# My irritan is sick



## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

Well, my irritan has gotten sick due to him regurgitating a piece of tilapia that I didnt catch. I believe that is the cause at least. I went to look at him on monday, and he was really sluggish. Checked water parameters and all were good except nitrates were 80+. Cleaned the tank (25%) and found a piece of tilapia from at least a few days before. On tuesday I cleaned it again (25%), and he was still just sluggish. On wednesday I checked on him again and he was still sluggish and kind of head down. I did a small change again because nitrates were still over 40. I got them to about 20. I added some salt to hopefully lower the stress level. Now he is on the top, still upright, but not looking good at all. I dont think there is much I can do besides hope. To anyone who reads this, try to have good thoughts for the irritan. Ive had him since I joined the site, so I really am having a hard time with this.

update at bottom

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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)

i hope he pulls through man.


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## PygoFanatic (May 2, 2006)

Thats one beautiful fish. Ill try to toss some good Karma his way. Have you tried some extra aeration? Keep doing them water changes. Do a big one if thats what it takes. I have confidence that his condition will improve over the next 24 hours.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Good luck... you may as mentioned want to add an aearator to his tank to just pump the water full of oxygen, you may also want to turn up the heat to 82-84 degrees and keep the lights off and keep his life as stress free as possible.


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## DAZZA (Mar 7, 2003)

Good luck. Probably the best Irritan on the board.


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## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

Yeah I dont know what to tell you, as long as you have had him, I doubt he got something from the wild....lol......

Look him over real good, make sure no body marks, check his waste. Unless you recently added some decor or plants.

I know a few years ago, one of my tanks the fish started breathing heavy, checked my ph had crashed???Never could figure out the problem, fixed it and they were fine.

I think I would add some extra airstones as said....

move to disease forum...


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## SangreRoja (Feb 18, 2006)

I sure hope he pulls threw!! And like they said airstone,salt


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

I added the airstone just a little bit ago. He's still alive and kicking, and I actually saw him hovering near the bottom, which he hasnt been able to do for a while. I think he's getting better, but its definitely not in the clear. Thanks for the replies so far guys.


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

Update: The irritan is stil acting the same. Sitting at the top of the water column with his back touching the surface. It seems to me like it could be a swim bladder issue. Whenever he dives down, its head first, and he stays angled head down as he treads water. He doesnt stay down long, and then is at the top where he stays. This is pretty much what happened to my elong almost a year ago before he died. All I notice when looking at him is that there seems to be a slight bulge in his belly, but he hasnt eaten since monday, and that was just one small bite. Anyone have any ideas?

Edit: Is it possible that its dropsy?


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## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

DAZZA said:


> Good luck. Probably the best Irritan on the board.


Probally an argueable point for the rest of the irritans owners on the board























What I would do is take a core water reading and see if anything is out of check. Is the Ph whack? The next thing I would do is think if there was anything you added new to the tank in the past few weeks. Having nitrates that high isnt good for the fish for sure, but 80 imo isnt going to kill a fish (short term). Does he have any other signs of sickness? Sores? fungus? I would also suggest doing small daily water changes for him until he starts improving. Maybe say, 15-25% water change daily. I really hope the little guy pulls through. You have had him quite some time and it would definetly suck to lose such an awesome fish.


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## taito (Jun 29, 2006)

try to give him some vitamine...

Sera Fishtamine

6-7 drops / 50lt

I have the same problems with my Sanchezi... and the next day , swimming again


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

The fish is continually getting worse as time goes on. This cant be just high nitrates, but something more serious. Again, he has a small bulge in his abdomen area. There is nothing else out of the ordinary besides he looks pretty pale. If anyone can help please let me know.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

If you notice scales raising at the belly bulge treat for Dropsy. Maracyn 2 I believe is what you want to use. It may be constipation causing an organ to press against the swim bladder. Try feeding him a frozen pea. It will act as a laxative. Hopefully he just needs to pinch a loaf. Good Karma tossed to the Irritan. GL.


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

I wasnt comfortable putting the maracin in yet, so I got the peas. I tried that before with my elongatus when he was sick, and he wouldnt eat peas. The irritan doesnt like them either, however a little trickery got him to eat it. I rolled it around in some beefheart juice and he ate it right up. That was at about 9:45 am today. Its now 12:00 noon and I looked it on him again. It's weird. I have been checking on him from the opposite end he sits at, and this time after about 30 seconds he came over to investigate where the light was coming from. He's still not so stable, but this might be a good sign. Im going to wait and see if the scale issue develops before putting in any maracin two.


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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)

any updates?


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

He's still alive, which honestly was a surprise. He still sits near the surface of the water, but is slowly becoming more active. He ate again yesterday. I got this stuff made by Kent its called Zoe, and its a liquid vitamin additive for fish food. Ive been putting it on his food just in case he has some sort of defficiency. Anyway, things are looking up as of now, but he's still not acting normal yet.


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## P boost (Sep 17, 2006)

Hope he comes around man Gl!


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

Well, good news. It seems this has worked and he is indeed coming around. He is still pretty skittish, which he normally isnt. He isnt stuck on the top anymore though, and that is a very good sign. I am attributing the problem to a combo of high nitrates and possibly some sort of diet problem. Whether it was constipation or the fact that he has only been eating tilapia for a while remains to be seen. All I know is that 1. a reduction in nitrates 2. Feeding of a pea 3. salt 4. liquid vitamin on food, is what I did to rectify the problem. It seems that he will come around fully, but i will update on that when the time comes. Thanks everyone for the support and advice on this issue. Merry Christmas!


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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)

great work man. merry christmas.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

mori0174 said:


> Well, good news. It seems this has worked and he is indeed coming around. He is still pretty skittish, which he normally isnt. He isnt stuck on the top anymore though, and that is a very good sign. I am attributing the problem to a combo of high nitrates and possibly some sort of diet problem. Whether it was constipation or the fact that he has only been eating tilapia for a while remains to be seen. All I know is that 1. a reduction in nitrates 2. Feeding of a pea 3. salt 4. liquid vitamin on food, is what I did to rectify the problem. It seems that he will come around fully, but i will update on that when the time comes. Thanks everyone for the support and advice on this issue. Merry Christmas!


That was ingenious of you soaking the pea in the beefheart juice. Glad things are looking up for you and your Irritan. Merry Christmas to you to man....


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

My irritan totally came around by my last post. I had last looked in on him sunday night before I went to work, and he was fine. I went to feed him and clean his tank today, and he was dead. I have no idea what could have happened. I went through hell and back with this fish, and I thought he had made a full recovery. It wasnt so. I just want to thank everyone again who helped me through this, and also through all the other issues I faced while I had this fish for 2.5 years.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

That totally sucks!
It was a gorgeous fish.

I've had quite an interest in irritans lately... ordered one yesterday.

Are you gonna get another?


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## inspectahdeck34 (Dec 31, 2006)

thats too bad man sorry to hear that good luck with any future fish you get or current fish you have


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## kilicar (Nov 3, 2006)

inspectahdeck34 said:


> thats too bad man sorry to hear that good luck with any future fish you get or current fish you have


sorry for your lost, good luck in the future


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## the REASON (Jun 18, 2006)




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## NIH23 (Aug 18, 2006)

sorry


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Sorry man. Just curious if the bulge on his belly was still there ???


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## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

Dr. Giggles said:


> Sorry man. Just curious if the bulge on his belly was still there ???


no it had disappeared about 11 days after I noticed it. The death was completely unexected and he had been acting normal the day before. I checked everything and havent come up with anything else other than that he must not have been over his sickness.


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