I had bought 4 fire mouths for a cycled 55 gallon tank and they were very well and had very nice color for about 3 weeks and then last week one morning one of them was swimming sideways and looked to be gasping for air. It died shortly after. Today i notice that they are all gasping for air and i do not know what is wrong with them all my tests came back good there is no CO2 injection on the tank and as of right now i have 2 air pumps trying to help the situation but its not looking good for one of them. Any help would be very appriciated.
gasping firemouth's
- Thread starter tamckee
- Start date
"All my test came back good"...
That does very little to help, actual test result numbers are needed.
Answering the questions below will go a long way to myself or someone else helping your fish.
First the usual gamut of questions...
Tank size
Water parameters, NH3 NO2 NO3 PH, temp (need actual test results)
Filtration
Established tank
New tankmates/decor
Prior/recent history of illness disease
Current illness/disease symptoms/duration
Size/age of fish
Tankmates
That does very little to help, actual test result numbers are needed.
Answering the questions below will go a long way to myself or someone else helping your fish.
First the usual gamut of questions...
Tank size
Water parameters, NH3 NO2 NO3 PH, temp (need actual test results)
Filtration
Established tank
New tankmates/decor
Prior/recent history of illness disease
Current illness/disease symptoms/duration
Size/age of fish
Tankmates
Last edited:
Tank Size 55 gallon
Filtration XP3
Temp 80F
Tests
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
PH 7.8
Tank mates have been the tank as long as the firemouths they are rocket gar
All fish are juvenile
2.5" firemouth
3.5" rocket gar
No new decoration in the tank
only the firemouths have problems.
They are what looks to be gasping for air other then that the one that died last week and the one that looks like its going to die right now there are no other signs of sickness on the fish.
Thanks for the help
Filtration XP3
Temp 80F
Tests
Nitrite 0ppm
Ammonia 0ppm
PH 7.8
Tank mates have been the tank as long as the firemouths they are rocket gar
All fish are juvenile
2.5" firemouth
3.5" rocket gar
No new decoration in the tank
only the firemouths have problems.
They are what looks to be gasping for air other then that the one that died last week and the one that looks like its going to die right now there are no other signs of sickness on the fish.
Thanks for the help
NO3(nitrates)?
Sustained high level NO3 is toxic (40ppm+), anything above 80ppm is considered immediately dangerous and can lead to various health problems.
Could any aerosol contaminants have gotten into the tank, e.g. hairspray, insecticide, cleaning agents or etc?
Remove any old carbon if in use, it can be come saturated and release/leach contaminants back into the water.
Have you tried a major water change (75%)?
Add fresh carbon after water change this may asorb many chemical contaminants.
Sustained high level NO3 is toxic (40ppm+), anything above 80ppm is considered immediately dangerous and can lead to various health problems.
Could any aerosol contaminants have gotten into the tank, e.g. hairspray, insecticide, cleaning agents or etc?
Remove any old carbon if in use, it can be come saturated and release/leach contaminants back into the water.
Have you tried a major water change (75%)?
Add fresh carbon after water change this may asorb many chemical contaminants.
Gill color?
Any sign of gill flukes?
Does your tapwater ( what type of water do you use, tap, well or etc?) have or perhaps recently switched to chloramines, if "Yes" or "Don't know" then double check water conditioner for effectivness on chloramines. May need to increase dosage of conditioner to break chloramines or switch conditioners.
Contact local water authority for water additives, chlorine or chloramine.
Any sign of gill flukes?
Does your tapwater ( what type of water do you use, tap, well or etc?) have or perhaps recently switched to chloramines, if "Yes" or "Don't know" then double check water conditioner for effectivness on chloramines. May need to increase dosage of conditioner to break chloramines or switch conditioners.
Contact local water authority for water additives, chlorine or chloramine.
Well 2 of the remaining 3 where dead when i got back from work. I am in the process of a major water change and have removed the old carbon. I use well water so no water conditioner is being used. I will have to run out and get a nitrate test in a little bit. As far as the gills I could not see anything wrong. Thanks for the help.
The last one is completely fine at the moment and the rocket gar are fine as well this is just a really wierd thing to only affect some of the fish and not others of the same species.
The last one is completely fine at the moment and the rocket gar are fine as well this is just a really wierd thing to only affect some of the fish and not others of the same species.
Ctenolucius hujeta or pike characin is often called a Freshwater Barracuda, or Hujeta. it's an elongated gar-like characin that lives throughout the Amazon and its tributaries.
The body is very elongated and spindly, and the dorsal and anal fins are set very far back, nearly to the caudal peduncle. All fins are rounded. The mouth forms a beak-like snout full of tiny conical/villiform teeth. The mouth itself extends to just before the eye. Large nostril flaps are seen near the tip of the snout. In some specimens the tip of the snout has a small bulb on the upper jaw.
The coloring of this fish is white-silver which can slightly vary in darkness according to environment and mood. There is a black ocellatus mark on the caudal peduncle.
In order to keep it, you will need a tank of larger size, not much less than 135 gallons. Even though they grow to 28" in the wild, if they are kept in small tanks they may only reach 10" in length.
For tankmates the best fish are ones that are peaceful and cannot be swallowed by the Hujeta itself. Other large predatory characins such as Cachorros can also be kept with Hujetas successfully and provide a more enlightening look. This fish is a top swimmer and therefore the tank must be well covered.
This fish is a predator and coils itself into a characteristic "S" shaped position then springs forward to catch its prey in a powerful lunge. The upper jaw moves up and down just as the lower jaw does. Once prey is secured in the fish's mouth, it juggles it into position (headfirst) and swallows it. In the wild these fish often hunt in small packs near the surface and devour many other shoaling fish. Indeed, they are best described as Gar-like in most respects.
Provide dense vegetation and live food in the form of fish, frogs, worms, and other soft-bodied organisms. Make sure the food is of appropriate dimension, because tall, flat bodied prey cannot be swallowed, and therefore not eaten. Dead food is usually grabbed but always seems to be spit out once the fish realizes its dead.
this fish grows too large (28") to be maintained in a 55 gallon tank and three of them will need at least 250 gallons at maturity.
The body is very elongated and spindly, and the dorsal and anal fins are set very far back, nearly to the caudal peduncle. All fins are rounded. The mouth forms a beak-like snout full of tiny conical/villiform teeth. The mouth itself extends to just before the eye. Large nostril flaps are seen near the tip of the snout. In some specimens the tip of the snout has a small bulb on the upper jaw.
The coloring of this fish is white-silver which can slightly vary in darkness according to environment and mood. There is a black ocellatus mark on the caudal peduncle.
In order to keep it, you will need a tank of larger size, not much less than 135 gallons. Even though they grow to 28" in the wild, if they are kept in small tanks they may only reach 10" in length.
For tankmates the best fish are ones that are peaceful and cannot be swallowed by the Hujeta itself. Other large predatory characins such as Cachorros can also be kept with Hujetas successfully and provide a more enlightening look. This fish is a top swimmer and therefore the tank must be well covered.
This fish is a predator and coils itself into a characteristic "S" shaped position then springs forward to catch its prey in a powerful lunge. The upper jaw moves up and down just as the lower jaw does. Once prey is secured in the fish's mouth, it juggles it into position (headfirst) and swallows it. In the wild these fish often hunt in small packs near the surface and devour many other shoaling fish. Indeed, they are best described as Gar-like in most respects.
Provide dense vegetation and live food in the form of fish, frogs, worms, and other soft-bodied organisms. Make sure the food is of appropriate dimension, because tall, flat bodied prey cannot be swallowed, and therefore not eaten. Dead food is usually grabbed but always seems to be spit out once the fish realizes its dead.
this fish grows too large (28") to be maintained in a 55 gallon tank and three of them will need at least 250 gallons at maturity.
Huh...What?
But what does that have to do with his current problem???
:OT:
That real nice info...liv2padl said:
But what does that have to do with his current problem???
:OT:
since you all seem to be taking care of the problem he has right now, i thought i'd focus on the problem he doesn't seem to know he has pending.
Thank you for the detailed info. The last firemouth that i have is doing fine as of today again. I am still not sure why the other 3 died but I guess odd things happen. The tank will be planted as of next week and hopefully that will help as a little extra buffer.
Thanks for all the help
Thanks for all the help