confused over fish's death!

[exigency]

my uncle's fish in his established tank with good levels across the board just died by "coughing" as he described it. the final position of the fish was with its mouth wide open and locked in place, do any of you ladies and gents know what the problem could've been? sorry to be so vague, but that's all i could get from him.

[Six]

what kind of fish? tank size? other fish in there?

 

if he doesnt know the fish type, i think there's more going on with the tank than he's relaying.

 

also "good" water chemistry means different things to different people. maybe he's had a major ammonia problem since he's had the tank and now that it's at .2 instead of .4, it's now "good".... see what i mean? if you can get more details from him, that will help. otherwise, we cant give you any insight.

 

if you can get specific tank parameters at the time of the fish's death that will help immensely.

[exigency]

supposedly he's told me 0 ammonia 0 nitrite ~0 nitrate, sg at 1.020 which is a bit low IMO but bearable for the fish, no clue how long he's had it that low though. i am guessing he has overfed the fish, which i have learned is a small radiata lionfish.

[Six]

radiata? wow, those arent very common. IME they usually die in captivity. i had a friend who tried that species 5 different times.

 

i dunno otherwise. unless he was feeding it something weird like goldifsh, it could have been anything.

[Professor]

Was the fish recently fed prior to the onset of the "Coughing Symptoms"? I have seen predator fish die from trying to feed on things that were too large, they can't get them down and can't expel them either. Depending on the way the prey entered the mouth and if it was still alive, it can cause damage to the gills of the predator or cause lacerations of the esophageal lining. The "coughing" symptoms is from the fish trying to expel the ingested prey. In the freshwater world young Arowana's are especially prone to doing this, in the saltwater world, young anglers are known to frequently do the same thing.

 

Ask the question to your Uncle and see when the last time the Radiata fed and what he ate. It might provide the clue you are looking for.

 

I have not heard of an actual disease or infestation that causes those particular symptoms.

 

Just my .02. Hope this helps.

 

Prof

[exigency]

thanks for your help, he said the last thing he has fed was some gut-loaded ghost shrimp. by the time i get to where he lives this weekend, he'll have thrown away the body, so i guess the search for the answer is a bit futile.