HELP dying clown knife?

[java82]

Ok so yesterday I found my clown kife fish laying at the bottom of the tank and i dont know whats going on? Ive checked the water levels amonia,nitrates ect. nothing wrong everything seems to be in order i do regular water changes the JD is fine well i put the clown knife in a recovery tank and he was doing real bad but when i woke up the next morning he was doing a little better not swiming much but off the bottom. Now again tonight he is laying at the bottom of tank, also when he tries to swim he just goes in violent circles then crashes to the bottom? Im not sure if anything can be done or if its to late? Any sugestions i really dont want to lose him had him for about 8 months and hes about 10 inchs got him very small. Ohh also im not sure what i should do about food? obviously in his state he couldnt eat so i havent tried. he usually eats pellet food hasnt had feeders in over a month. I need sugestions i think im running out of time, in less you look close at his gills you would think he was dead at the bottom.

[Fish Addict]

did Your Jd And clownknife get in a fight ?

do you notice anything different phsycially with your fish other the then like missing fins etc etc

[java82]

no the JD is very small in comparision and i havent seen him bother the Clown Knife. The Clown is still laying flat on his side at the bottom he really is struggling and when he get the energy he goes to the top for a gasp of air but hasent even done that in hours. I thought the same thing though last night i really didnt think he would make it thru the night then he's up and moving but 8 hours later crashes to the bottom of tank appears near death. No missing fins, no marks, no cuts or obvious signs of disease

[Fish Addict]

what about in his gills ? some times disease get in there maybe treat as if it did have something got some meds ?

[java82]

nothing i can see looks odd no signs of ick doesnt seem to have any gill abnormailties. The LFS said it could be swim bladder disease but ive never heard of this in a knife fish? The only thing i have is melafix any suggestions on what might work?

[Fish Addict]

try the melafix might help other then that no sorry

[kc5gvn]

Hi java82, The symptoms you are describing sound more like PH shock. Have you done any major water changes in the last 2 weeks that would drastically alter the PH, or made any major adjustments to the PH in the last 2 weeks? If it is PH shock the only thing that you can do is use a PH buffer (like Novaqua) in the tank. You should never alter the PH more than .2 in a 24 hour period. If you do a water change that will drastically alter the PH you should use a good PH buffer with the water change. A buffer does not alter the PH it just buffers it so that the fish don't suffer from the effects of the change. As the buffer disapates out over a few weeks the fish adjust gradually to the new PH.

[java82]

Ive just done my regular water changes every few weeks same as usual but thanks for the tip im not sure if this may have caused the problem but im clueless what went wrong. Unfortunatly my knife fish died this afternoon he made it three days i tried the melafix and another general disease killer my LFS recommended but it didnt work. Poor knife fish RIP he was definely the coolest fish i owned. Just wondering if the ph really did change and do this why wouldnt it bother the other fish thier all fine no sign or symptoms of illness or distress. Ihad the water tested and the LFS and the strips i use at home both said it was fine. Well i hate the fact that i lost him dont relize that its easy to get emotionaly attached to a fish im just glad his suffering has ended. Maybe ill try again they are such unique fish.

[kc5gvn]

Some fish are more sensitive to change than others, Knife fish in particular. I'm sorry to hear about your Clown Knife. They are neat fish, but they do require a lot of space.