Emergency!! (Interruptus)

[Indym]

Woke up to discover my female Interruptus in this condition :-

And then, upon further scrutiny, i noticed something very strange about her anus :-

You see how its very distended? Last night she ate quite a bit of mysis before lights out. She's still very much alive, and can barely move around, but she just lays there on the bottom.

Water - 24C-25C, ammonia+nitrites 0, nitrates 10

Is this a result of the constipation? Any ideas on fixing this problem?

[kueytoc]

How long have U keep the fish ? Is it still under quarrantine ?

Did U dose any medication ?

Did U observe any erratic behavior for the past few days ?

See that its condition is pretty dire and sad to say this it may not last for long.

[Indym]

Picked it up on Thursday, put it in quarantine and dosed praziquantel and seachem paraguard. Looked healthy and was eating well, until this morning, this happened overnight and i have no clue how this happened. This quarantine also has 2 oblique lines, 2 helfrichi's, a yellow assessor and a neon goby. All are fine, except the interruptus.

[FuEl]

Looks like some kind of intestinal blockage.

http://www.bestfish.com/tips/061099.html

Epsom salt might be your best gamble now.

[Indym]

Thanks bro, will give it a shot.

[yikai]

indy,

i'm very very sorry to hear about your interruptus. although it's nothing short of misfortunate and no way to predict it, i feel partly responsible since i chose this specimen for you.

reborn should have fed praziquantel right from the beginning to the interruptus angels. also just to let you know, the two wrought irons are doing very badly and are badly infected with some sort of disease and may not make it soon.

it could be internal parasites and problems which could have been easily treated with prazi from the beginning. Rhomboid wrasses often suffer a similar fate.

Constipation is another alternative but quite unlikely. yes mysis is known to cause conjestion, however the stomach is not distented from over-feeding. so i rule this out. besides, constipated fish can still swim and will still eat.

my roseafascia had the same distented anus but also a big belly as it's very greedy and always over-eats. it has recovered from it's constipation with the feeding of nori and other greens.

in any case i wish you the best of luck and i hope you don't give up in keeping you dream angelfish. if you decide to get another one, PM me. i have another source and might be cheaper too.

take care.

[Solo77]

If u need the salt and stay ard punggol, I have some to spare. All the best.

[Indym]

indy,

i'm very very sorry to hear about your interruptus. although it's nothing short of misfortunate and no way to predict it, i feel partly responsible since i chose this specimen for you.

reborn should have fed praziquantel right from the beginning to the interruptus angels. also just to let you know, the two wrought irons are doing very badly and are badly infected with some sort of disease and may not make it soon.

it could be internal parasites and problems which could have been easily treated with prazi from the beginning. Rhomboid wrasses often suffer a similar fate.

Constipation is another alternative but quite unlikely. yes mysis is known to cause conjestion, however the stomach is not distented from over-feeding. so i rule this out. besides, constipated fish can still swim and will still eat.

my roseafascia had the same distented anus but also a big belly as it's very greedy and always over-eats. it has recovered from it's constipation with the feeding of nori and other greens.

in any case i wish you the best of luck and i hope you don't give up in keeping you dream angelfish. if you decide to get another one, PM me. i have another source and might be cheaper too.

take care.

Lemon, you are in no way responsible for this. After looking at all four of them, the one you picked was indeed the best. Whatever else came with the fish, we couldn't tell. Thanks again for picking her out for me.

Regarding prazi, all 4 were scratching, and after looking at them for about an hour, i ruled out ich and velvet. If it was velvet, they would've been dead a long time ago. After acclimatizing her, i dosed the appropriate amount of prazi and she went apeshit, she was scratching all over the place. After 5 minutes, she stopped scratching, until the time of her death.

I will have this fish again. PM you

[yikai]

Lemon, you are in no way responsible for this. After looking at all four of them, the one you picked was indeed the best. Whatever else came with the fish, we couldn't tell. Thanks again for picking her out for me.

Regarding prazi, all 4 were scratching, and after looking at them for about an hour, i ruled out ich and velvet. If it was velvet, they would've been dead a long time ago. After acclimatizing her, i dosed the appropriate amount of prazi and she went apeshit, she was scratching all over the place. After 5 minutes, she stopped scratching, until the time of her death.

I will have this fish again. PM you

could be flukes.

angels often come with a huge bag of problems.

flukes, internal parasites and especially decompression problem if they are deeper dwelling species.

don't lose heart. interruptus, like most other fishes, are easy. the problem lies with treating the common problems asap.

as a rule of thumb, just prazi the food and feed to any expensive fish. prazi-ing the food does no harm in anyway and i see nothing except benefit once done.

i dosed prazi in my fish tank before but had some casualties. don't know if it's the prazi itself, or other factors. but the 2 fish just died the next day.

i find FW dip more effective and reliefs flukes faster. tried both methods before and from personal experience, i prefer a FW dip.

of course you could just prazi your fish too but this is jut personal preference.

anyway replied your PM.

[Indym]

I'm sure she had flukes, lots of scratching. All scratching stopped after prazi. But i forgot to prazi the food, that might've helped. The next one is gonna have Prazi buffet.

[yikai]

I'm sure she had flukes, lots of scratching. All scratching stopped after prazi. But i forgot to prazi the food, that might've helped. The next one is gonna have Prazi buffet.

just be liberous with the prazi.

my fish have gotten so accustomed to it that they eat the prazi residues straight off the bottle. without feeding the food.

prazi is like fish food to them.

[Digiman]

Hi Indy,

as i've mentioned to u before in pm i think, interruptus, conspic and bandit are very tricky fishes, they can come w a lot of problems and if u like all these expensive fishes and want to keep them, u muz be prepared for losses and i myself have lost many of such costly fishes but i'm not at all disheartened. I still like fishes a lot and will not give up, I hope u wont too. Interruptus especially is v problematic and most big ones cant make it even after gg thru a stringent QT process. A lot is based on luck.

Today i went down to RB intending to get one of the interruptus and i was shocked and sad w the left over three interruptus, all three are having many problems. They are all rubbing and scratching against the glass surface, one also has lymphocystis like growth on the fin and all three has some lost scales and wounds on the body. But what's most worrying is two of them are quite skinny despite feeding v well and that proves internal parasites and problems which are v hard to cure even w prazi as they're wat cause the deaths of so many big interruptus! After tat i look at the wrought iron, they are in a worse state, the breathing is worrying fast despite temperature being set at 23 degree already (i decrease it further by a degree or two and hope it helps). There is also cloudy eyes and wat looks like flukes infection, maybe ick as well. And one of the wrought iron is lying listlessly on the bottom of the tank not swimming anymore. They are so stress being so big and confined in such a small tank, i feel so sad for the two fishes. On the other hand sacura anthias is doing quite well.

[yikai]

most of the time, the easiest fish to keep are lost not to the difficulty of feeding ,acclimation etc, itself. but because of the tons of problems that arrive with it.

like digiman said, don't give up and don't lose hope!

and yes i forgot to mentioned that larger sized interruptus are difficult to adapt. smallest ones are best but way too ex.

[Indym]

If u need the salt and stay ard punggol, I have some to spare. All the best.

Thanks for offering bro, but she's gone, and i stay in Kuala Lumpur

[Indym]

Hi Indy,

as i've mentioned to u before in pm i think, interruptus, conspic and bandit are very tricky fishes, they can come w a lot of problems and if u like all these expensive fishes and want to keep them, u muz be prepared for losses and i myself have lost many of such costly fishes but i'm not at all disheartened. I still like fishes a lot and will not give up, I hope u wont too. Interruptus especially is v problematic and most big ones cant make it even after gg thru a stringent QT process. A lot is based on luck.

Today i went down to RB intending to get one of the interruptus and i was shocked and sad w the left over three interruptus, all three are having many problems. They are all rubbing and scratching against the glass surface, one also has lymphocystis like growth on the fin and all three has some lost scales and wounds on the body. But what's most worrying is two of them are quite skinny despite feeding v well and that proves internal parasites and problems which are v hard to cure even w prazi as they're wat cause the deaths of so many big interruptus! After tat i look at the wrought iron, they are in a worse state, the breathing is worrying fast despite temperature being set at 23 degree already (i decrease it further by a degree or two and hope it helps). There is also cloudy eyes and wat looks like flukes infection, maybe ick as well. And one of the wrought iron is lying listlessly on the bottom of the tank not swimming anymore. They are so stress being so big and confined in such a small tank, i feel so sad for the two fishes. On the other hand sacura anthias is doing quite well.

Hi Digi,

I remembered how you mentioned the big ones never do well, and thats one of the primary reasons why i bought this one. I figured the smaller ones would have a better chance. I think my mistake is waiting a few weeks before purchasing, i should've got it straight on arrival and tried my best to treat. While this fish is pricey (for me), i will try one more time. If that doesn't work out, i'll get a pair of Joc's and call it a day lol.

[Nitro]

Thanks for offering bro, but she's gone, and i stay in Kuala Lumpur

Is the body very stiff? Not the usual stiffness when dead but super hard and straight from head to tail. Juz trying to confirm one point.

[Indym]

most of the time, the easiest fish to keep are lost not to the difficulty of feeding ,acclimation etc, itself. but because of the tons of problems that arrive with it.

like digiman said, don't give up and don't lose hope!

and yes i forgot to mentioned that larger sized interruptus are difficult to adapt. smallest ones are best but way too ex.

Thanks for the encouragement, its like much needed therapy

[Indym]

Is the body very stiff? Not the usual stiffness when dead but super hard and straight from head to tail. Juz trying to confirm one point.

It seemed like a normal death, not rock hard. But its rock hard now cuz its in my freezer Willing to donate to anyone that wants to do an autopsy for the fun of it.

[Digiman]

Hi Digi,

I remembered how you mentioned the big ones never do well, and thats one of the primary reasons why i bought this one. I figured the smaller ones would have a better chance. I think my mistake is waiting a few weeks before purchasing, i should've got it straight on arrival and tried my best to treat. While this fish is pricey (for me), i will try one more time. If that doesn't work out, i'll get a pair of Joc's and call it a day lol.

They are all big, even the smallest one is also considered big for interruptus, in this batch. I want to get one also, but has heard too much horror stories so i waited many weeks as many have internal problems that are v hard to treat and i dun wan to anyhow choose one and end up w one that has internal problems tat are impossible to treat. Even w prazi it does not work as proven by pple in the states, one whole batch of big interruptus brought in by one US LFS before all died of internal parasites despite undergoing prazi QT. Those external problems like flukes and fin rot etc are not the most worrying, it is the internal ones. I really pray the best for the leftovers, if they survive this ordeal i'll still go back for them.

[yikai]

stiffness after death is caused by rigor mortis, which usually sets in a few hours after death.

rigor mortis is caused by chemical changes and is one of the signs used for confirmation of death.

Indy, here's something interesting but nerdy for you to try on your future fish. if you can obtain ATP (adenosin triphosphate) and apply it to a freshly dead fish or any organism for that matter, the muscles will start to become active and the fish will "move".

it has to be freshly dead. ATP is what our body cells use for energy and if muscles of a freshly dead organism is still alive, applying this on it will make it move. very intersting.. but kinda morbid

[Indym]

They are all big, even the smallest one is also considered big for interruptus, in this batch. I want to get one also, but has heard too much horror stories so i waited many weeks as many have internal problems that are v hard to treat and i dun wan to anyhow choose one and end up w one that has internal problems tat are impossible to treat. Even w prazi it does not work as proven by pple in the states, one whole batch of big interruptus brought in by one US LFS before all died of internal parasites despite undergoing prazi QT. Those external problems like flukes and fin rot etc are not the most worrying, it is the internal ones. I really pray the best for the leftovers, if they survive this ordeal i'll still go back for them.

These internal parasites, how are they so lethal after they are collected? Surely they must have had them when they were caught. Is it the added stress of catching and shipping? Internal parasites + decompression problems really makes it seem like a pure gamble with these guys, very worrying, but worth a shot, personally. Chingchai's trio seem to be doing alright on the other hand.

[yikai]

These internal parasites, how are they so lethal after they are collected? Surely they must have had them when they were caught. Is it the added stress of catching and shipping? Internal parasites + decompression problems really makes it seem like a pure gamble with these guys, very worrying, but worth a shot, personally. Chingchai's trio seem to be doing alright on the other hand.

i have always wondered about that too.

if they arrive with the internal problems, means they had it already in the wild. dunno what's the reason and i've been trying to figure out too. maybe it has something to do with the parasite's life cycle, which is very often overlooked.

internal parasites can be a a real PITA to cure. when it's too late, all efforts are almost futile. even when pinched in the bud, it will take many doses and even after, it may relapse.

chingchai's one was better because he got them almost immediately and he did stringent QT. and also i guess because he may be lucky. althought stringent qt like wat digi said may not be helpful, thats why i think chingchai had lady luck smiling on him too.

[Indym]

stiffness after death is caused by rigor mortis, which usually sets in a few hours after death.

rigor mortis is caused by chemical changes and is one of the signs used for confirmation of death.

Indy, here's something interesting but nerdy for you to try on your future fish. if you can obtain ATP (adenosin triphosphate) and apply it to a freshly dead fish or any organism for that matter, the muscles will start to become active and the fish will "move".

it has to be freshly dead. ATP is what our body cells use for energy and if muscles of a freshly dead organism is still alive, applying this on it will make it move. very intersting.. but kinda morbid

It causes the muscles to fire even though there's no one behind the wheel? Yea Thats pretty cool, definitely youtube worthy.

[yikai]

It causes the muscles to fire even though there's no one behind the wheel? Yea Thats pretty cool, definitely youtube worthy.

yes. cool huh.

but the muscle has to be still alive, which is usually the case in freshly dead specimens.

[Digiman]

These internal parasites, how are they so lethal after they are collected? Surely they must have had them when they were caught. Is it the added stress of catching and shipping? Internal parasites + decompression problems really makes it seem like a pure gamble with these guys, very worrying, but worth a shot, personally. Chingchai's trio seem to be doing alright on the other hand.

Wild caught interruptus i read harbour a load of internal parasites and under the stress of shipping the bigger fishes often succumb to the internal problems. That's why the big ones are so much cheaper. It's the shipping, big ones dun ship well, jux like bandits, so hard to get healthy big ones. Interruptus are shallow water, so they dun hav decompression issues.

Chingchai is lucky, the other person who bought another three from the first batch one died withing first few days, the other two not sure wat happened. So it really all depends on luck.