying on his side and shedding. He also has some kind of fungus growing. I had been treating him with malachite blue, that held it at bay but now I have changed over to archiflavine . So now that 2 weeks has passed and he is still hanging in there what are his chances of pulling through? Am I just making him suffer? I am happy to continue with the water changes and all but I don't want him to be suffering. What do you all think

[brewmaster15]

This sounds alot like pH shock and subsequent chemical burns.....If its not and its bacterial/viral...I'd be very careful...that female may look better...but it doesn't sound like she's healed...I would be concerned that she's carrying something...I hope you didn't add her to an existing tank of fish when you removed her from"sickbay"?

al

[lpiasente]

What about the boy. Do you think he has a chance? So do the burns come from the ph shock? I will definantly keep an eye on her. She looks good but agreed that she isn't fully recovered. I removed her mainly as I think she was pecking at him.

[lpiasente]

Well I put the poor fella out of his misery today.:( The girl is doing fabulous. Other than the short ventril fins you wouldn't know she had had any problems.