My bichir (Polypterus senegalus) is dead

[crabby]

i have 2 bichirs for almost a year, bought them when they were less than 3 inches long.

recently one of them (bigger one) has developed a redness around its head and he's not eating and "breathing" heavily....

tank mate : 2 jack Dempesy, 1 biichir
diet : frozen lean beef, pellet food, frozen shrimp

I was away from home for 2 months, so I asked someone to take care of my 55 gallon tank for me. my friend didn't change water as I asked him to he just added water as it's depleted..... I did a 30% change as soon as I got home but that poor thing still looks weak........ three days went by and it loses its usual golden color, turning pale.......last nite it was upside down and passed away...

could the "redness" be resulted from the infrequent water change?
what type of disease / infection is that?

I want to know so I can prevent this from happening again....

RIP "big fin"

 

[HN1]

I know the impulse will be to do a lot of big water changes, but this is the only situation in which I'd suggest otherwise. Your tank may have developed Old Tank Syndrome (extremely high Nitrate and TDS). If you change too much, too quickly the fish can be shocked and killed. I'd recommend doing 10% changes every 3rd day for 2-3 weeks. Others may have other ideas to help. Keep us updated and good luck!

 

[beblondie]

With out knowing more i'd say it had developed a bacterial infection o some kind-Anne