spiral death

[SLIMJIM]

Hi all having returned to the hobby after some 40years when the hobby took over my life travelling the country showing fish I see something for the first time . A pair of unknown apistogrammas 4weeks in thier new 5ft home , the pair were feeding well water conditions are good . Ths male was showing his fins to thier full when infront of my eyes he started to spiral out of control ending up on his side at the bottom of the tank . He never recovered. Why? Anyideas Regards Slimjim

 

[gerald]

I dont know, but if we ever meet I'll be wary of looking you straight in the eye!
Seriously though, it sounds like some kind of stoke or heart attack, if that can happen to fish.
The only times I have seen apparently healthy fish die within minutes when a shipping box was opened and bags lifted out in a brightly lit room. (Now I open the box lid and leave the bags undisturbed 10-15 min before looking at the fish). Anyway that doesn't explain what happened to your male. Is the female still looking good?

 

[SLIMJIM]

Lol female's fine very cautious not having a mate to swim around with I think she will settle. Now thats a subject can a fish have a stroke or heart attack ?

 

[Mike Wise]

Stroke? Yes. The most commonly seen symptom is darkening of only one side of the head/body. Spiral death can also be caused by bacterial/parasitic infections of the brain. This is why I always quarantine all my fish for at least 4 weeks, usually longer.