Bichir Autopsy

[FishBeast]

The other day I discovered one of my fish belly up on the bottom. Quite a shock as it was behaving normally the night before. The only change to my usual routine is treatment with levimasole recently due to seeing a bunch of white stringy poop in the tank. I don’t have a microscope so examining the poop wasn’t an option.

Anyway, I did an autopsy to see if there was anything obvious that may have contributed to its demise.

The fish is a male Nigerian Lapradei bichir. Bought him in Feb. 2017 at 8-9”.

When I found him his gill covers were “stuck open” as if he had been trying to swallow something and “choked”.


Final measurement at 13-14”


No external lesions or signs of disease.


Eyes looked clear, no ulcers on face


Mouth empty. Tongue appeared normal.


Detail of teeth.


Looked at gills. No worms or parasites. Did not remove gill covers.


Skin was quite tough. Had to use scissors to cut.


First thing that struck me was an abundance of mesenteric fat and a fatty liver. I guess most captive fish have this from living in closed quarters. And to think I only feed this tank once a day, 3-4 days a week.


Lung/swim bladder containing air.


Right kidney.


Large vein (vena cava?)


Left kidney.


Stomach and intestine. Appeared empty. Good amount of fat deposits.


Heart.


Fatty liver.


R.I.P. “Ice Cream” (my son named him)

 

[kno4te]

Thanks for sharing. The extra fat deposition can do it. Similar to people with extra fat in some organs and arteries will cause disease and organ dysfunction/death.

 

[FishBeast]

Thanks for sharing. The extra fat deposition can do it. Similar to people with extra fat in some organs and arteries will cause disease and organ dysfunction/death.

Thanks... I hope he didn’t have a heart attack or something. I’ve been careful not to get them to be too fat (I’ve seen some really fat polys). I have been feeding Aquacarium pellets (carnivore stick, blackworm stick and earthworm stick) almost exclusively over the last year... I’ve been too busy to slice up tilapia and shrimp. I guess I need to vary their diet since they don’t really have the ability to swim a lot and exercise.

 

[tlindsey]

Sorry for the loss and thanks for sharing the autopsy.

 

[Coryloach]

Sorry for your loss

.....At the same time a really nice thread.....I guess we all have something to learn every day.

 

[TheReefer]

Thanks for sharing. The extra fat deposition can do it. Similar to people with extra fat in some organs and arteries will cause disease and organ dysfunction/death.

I think you would kind of see symptoms beforehand, I don't think it'll just drop dead

 

[TheReefer]

The other day I discovered one of my fish belly up on the bottom. Quite a shock as it was behaving normally the night before. The only change to my usual routine is treatment with levimasole recently due to seeing a bunch of white stringy poop in the tank. I don’t have a microscope so examining the poop wasn’t an option.

Anyway, I did an autopsy to see if there was anything obvious that may have contributed to its demise.

The fish is a male Nigerian Lapradei bichir. Bought him in Feb. 2017 at 8-9”.

When I found him his gill covers were “stuck open” as if he had been trying to swallow something and “choked”.
View attachment 1374246

Final measurement at 13-14”
View attachment 1374247

No external lesions or signs of disease.
View attachment 1374231

Eyes looked clear, no ulcers on face
View attachment 1374232

Mouth empty. Tongue appeared normal.
View attachment 1374233

Detail of teeth.
View attachment 1374234

Looked at gills. No worms or parasites. Did not remove gill covers.
View attachment 1374235

Skin was quite tough. Had to use scissors to cut.
View attachment 1374236

First thing that struck me was an abundance of mesenteric fat and a fatty liver. I guess most captive fish have this from living in closed quarters. And to think I only feed this tank once a day, 3-4 days a week.
View attachment 1374237

Lung/swim bladder containing air.
View attachment 1374238

Right kidney.
View attachment 1374239

Large vein (vena cava?)
View attachment 1374240

Left kidney.
View attachment 1374241

Stomach and intestine. Appeared empty. Good amount of fat deposits.
View attachment 1374242

Heart.
View attachment 1374243

Fatty liver.
View attachment 1374244

R.I.P. “Ice Cream” (my son named him)
View attachment 1374245

Sorry to hear that, I'm surprised more people don't do autopsies when their fish die, though I'm not sure how many people really know fish anatomy well enough to determine cause of death. I heard from someone on this forum (I forget who) and he said his friend does autopsies for commercial aquariums and his friend told him that the main cause of death is fatty liver disease

 

[kno4te]

I think you would kind of see symptoms beforehand, I don't think it'll just drop dead

It happens to people too. Some symptoms and other times can die in an instant. Sometimes symptoms of not eating and no swimming. In the absence of other obvious findings it’s a stab in the dark.

 

[kno4te]

Sorry to hear that, I'm surprised more people don't do autopsies when their fish die, though I'm not sure how many people really know fish anatomy well enough to determine cause of death. I heard from someone on this forum (I forget who) and he said his friend does autopsies for commercial aquariums and his friend told him that the main cause of death is fatty liver disease

I’d imagine water quality issues for most hobbyist as a leading cause. Maybe directly or indirectly.

 

[FishBeast]

Sorry to hear that, I'm surprised more people don't do autopsies when their fish die, though I'm not sure how many people really know fish anatomy well enough to determine cause of death. I heard from someone on this forum (I forget who) and he said his friend does autopsies for commercial aquariums and his friend told him that the main cause of death is fatty liver disease

I guess that makes sense. I always thought that to have issues like that a fish would at least look obese or something. Hmmmm...