This one is difficult to write
Trapper, my unknown Atlantic octo is still apparently doing fine but has stayed recluse and I still am not sure what he is eating. My dwarf, however is either dead or will be by morning.
My dwarf (joubini/mercatoris) arrived a week ago. Thursday morning he was out and I got my first full look at him since acclimation. One eye was double the size of the other and he was having difficulty with balance. I had put in a new shell (it has been in my LR tank for months and in an aquarium before that) the day before. He was coming out of the shell and was having difficulty. There was something in his arm that I assumed was his supper. Once he extracted himself and the remains he just kind of fell over.
At that time I tried to think what could cause a swelling and I checked the salinity (I have been checking water parms daily) and that is when I realized I had not increased it to 1.026 as I had intended so it has been at 1.022 for a week. At 5:00 AM I wasn't thinking my best and increased the salinity rapidly. Later in the day, the eye appeared to be shrinking some but eventually the swollen area turned a dark brown, reminiscent of hemorrhaging. There was also a similar dark brown (not the typical redish brown) mark on one leg. He became totaly lethargic and eventually the shrimp started to pick at him so I put him in an isolation net. Throughout the day he became less and less responsive and I thought he was dead several times. Currently he does not move but is still reacting to light with some color changing in the head area much like a heart beat.
Can anyone tell me if the eye swelling and low salininty are related?
Would increasing the salt that rapidly have made any difference and could it have caused internal bleeding?
Is there another suggestion as to what would cause the symptoms?
Is the color change plausible after death?
Thanks for any help offered. I would like to try another dwarf but want to avoid this situation again if salinity issues do not fit the situation.
Trapper, my unknown Atlantic octo is still apparently doing fine but has stayed recluse and I still am not sure what he is eating. My dwarf, however is either dead or will be by morning.
My dwarf (joubini/mercatoris) arrived a week ago. Thursday morning he was out and I got my first full look at him since acclimation. One eye was double the size of the other and he was having difficulty with balance. I had put in a new shell (it has been in my LR tank for months and in an aquarium before that) the day before. He was coming out of the shell and was having difficulty. There was something in his arm that I assumed was his supper. Once he extracted himself and the remains he just kind of fell over.
At that time I tried to think what could cause a swelling and I checked the salinity (I have been checking water parms daily) and that is when I realized I had not increased it to 1.026 as I had intended so it has been at 1.022 for a week. At 5:00 AM I wasn't thinking my best and increased the salinity rapidly. Later in the day, the eye appeared to be shrinking some but eventually the swollen area turned a dark brown, reminiscent of hemorrhaging. There was also a similar dark brown (not the typical redish brown) mark on one leg. He became totaly lethargic and eventually the shrimp started to pick at him so I put him in an isolation net. Throughout the day he became less and less responsive and I thought he was dead several times. Currently he does not move but is still reacting to light with some color changing in the head area much like a heart beat.
Can anyone tell me if the eye swelling and low salininty are related?
Would increasing the salt that rapidly have made any difference and could it have caused internal bleeding?
Is there another suggestion as to what would cause the symptoms?
Is the color change plausible after death?
Thanks for any help offered. I would like to try another dwarf but want to avoid this situation again if salinity issues do not fit the situation.
