My lovely BN died :(

[pipsqeek]

One morning when feeding my fish I noticed my 6" long BN not his usual active self. Closer look revealed that he was not breathing. But when I got right up to the glass he moved slightly. But he didn't look his usual dark grey self. He wasn't active. I checked my water condition and everything is okay. All my other fish are well.

But after a day the BN died. Sat there in the corner, white and dead. Would it be just at the end of it's life? This seems to happen to me every few years and I can never explain the weirdness of my setup. A few years ago, some of you might remember my tank deciding it didn't want the water inside it anymore. But there was no trace of the water outside the tank. I was thinking of taking advantage of the sale for April at LAM's aquarium and maybe seeing if I can replace him.

Or keep an eye on members selling their fry over the next couple of weeks. He was my favourite in the tank. Almost hand them him daily.

[D6C1]

Sorry about your loss mate..

I got a small common BN and albino BN that has a black mark on his (her??) fin that you can have for free. Drop me a PM if you are interested. Not too far from you.

[pipsqeek]

Sorry about your loss mate..

I got a small common BN and albino BN that has a black mark on his (her??) fin that you can have for free. Drop me a PM if you are interested. Not too far from you.

I appreciate your offer very much. But I feel a little uncomfortable taking something for nothing. I also feel more uncomfortable putting a fish in a tank where randomly things die. I really want to get to the bottom of why this is happening.

I'll see how I go with that first, but I thought maybe I could get advice on where to start with regards to finding out why this happens ever so often. If it's me or my water coming out my tap.

[pipsqeek]

I took some water the the LFS today to get tested. It's all clear. So, why the freakin heck do my fish randomly die? This really baffles me.

[oakes]

What exactly are the extent of your losses? Was your b/n well fed? I don't consider losing a fish every few years as extraordinary, though a b/n should live quite a bit longer nothing in life is definite - fish and other animals (including us!) can drop off at any time of natural causes. Did you do anything different recently ie. new fish, feeding or maintenance routine? Was there any evidence of disease or parasites? Try not to feel guilty or be afraid to replace him, i'm not convinced you've done anything wrong.

[Josh]

A 6 inch bristle nose is a pretty big fish and could possibly be quite old.

If you are only losing a few fish every few years I wouldn't be to concerned. This things happen as hard as it is to handle.

Josh

[pipsqeek]

He was very well fed. Half a steamed zucchini once a week which he would devour in a day. Then the rest of the week he would munch on the leftovers from feeding the Brasiliensis their strict vegetarian diet of stuff I make myself.

I guess when you put it that way, I had him long enough to die of a possible natural cause.

One day he was good, the next day he was laying there, I could make out his flesh between his scales all the way from his head to his tail. Just this slight pink outline between each scale, like they were spread out. I tried feeding but he didn't take anything. So I figured the best thing to do was leave him alone.

The next day his body had turned white. All white. I actually thought he was dead, so I sat there staring at him for a good 30 mins. I observed no movement at all. So I went in with the net and I had some newspaper handy. He moved away from the net.

This is when I was starting to search for things here, asked the LFS. etc. I really didn't get far because he was officially dead when I got back.

His companions I bought with him which aren't much younger are still going. But they're much smaller.

I still want to head over to Lams in Parramatta and see what is on special, as I received an email from them that all of April was a sale or something.

Cheers

pips

[wish-ga]

Hey pips. Sorry to hear about your bn. Every time I cut the end off a zucchini I have the impulse to save it for 'catty' even though I lost catty ages ago. I will get another bn one day too.

6" for a bn was quite an achievement, you did really well.

Good luck getting another little 'un. Tell us how you go at Lams. I got the sale email too but had something on each weekend for April so didn't get there.