timbruun Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 I lost a couple bichirs last night and I'm not sure how. They only thing I've done differently was add a bit of excel just to get rid of the bottle that I have. Does excel go bad if it sits for a while? Water parameters are fine other than nitrates is a bit high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixn7g Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 How old was the excel? What kind of bichirs? What size? Tank size? Last W/C? Do you have a drop test API kit or a strip testing kit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted November 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 Excel was fairly old. Wouldn't be over a year though I don't think. Senegal Bichirs, small around 2-2.5 inches. Also a 1.5 inch oscar in there that wasn't doing too well and a 2 inch BGK that seemed fine. Tank is 55 gal. last w/c would have been last thursday or friday. It's a drop master kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 Eating habbits and if they are breathing rapidly for no aparent reason and are they flashing. What about the colour and consistancy of anything coming out of the other end. Watch them for a bit and you should see something that might tip you off as to what might be going on. Or point you in the right direction. If everything seems normal for readings then your best detector is your eyes. you might also want to think about anything that might have changed or been used in the room the fish are in. Good luck L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 23, 2010 Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 I can't see 1yr old Excel being the problem. I'm guessing that you haven't had the bichirs too long - it could be that the stress of the pet store and/or transpotration just took its toll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted November 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2010 I've had them for a bit now. Around a month maybe? They were doing great, eating well and very active. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knifefishfan Posted November 24, 2010 Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 im new to bichirs but you say you had them for a month and they still 2.5 inches? what do you feed them? it might just be my senegals, but when i got my bichirs they were 2 inches and now, 2 months later they are 7 inches and an inch thick. do you feed them pellets? do you have gravel as a bottom? ive read that they can choke from gavel/pellets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted November 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 I'm thinking it's something with the water. I tried putting the oscar back in and he wasn't too happy about it. Just stopped moving and sat there so I took him out again. The BGK died today at some point while in a different tank... Not sure if it's from the same thing or because he might have been picked on a bit. I'll be doign a big water change tomorrow and go from there I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hustler Posted November 24, 2010 Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 No chance you had a big PH swing? Ive seen it happen with older water conditioners ect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted November 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2010 I suppose that's worth checking too. My pH is already quite high so I assume a drastic drop would cause problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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