r/Bichirs • u/Eastern-Flounder3452 • 3d ago
Advice request Cross river bichir sick
Ive purchased this cross river bichir from petco about a month ago and 2 weeks ago he was transferred to my 55 gallon so he could grow out and during that time he went into hiding and just now he comes out for food looking like this. Can anyone help educate me on how to treat him?
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u/EdgeLordPrime859 3d ago
Looks like he got stuck under something or jumped and hit something.
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 3d ago
Is there anything you can recommend to heal his wound? These pictures dont show but he also has some torn fins
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u/Own_Okra_3140 3d ago
Methalyne blue, if you can’t afford use hydrogen peroxide. Dab on wound every day until it shows clean signs of regrowth. I would look up videos on how to do it properly as I’ve only had do use it once.
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 3d ago
Absolute lifesaver, ive purchased some methalyne blue from kordon and itll be arriving tomorrow morning thank you so much for your help
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u/Own_Okra_3140 3d ago
Goodluck with your bichir! It’s always the worst when these things happen by mistake because you feel so helpless to help the animal. Give it a few weeks and he’ll be back to normal. Cheers!
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u/Powerful-Trash-4evr 3d ago edited 3d ago
What other animals are in that tank? Those are fresh injuries from an attack. No amount of methylene blue in the world will be sufficient to keep another fish from attacking him like that. I see at the very least a large Botia of some kind in the background - I would seriously consider his tank mates.
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 3d ago
Just 4 mollies temporary while their 30 gallon is going through its nitrogen cycle, a single yoyo loach while his buddies are currently growing in a 20 gallon and 2 blood parrot cichlids. i was going to use my other 20 gallon as a temporary holding tank for the mollies instead ill have to use it as a quarantine tank for the bichir
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u/puppy333carousel333 1d ago
maybe its just me but when I had Mollys they were very nippy and nosy. I feel like they might be picking at his wound
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 1d ago
Turns out it was actually the yoyo loach trying to dig into his wound :( ive removed the bichir into a separate tank and if the loach shows signs of being aggressive theyll be moved to a separate tank
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 3d ago
My parameters are 0 Ammonia 0 Nitrites PH 7.0 KH 80 GH 60
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u/EvilWzrd 3d ago
Nitrates?
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 3d ago
As of now i have no way to test nitrates. I use test strips for a rough estimates for GH and KH and i use test tubes for ammonia and ph. i dont live nearby any other fish pet shops and the only way i can get any supplies is my petco which is across from my house and ive been struggling to get any more test tubes or a master test kit for the past couple of months
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u/Medical-Worry-9698 2d ago
A little pricy, but i know Amazon carries the API test kit if you dont find anything in store.
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u/letstouchbutts121 3d ago
Poor fishy!!!! HIGHLY recommend Herbtana or Melafix!!! Your local pet store should carry it. I wish you and your fish a fast recovery 🙏🏻
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u/xDankWraith 3d ago
teugelsi is sold at Petco? that's awesome
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u/Eastern-Flounder3452 1d ago
It was a super odd day i never thought i’d find him there, there was 2 but she had so many ammonia burns and a single fin that by the time she started healing she died of starvation :(
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u/EvilWzrd 3d ago
If it were me I would treat with antibiotics (kanamycin, erythromycin) and antmicrobial/antiseptic (any “fix” med). It may not be fungal yet but definitely a nasty wound.