# My piranha died last Thursday........



## scorpion_bsk (Oct 21, 2006)

so I was hoping someone out there could give me any insight into what was wrong with him or if anyone else has had a similar problem. For several months now he has been having problems with digesting food after he eats. It just started several months ago, before that he was fine. I have not introduced anything into his diet that I could point an accusing finger at either. I have always fed him a varied diet of fresh fish (not goldfish or minnows), shrimp, worms, and occasional vegetables. He has always been nice and healthy, not obese or anything like that. He was around six and a half years old when he died. As for what was going on with him.....well, for several months now I would feed him and he would get sick for several days after. He would lay on his belly on the bottom of the tank and occasionally rush up to the top and gulp air. Then he would go lay on the bottom again and "burp" the air back out along with nasty, couple day old undigested food. Like I said, this has been going on for several months and he seemed to get worse everytime I fed him. I have talked to local pet shops and vets and no one can seem to tell me what was wrong. Anyone here got any answers? Thanks! Brian

Here is a pic of him that is about a year and a half ago or so:


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

hm i dunno, was the tank cycled, how big is it? I doubt those have any effect on it but its good to know


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## scorpion_bsk (Oct 21, 2006)

The tank was fine as well as the water. It is a 29 gallon tank. I have a friend who owns a shop here and he tested the water for things other than the ph, which I always test anyway. He couldn't find anything wrong with the water. His only explanation was that it was just born with something wrong with his stomach. He didn't have any other ideas. I don't either..........?


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Were there any unusual markings on his head or mucus excreting from the gills area when he died ? It is probably safe to speculate that it was an internal parasite. Which one, who knows without you putting the fish under a microscope.


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## scorpion_bsk (Oct 21, 2006)

Dr. Giggles said:


> Were there any unusual markings on his head or mucus excreting from the gills area when he died ? It is probably safe to speculate that it was an internal parasite. Which one, who knows without you putting the fish under a microscope.


No, there was nothing unusual at all. No markings, no mucous, no external parasites, may be internal parasites but I don't know. He always appeared very healthy, active and brightly colored except for the few days after he would eat. He would then get sick for a few days, then he'd be appearing healthy again.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

what were u feeding him homes???


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## scorpion_bsk (Oct 21, 2006)

As stated above, I was feeding him fresh fish (not goldfish or minnows), shrimp, worms and occasional vegetables. I didn't introduce anything new to his diet so I don't have anything there to blame.


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## vincecarder (Feb 1, 2006)

I don't know about you but that pink, blue and teal gravel would make me sick as well....









Sorry for the loss. I lost my 12 year old red due to someone throwing in crap into the tank when I wasn't there....


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## scorpion_bsk (Oct 21, 2006)

vincecarder said:


> I don't know about you but that pink, blue and teal gravel would make me sick as well....
> 
> 
> 
> ...










Yeah, that gravel is something else!







My wife bought me everything for my birthday since I lost my last p several years before and have always wanted to get another one. My last one died due to my little sister putting things in the tank too! She liked to put her dolls up on the edge of the tank with their feet dangling in the water!







Well, I'm going to get two more in about a month and a half. But before I do I want to get some NATURAL gravel!


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