Re: My Gold Severum has stopped eating

Question
Hello there,

I have a problem with my Gold Severum, for about a week now he has stopped eating and his tail fins are loosing colour. I did find a problem 3 days ago were both my tank heaters had died on me, so the water got cold, so went out and 2 new heaters and now water is back to nornal. So was just wondering if you might have any idea.

Many Thanx.

Andy


Answer
Good evening Andy, thank you for your question.

I recommend you perform a water test. Beneficial bacteria can be affected by temperature extremes, just as fish can. You may have an ammonia spike going on that you aren't aware of. Make sure nitrates are kept under 20 ppm as well.

I would add a bit of a aquarium salt to the water. It's best to pre-dissolve this in warm water before adding it. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons is what I use, some folks use double this amount. I would also try soaking foods in a garlic extract (such as Garlic Guard or Garlic Xtreme, even a few drops of pure garlic oil) or perhaps VitaChem. Both seem to boost the immune system and make the food more enticing. You could also try dipping food in Seachem's Entice.

Barring water quality (make sure to test and perform water changes as needed!) in my opinion, this fish is just stressed from being cold and it's taking a while to recover. Severums are sensitive to changes in water quality, you may have also risen the temperature a bit too fast - a common mistake, it is best to raise the temperature not more than 2 degrees an hour. Nevertheless, I believe he will rally soon. I suggest you feed a high quality pellet such as New Life Spectrum dipped in vitamins/garlic as a staple, perhaps mixed in with a bit of mysis shrimp for enticement.

A little anecdote for you. My blue ram was in a bit of a funk after he injured his eye against a rock. I treated with  Epsom salts and a dash of Melafix and Pimafix together. I performed 10% water changes every day, and added a piece of resurrection fern that had disengaged - theres lots of it on our oak trees outside. It stained the water more so than blackwater extract and peat combined! I switched the bulb to a faded Aqualux, which just barely kept the tank glowing a rosy pink. In about a week, the blue ram fully recovered.

So in brief, test the water, keep water quality high with daily water changes if needed, feed high quality foods enriched with appetite enhancers. Possibly condition the water with some blackwater extract, or something earthy such as peat, and see if the Amazonian conditions don't soothe your Severum and make him feel more comfortable. If you don't like your water to resemble weak tea, the color can easily be removed with a few cups of activated carbon!

I hope that helps. Check out these sites for more info...

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/severums.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_severum.php

...And feel free to write back anytime. Good luck!

Nicole