They’ve both become rather blotchy and sickly looking. They used to breed regularly, and now they don’t seem interested. They are about 3 years old - does anyone know how long Sevrums usually live? Are they about ready to head to the big aquarium in the sky?
FYI - the water in the tank is fine.
Al.
Well, it’s not old age - Sevrums are supposed to live up to ten years, IIRC. Don’t know what’s wrong with them, but here’s a link to a site with a bunch of fishy illnesses, maybe they have one of these?:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/library/profiles/blfw0101.htm
Humm - I didn’t see the illness part (I’ll keep looking), but I did notice that the suggested temperature is cooler than I have my tank at - perhaps I’ll start there…
THANKS!
ACK!!! I think they have Fungus
Eeeeeeewwwww.
I kept a Sevrum for about 6 years, and eventually had to give her back to the pet store as she outgrew her 40 gallon tank. She got bacterial infections a few times, which sound like they might be what you’re describing - whitish blotchy covering over the skin, loss of appetite, and listless floating around the tank, barely swimming. Each time she got sick was right after a major change in water temperature or a too-large water change.
A fungul infection will look more like fuzz or long pale streamers coming from the affected area, and can be caused by an injury and stress or poor water conditions. If it’s just a blotchy or whitish covering over the skin and/or cloudy eyes, it’s a bacterial infection. Ask your local aquarium store for an antibiotic.
I gave you the wrong link :o I had two… now I’ll have to find the one I meant to send you.
Humm - it actually sounds more like the bacterial thing - I just get antibiotics you say?
Yeah, but I’m not sure offhand which kind would be the best. Ask at your local pet store.
More importantly, you should try and figure out why they ot sick in the first place. If they’ve been fine in your tank for a long time, then suddenly turned up like this, likely something went wrong with the water. I assume you already checked the PH and your ammonia levels should be zero in an establushed tank. You might want to get a nitrate test kit and check those - when my sevrum started getting sick, it was a sign that it had grown too large for the tank’s filter and my water changes and the nitrate levels were getting to high for it.
got it, done it, all fine.
I dunno why they’re getting sick. Maybe they just hate me. 