Blackfin Shark

Question
QUESTION: Karen all of a sudden my healthy B. Fins have started to climb the glass and have lost their appetite. I've done a water change, salt, cycle, melafix,I'm at a loss. I've also tried to entice them with their tastiest morsels but alas I think their dying. If you have any thoughts on how to help them I'd sure appreciate it. Thanks Sandy
ANSWER: Dear Sandy,
Black Fin sharks are very different in behavior from many aquarium fishes. It is said that when they reach past 4 inches they tend to become very restless. Some sources claim it may be due to some migratory drive. Flucuations in salinity level and strong water turnover are the best steps to take to settle this fish down.

First off, make sure your Black fins aren't suffering from poor water quality. It would be great if you could test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. These levels should always be ZERO for the first two and nitrate should always be 20 or less. Once this is out of the way, we can look at other factors that may cause this behavior. Black fins are Brackish fish, which brackish means is half-saltwater and half-freshwater in other words, somewhere in between. Brackish water is best achieved by using synthetic marine salt for saltwater tanks. Regular aquarium salt doesn't contain the trace elements and minerals needed for true brackish water as the marine aquarium salt does. You would also need a hydrometer for a brackish tank so you can read the salinity level. Black fins tend to prefer it at around 1.005-1.015 Like with many brackish water fish, regular mild flucuations tend to be good for their health as they would experience this in their natural habitat in the wild. Black fins also do best in a big, roomy tank with a powerful filter and good current with good oxygentations also. (Powerheads would be good for this)
In fact, the salinity level should actually be increased as the fish grows in size (they can mature at 13" inches) and are are likely best at all the way up to a full 100% marine tank's salinity level. When they are young they can be kept in freshwater but like with any brackish water species, they may live in freshwater but they will not thrive in it especially as they grow larger and get older.

Try doing some extra water changes, such as 30-50% every day or so, maybe increase the current in the tank, test your water if possible, and try giving them some frozen red-worms as this often entices them to eat. It is always possible they may have an illness, such as the all-too common ich or white spot parasites. They may not yet be visible on their skin or the parasites may be hiding in their gills. It's very difficult to diagnose fish diseases without actually seeing the fish of course and then still.

Something else that might help is to know more about your aquarium. Such as what size tank they are in, how long has it been setup, has it been cycled, what other fish are they living with if any, how often you do water changes, if this is a brackish water tank, what filter, test results, ect..

I really hope this helps! If you have anymore questions or concerns, feel free to write again. Let me know how your sharks are doing if you don't mind.
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again, I did everything you suggested and they seemed to improve a bit but yesterday I noticed shiney white spots. I'm treating them for ich but I have my doubts as to whether it is. The bottom line is their dying so anything I do can't hurt I guess. I also increased the Cycle and Aqua Plus with stress coat in it. Everybody else is fine so I'll be grateful for that. As you said, its very hard to diagnose even when their in your own tank never mind the other end of a computer. As always thankyou for your help and time.
ANSWER: Hi Sandy,
Well, unfortunately there's your answer to your sharks sudden odd behavior. Often times fish will act strange just before coming down with an illness such as Ich. Ich is easily diagnosed-- the fish appears as if he had been sprinkled with salt. Here's a link to a picture of it-
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/meds/ick.html
  And
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

Ich won't cause the loss of your fish unless it is left untreated or the infestation is too strong for the fish to handle. But prompt treatment is vital. For catfish, it's difficult to just treat them with anything. Because they have much more sensitive skin than other fish, they may have to have their medication dosages cut in half and some medications should be avoided all together. Just be certain to read the label thoroughly before using any meds. There are some newer ICH medications out there you should be able to find at your local petstore. These medications are effective ich treatment and are much safer than other treatments. These are "ICH ATTACK" made by KORDON and "Kordon Rid-Ich" are good treatments for sensitive scaleless fish like your catfish.

Some aquarists also combat ICH by raising the temperature in the mid-upper eighties which can prevent some of the ich from developing further. You'll want to make sure you have plenty of aeration if you want to take this step for warmer water of course holds less oxygen.

Another method used to get rid of ich is transferring the fish between two tanks every 12 hours I believe. This is how it works... the ich parasites are attached to the fish but then later drop off and dissapear, actually they are in the gravel bed multiplying by the thousands and will soon swarm and attack fish again. HOWEVER, with the tank transfer method the parasites are left behind in the old tank as the fish are moved to the new tank. You also cleanse the transfer tanks as the fish are moved back and forth. When the fish have moved to tank 2# you can rinse the old tank 1# tank in hot salty water and then rinse well and dry it out throughly and set it back up for the next move the fish will make.

The disadvantage to this is it is stressful both for the fish and fishkeeper. But avoids any use of medications.

You'll probably want to take the easier route with medication. Just be careful and read the label warnings/precautions. Daily 50% or larger water changes are still very helpful when treating ICH parasites, it removes excess parasites as well as pollutants in the tank water, and relieves stress on the fish.

I really hope this helps! Best of luck and I'm sure you'll be able to get through this ich outbreak just fine. Ich is very easy to treat the majority of time.
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Karen, Ijust raised the temp to 80 a suggested. Suprisingly their still alive but it seems cruel to leave them stuggling. I have done a no no I guess because I was so desperate to help I put Melafix, Ich Stop and Pimafix. Before you give me heck for this my reason is that it doesn't look like the typical ich. I think I'll go back to Goldfish cause this is to painful, for me and the fish. Giong to do a water change now and hope for the best. Thanks a bunch and I'll keep trying. Sandy

Answer
I'm sorry Sandy, I really am...
I understand your great concern, but try not to mix too many medications together. The fish can have a bad reaction to it.

What do you mean when you say it doesn't look like typical ich? Sometimes ich can attack fast and hard and cover the entire fish. And sometimes it may only appear as a few dozen white spots at a time. And it may also be covering in their gills, which stresses fish extremely badly.

Has your tank been newly setup? This may have been caused by poor water quality due to an uncycled tank. We can't always be sure. Don't give up, these things happen. Back when I first started with fish I gave up many times because I repeatedly had ICH outbreaks and just sudden fish loss. I went to goldfish and I still couldn't suceed. I gave up completely for a long time but then got back into fish after I knew about cycling my tank and stocking slowly, and it went on and on from there. Just what I am saying is these things happen all the time. But goldfish aren't the answer. It's fine if you want to keep goldfish but there is no reason why you can't keep tropicals. Black fin sharks aren't really the best starter fish. Beginner fish like Platies, Tetras, rasboras, swordtails, guppies, barbs, or cory catfish might be better for your tank. It's always best to research as much as you possibly can about your fish in mind before you purchase it. And carefully cycle your tank before you begin stocking it gradually with a few fish per week will help you suceed.

And remember I'm always here to help on any question you may have!

Best of luck!!!!
Karen~
ps: If you feel you need to euthanize your fish if they are suffering horribly, then the "OIL OF CLOVES" method is the most humane. Some sources recommend freezing the fish but this process is slow and can be painful. Read more about the Oil of Cloves method of humane fish euthanasia on this link-
http://www.tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/euthanasia_guidelines.php