# Sick Elephant Nose Fish



## Supernova

Hi everyone,
After doing about a 20% water change yesterday my Elephant Nose Fish started swimming up near the top, sitting listlessly on the bottom, or swimming around wildly upside down running into things.

He is usually a ferocious eater, but I tried giving him his bloodworms and he didn't even notice them. After about an hour I noticed him eating some, but not as aggressively as usual. Usually he eats them so fast they end up sticking out his gills.

The tank is a 10 gallon, 80F, I checked the ammonina, nitrite, nitrate and everything is 0. His tank mates are 2 Kuhli Loaches and 1 Pea Puffer. I've noticed in the last week or so a few nips on his fins which I would assume is from the puffer, though I have never seen him be aggressive towards the elephant nose.

His head and face seem to be grey, not like a fungus but almost as though he is missing scales there? (I thought they were scaleless fish to begin with?) He also has a strip of this greyness down his back and along his belly. His face could possible be slightly swollen? His eyes are very grey also and he can't seem to see where he is going. His fins also seem to be quite frayed (doesn't look like nips today) almost like a fin rot.. but the tank parameters are good. 

I've had him for about two months, he's been very active and a very good eater. He is very outgoing and spends most of his time swimming around the tank than hiding.

My first thoughts are either swim bladder or gas bubble disease though I don't know much about either one. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. He's been so healthy I would really hate to lose him!


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## pat3612

Supernova said:


> Hi everyone,
> After doing about a 20% water change yesterday my Elephant Nose Fish started swimming up near the top, sitting listlessly on the bottom, or swimming around wildly upside down running into things.
> 
> He is usually a ferocious eater, but I tried giving him his bloodworms and he didn't even notice them. After about an hour I noticed him eating some, but not as aggressively as usual. Usually he eats them so fast they end up sticking out his gills.
> 
> The tank is a 10 gallon, 80F, I checked the ammonina, nitrite, nitrate and everything is 0. His tank mates are 2 Kuhli Loaches and 1 Pea Puffer. I've noticed in the last week or so a few nips on his fins which I would assume is from the puffer, though I have never seen him be aggressive towards the elephant nose.
> 
> His head and face seem to be grey, not like a fungus but almost as though he is missing scales there? (I thought they were scaleless fish to begin with?) He also has a strip of this greyness down his back and along his belly. His face could possible be slightly swollen? His eyes are very grey also and he can't seem to see where he is going. His fins also seem to be quite frayed (doesn't look like nips today) almost like a fin rot.. but the tank parameters are good.
> 
> I've had him for about two months, he's been very active and a very good eater. He is very outgoing and spends most of his time swimming around the tank than hiding.
> 
> My first thoughts are either swim bladder or gas bubble disease though I don't know much about either one. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. He's been so healthy I would really hate to lose him!


Can you put up a pic. They are very sensitive to water quality . I would do another waterchange also if he is being picked on this wont help. They cannot take stressful situations. I hate to say this but in a 10 gal with a puffer and 2 loachs you are asking for trouble . I would also add a airhose . He could very well have fin rot .


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## Supernova

Well unfortunately it appears it is too late for him. I will try to post a picture anyway as I'm interested to find out what happened to him. Information is still appreciated.

There is an air hose in the tank. The Kuhli Loaches appear to be quite shy I don't ever see them except at feed time. They are not aggressive feeders compared to other types of loaches and the Elephant Nose seemed to get more than his share. As for the puffer, I didn't see any agressiveness although I'm sure it went on occasionally as he did have some nips in his fins.

UPDATE: Here ar some photos, you can see the grey around his head which is not normally there.


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## pat3612

Yep that looks like the puffer did it ,once had a puffer do that to a betta never bother him for a year then turned on him. The grey on the side looks like heater burn I had a pleco that did that . Iam sorry you lost him. Watch he dosent start on the loachs next. I would move him if you can. Or add lots of plants maybe a little wood.


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## ameekplec.

Part of the reason, no doubt in my mind, of why it died is because 1. It's in a tank far too small for it, 2. It's with incompatible species (puffers should never be housed with other fish, as they nip as you have learned), 3. most likely water quality issues are present. The fins on that fish look completely rotted down to the bone and receding excessively. 

The grey was probably a combination of stress and infection. Likely your WC caused a dramatic change in parameters, pushing him over the edge. Also, do you filter or condition your water?


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## Supernova

Shoot, those little puffers can be such buggers. I didn't realize how aggressive he was being. Such a a shame. He might be looking for a new home.  

My water is both filtered and conditioned. The parameters were tested after the WC and were normal but I guess if the elephant nose fish was already stressed the stress of the water change itself could have pushed him over the edge.


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