Starved fish

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Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
476
Location
Richmond, Virginia
I picked up 6 Pristella Tetra's yesterday - at the time I thought I was taking the last of their stock. However, on the way out the door I realized that there were 2 more on display in a small Eclipse by the register. They were closing, and had other customers to deal with, so I decided to go back today and get those 2.

Today, I told the "fish boy" (small mom&pop shop) I wanted the Pristellas, and then struck up a conversation with the guy who does the ordering (I need corys). The fish were bagged by the time I got to them, and I just paid and left.

Well, upon getting home I found that they had incredibly shrunken bellies. Looked like ethiopian fish. I knew that it could be something other than starvation, but they appeared in good shape otherwise (as good as possible under the circumstances). I think that they were kind of forgotten up in the front of the store, and weren't getting fed properly.

I obviously was concerned about adding them in with the others, but I don't have a QT yet. While I was acclimating them, I also threw in some freeze-dried bloodworms just to see if they would eat - they did, voraciously. So I took the chance.

They are in with the community. I fed everyone some FD brine shrimp (which they absolutely loved) just to try to get some more food in them. They are active and sociable, but I'm still concerned.

I couldn't take them back tonight, because the store would have been closed. Did I just blow it, or was it worth taking the chance?
 
I'd keep a very close eye on them, they could have an internal parasite. Perhaps they were in a separate tank for a reason? Of course they may just be starved but keep a very close eye on them just in case. You could also try and feed them some medicated food for parasites to be cautious.
 
So far they are doing OK. One is doing quite well, schooling and very active. The other is spending a lot of time hanging around a quiet corner. He's social when the others come visit, but doesn't join them unless it's feeding time. Too soon to tell which way this will break.

On a sad note, I lost one of the other 6 Pristella's sometime between bringing the new guys home and going to bed last night. By "lost", I mean he disappeared - I did a headcount before adding the new guys, and they were all there. Can't find him in the tank, can't find any fish jerkey (although I haven't moved everything under the stand yet). I have to assume he jumped - we have really scoured the tank looking for him (don't need him rotting in there).

Oh well. Hopefully the two sick ones will pull through.
 
Sorry to hear about the loss of the one, he may still turn up hidden in an ornament, fish can hide really well sometimes. Or like you said he may have jumped.
 
No ornaments, just a lace rock and a stump, both of which I have checked. The Pristella that was hanging out in the corner didn't make it - found him this morning. The other one is still doing well, and appears to be getting a bit of a belly again - at least it's no longer concave.
 
Well, good news at last. I was wrong about the dead fish this morning - it wasn't one of the two sick ones, it was one the missing fish that I picked up on Sunday. No idea why it died. I still have 7, and the two skinny fish both seem to be improving. I can't say they are "filling out" yet, but they are now both more active, although one does spend some alone time as well.
 
excellent - another good news post :) This really helps those of us who have had our share of problems - gives us (or at least me) hope
 
Although I'm having a rather crappy fish day with my corys (see other post), the Pristellas seem to be doing well. The one that was hanging in the corner is spending a LOT more time with the others. Hopefully this isn't a false recovery, but so far things are looking better than they were just this morning.

Here's a quick picture showing 5 of my 7 schooling. The sick fish are the two on top:



I have to say, I'm really starting to like these fish - very clean look, with the just the right touch of flash from the fins. I think they will turn out to be great members of the community.
 
I love my Pristellas. They are very pretty and active little fishes. They are very tough tetras, I've noticed, who can tolerate a wide range of conditions. Mine spawn pretty frequently also, although, the eggs get eaten almost immediately.
 
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