ufcrusher
03-14-2006, 05:26 PM
One of my favorite fish, a panther grouper which I had raised since it was only 2" long, began acting weird a little over 2 months ago. Unfortunately, right before I left for Florida it stopped eating and had not eaten anything since then. The fish was also hiding all the time and appeared to be hunched over. While I was gone, my friend who was taking care of my tank was sure that he was going to die. As such, he contacted a knowledgable individual who described the fish's appearance/behavior before even being told them...thus "confirming" the diagnosis of Fish Tuberculosis.
To make matters even more fun, it is transferable to humans and can wreck havoc in your body. (Comes in through cuts, bites, or even through your mucus membranes.) From all the researched I have done, it appears that the fish probably was infected with the TB when I bought him. Groupers and other predatory fish generally are the most resillent against the disease, but once it manifests itself there is nothing that can be done to treat it.
When I got home from Florida at the end of Feb, the Panther had not eaten for 7 weeks.....and that was 2 weeks ago. Today, I made the decision that it was unfair to keep him alive and suffering. He had hit the 2+ month mark of not eating, was constantly bent, hiding, and discolored. No matter what we tried to get him back on the mend, nothing worked.
Today, I decided it was time to put him down. He didnt even fight being netted which is something he always did, even when he was placed into the QT tank. So at 3:12pm I placed him in the freezer.......and I took him out of the freezer at about 4:50pm. It killed me to do it, but its what was fair to my grouper. The hard part will be telling my wife when she gets home, she really loved that fish. (As much as one can love a fish that is!)
Well now he is back in that great big ocean in the sky. Damn, this sucks, he was a great fish. Always followed you around the room and I had always hand fed him. I will probably tear down his tank this weekend. :(
To make matters even more fun, it is transferable to humans and can wreck havoc in your body. (Comes in through cuts, bites, or even through your mucus membranes.) From all the researched I have done, it appears that the fish probably was infected with the TB when I bought him. Groupers and other predatory fish generally are the most resillent against the disease, but once it manifests itself there is nothing that can be done to treat it.
When I got home from Florida at the end of Feb, the Panther had not eaten for 7 weeks.....and that was 2 weeks ago. Today, I made the decision that it was unfair to keep him alive and suffering. He had hit the 2+ month mark of not eating, was constantly bent, hiding, and discolored. No matter what we tried to get him back on the mend, nothing worked.
Today, I decided it was time to put him down. He didnt even fight being netted which is something he always did, even when he was placed into the QT tank. So at 3:12pm I placed him in the freezer.......and I took him out of the freezer at about 4:50pm. It killed me to do it, but its what was fair to my grouper. The hard part will be telling my wife when she gets home, she really loved that fish. (As much as one can love a fish that is!)
Well now he is back in that great big ocean in the sky. Damn, this sucks, he was a great fish. Always followed you around the room and I had always hand fed him. I will probably tear down his tank this weekend. :(