Hi all
The title says it all. I have a black and white clown ive had for about 5 years now. Its mate jumped 3 years ago and she has been alone ever since.
2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to pair her up again and get a new small male to make the transition easier.
Now I know...Petco...don't do it. Well I did...i was excited and made a poor decision. All fish in the tank looked nice and healthy so I felt better about my decision. I chose the one that as most active, had great color, etc.
Got it home, acclimated and put in a specimen box so he and the big female could meet for a few days without killing eachother. Left the new male in the box for 72hrs....released....and they took to eachother no issues! Everyone eating and playing well together, no aggression.
Fast forward 1.5 weeks to Saturday (few days ago). The large female had white slime covering her back half of the body...brook....caught her, did a freshwater dip. The small male appeared to be fine so I didn't dip him but probably should have.
Slime went away. Everyone still eating...great news! Next day female has missing scales where the white was, but still eating, male looks good still so slightly optimistic.
Yesterday..2 days post fresh water dip, small male was found dead on the sand in the middle if the day, covered in white slime...female, looks no worse and swimming better than before. Sucks, but atleast the female is holding on.
Wake up this morning and the female can barely swim, white slime is back and has a spot near head now. I know its only a matter if hours at this point.
So anyway, learned my lesson...im very upset both at the loss and at myself for being so foolish.
Now I've never lost a fish due to disease. At this point, is it best to leave my tank fallow for a few months, or is there no point and just get new fish, feed well, etc.
I wont be buying from Petco again and will pay more to make sure I have healthy fish, but even then I know there are no guarantees. I live in an apartment so QT isn't an option for me....thought I would put that out there.
Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent and I appreciate any and all advice.
The title says it all. I have a black and white clown ive had for about 5 years now. Its mate jumped 3 years ago and she has been alone ever since.
2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to pair her up again and get a new small male to make the transition easier.
Now I know...Petco...don't do it. Well I did...i was excited and made a poor decision. All fish in the tank looked nice and healthy so I felt better about my decision. I chose the one that as most active, had great color, etc.
Got it home, acclimated and put in a specimen box so he and the big female could meet for a few days without killing eachother. Left the new male in the box for 72hrs....released....and they took to eachother no issues! Everyone eating and playing well together, no aggression.
Fast forward 1.5 weeks to Saturday (few days ago). The large female had white slime covering her back half of the body...brook....caught her, did a freshwater dip. The small male appeared to be fine so I didn't dip him but probably should have.
Slime went away. Everyone still eating...great news! Next day female has missing scales where the white was, but still eating, male looks good still so slightly optimistic.
Yesterday..2 days post fresh water dip, small male was found dead on the sand in the middle if the day, covered in white slime...female, looks no worse and swimming better than before. Sucks, but atleast the female is holding on.
Wake up this morning and the female can barely swim, white slime is back and has a spot near head now. I know its only a matter if hours at this point.
So anyway, learned my lesson...im very upset both at the loss and at myself for being so foolish.
Now I've never lost a fish due to disease. At this point, is it best to leave my tank fallow for a few months, or is there no point and just get new fish, feed well, etc.
I wont be buying from Petco again and will pay more to make sure I have healthy fish, but even then I know there are no guarantees. I live in an apartment so QT isn't an option for me....thought I would put that out there.
Anyway, thanks for listening to me vent and I appreciate any and all advice.