ViS Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 This will likely be the last time I ever buy an imported fish Out of the 10 Cyathopharynx foai "Sibwesa" that Nigel was good enough to import for me, 3 have died in the 2 weeks I've had them. They look perfectly healthy one minute, eating like pigs, swimming constantly, then I can come back an hour later and one will be dead. I've lost one about every 3 days. There is no obvious cause of death. I have well over 100 adult fish and another few hundred fry on the same water, and they all are perfectly healthy. The foai have a 4x2 tank all to themselves, so it isn't bullying. I have a large UV filter on the system, so I doubt it's disease. They aren't wild caught either, so that rules out a few reasons they could be dropping off. Most of the foai Nigel has tried to bring in have died, either in quarantine or soon after. Looks like we'll never get new blood into the country Thanks for trying anyway nigel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Bad luck Andy. Perhaps its just a case of you treating them too well. Don't give up just yet, we need guys like you to sacrifice so the rest of us will eventually get great looking fish to carry on the legacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Sorry to hear Andy...it's especially annoying/upsetting when you can't identify the problem too Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy Wombat Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Spewing mate. So frustrating. Do they have cloudy eyes at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10050460 Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 we need a vet who specialise in fish and also use forums. thats it, im gonna marry a girl who is a vet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keleher Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 iv had the same thing happen to about 5 leptos over a year fine one minute floating the next.sorry to hear man u where heaps excited bout these aswell. james Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted November 20, 2005 Author Share Posted November 20, 2005 Do they have cloudy eyes at all? No. No signs of distress at all. Just fine one minute, dead the next. It wouldn't worry me so much if I hadn't already waited several years through 2 failed attempts to bring some in for me (through no fault of Nigel). After waiting so long, it's really disheartening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 I don't know what the problem might be. As you know Andy for you to get 10 Foai I imported 10 Sibwesa 6 Kabogo green and 5 dark congo not mention 2 previous attempts at trying to get you Foai. I have one dark congo at home Col has 2 kabogo green all the rest died including 18 very expensive wild caught foai. So try to keep the dam things alive as they where the most expensive foai I have ever imported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foai Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 There is a large element of luck in these things. Nigel imported 10 C Foai "Ruziba" last year and they are all kicking around in my tank at the moment happy as larry (except for one which jumped out when I left the top off). Of the 30 fish and 3 species that Nigel has imported for me only one fish has died through genuinely mysterious circumstances (an O boops). I tried everything to keep it alive but failed. Don't give up, Andy. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Stick with it Andy. You'll work it out mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoges Posted November 20, 2005 Share Posted November 20, 2005 Bad luck Andy! So frustrating when you don't know the cause either! I wonder whether it would be worth having an autopsy done on one of the dead fish to see if there is anything wrong that wasn't externally visible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 There are certainly some days where you are tempted to chuck it all in. Yesterday I got another 30 odd P. spilonotus "mozambique" fry and was on a high until last night I noticed my large male frontie has serious eye damage and I also lost a Tropheus (hopefully to aggression and not bloat). Brought me back down to earth with a thud Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted November 21, 2005 Author Share Posted November 21, 2005 So try to keep the dam things alive Believe me, it's at the top of my priority list It's hard to make them better when I can't tell if there's anything wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted November 21, 2005 Share Posted November 21, 2005 Andy I have a few questions. What do you have in with them as far as other fish and did you change what I was feeding them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted November 21, 2005 Author Share Posted November 21, 2005 Nope. They are in a 4x2 on their own (not even a bristlenose in there). Lots of air, lots of lime sand. I'm feeding them OSI spirulina flake and Frozen brine shrimp, the same as what you were feeding them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 If a fish lives it can die. Mystery deaths I will balance in my mind like this. You sound like you have a handle on things, so at the end of the day if you only lose 3 out of ten, you should still have a male and female in there. I’m sure you have a handle on things but check some basics like ammonia and nitrite. A few deadens is not good, but it could be worse. Cry if you lose the lot, or don't have both sexes. I bought some Kitumba from Nigel (still don't know if I have any girls yet though), out of the same lot of fish you got your foai in, I saw your fish in Nigel's holding tanks. I have been feeding my Kitumba live wrigglers, daphnia and blood worms. Crushed (pepper grinder) NLS and Aquasonic's Complete, not to mention my home made frozen mix. They have completely filled out and they are going great guns. While changing a diet suddenly can cause problems (mostly in my opinion for fish such as Tropheus), keep in mind that the fish were fasted for some time before being sent here, not to mention the problems this lot of fish had due to customs. I assume they are all eating okay, but my personal take on the situation is that there are better things to feed them than OSI Spiralina (there was a recent post about appropriate food for foai), though I'm sure Nigel won't agree with me here. The reason we buy fish in lots of ten, is so if things go wrong for what ever reason, we still have enough fish left over to breed with. So for what ever reason they have died, don' lose heart completely if you still achieve this goal, as you've planned for the worst, and all is in hand due to your experience, even if you have lost a few to unknown causes. Are they all eating? Even if they are, just thinking about it, some of the issues that can bring on bloat, are some of the things that fish are treated with when they are brought into Australia. If I were in your position, I would turn off the UV, and dose the tank up with Metronidazole, particularly soaking the food for a bit. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted November 22, 2005 Author Share Posted November 22, 2005 Thanks Craig Yes they are all eating and you'd swear they were going great guns, which is why the unexplained deaths are so mystifying. I haven't lost one in a few days now, so hopefully whatever was killing them has gone for good I'll definitely consider your advice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted November 22, 2005 Share Posted November 22, 2005 Good luck with 'em Andy. I hope they have turned the corner for you . Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efc01 Posted November 27, 2005 Share Posted November 27, 2005 hey Nigel do you still have Leptosoma Kitumba available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted November 27, 2005 Author Share Posted November 27, 2005 Lost another one yesterday Down to six They have all been found dead sitting up behind the bubblewall, which sits an inch or so off the back wall. Not sure if it's a coincidence and it's where the water flow pushes them after they die, but I moved the bubblewall off the back wall into the middle of the tank just in case. Fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efc01 Posted November 28, 2005 Share Posted November 28, 2005 maybe you should try something drastic(spelling?) Maybe pull a tank off the sysytem and run an internal bubble filter with water from a foreign source. Say Nigels tanks if he has not experienced losses in his own tanks. I really dont think that the air stone would have anything to do with the deaths unless they are picking the fish up and dumping them on the substrate. I have lost 10 calvus and 10 frontosa in the past mysteriously over a period of 3 months. I still dont have a clue what happened to them. Until then feed very sparingly and minimalise water changes, AND HANG IN THERE!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efc01 Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 how are they going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 The remaining 6 are still swimming around fine and eating great. But I could have said that about the other 4 too...... I'm going to leave them and hope for the best. I'm not very comfortable about stuffing about with the water that has kept the other several hundred fish alive and well for years.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Posted December 1, 2005 Share Posted December 1, 2005 All I can say Andy is they handled the trip from Germany and quarantine with no problems. I had them at my place for a week so I don't know why you lost some. I have some Kabogo green arriving next week if your game enough you might want to have a go at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted December 1, 2005 Author Share Posted December 1, 2005 Sorry Nigel, thanks for the offer, but these guys will be the make or break for me regarding imported fish. If they survive, I'll have a go at something else. Since I posted this, several people (some of who I've never met) have emailed me saying the same thing has happened to them. They've bought imported fish (and not necessarily from you) only to have them drop off one by one over a period of months, with no easy explanation. Nobody can possibly blame the importers. I don't know exactly what the exporters do to the fish before shipping them, but I doubt that is the cause of the problem either. It's a risk we are willing to take (and a necessary one I believe) to get new, legal species into the country, but it doesn't make the loss any less painful, especially after waiting for so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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