is my fish dead?!?!?

Question

its a baby shark i bought it about an hour ago and now its ont he side of the take ....just floating there...not moving..im scared to poke it and see if its dead..cus idk if its supossed to do that or what?!?!? HELP :-( how can it be dead in a few hours???is it dead??

Answer 1

It is a saltwater creature, so if you put it in a freshwater lake, that probably killed it.

Answer 2

I'm going to assume it's a fresh water "shark". They aren't really sharks, but they call them that because the kinda look like them.

If he is floating and not moving... he is probably dead.. or near death at least.

Did you put the fish in a fish tank with a heater (not a light, a real heater!), a filter, cycled water, and water that has been dechlorinated?

If you answered no to any of those questions that is most likely why the fish is dead. They cannot survive without those things. You can keep trying and they will keep dying.

However, if you did have a fish tank properly set up then it could possibly have died from shock to the new environment or disease that it contracted at the fish store or had from the breeder.

Answer 3

if it is floating at the top of the water upside down then it is but some times fish play dead so you get a long thing that is not pointy and just push it down and if it moves then it is not dead (shark fish constantly play dead).....if you keep it in the fish tank and it is dead then it will build up mold and Alger and will either kill the rest of the fish or give them diseases so if it is dead get a fish net or something you can grab it whit and tack it out.....(*it is better to get a fish net*)if it is not dead then leave it there and every day move it just so it is not really dead. it might be. If its on its side it has a slight chance of being alive. try to set a temp gradient for it.
sleeping or temp or toxins in water killed it. poke it gently with a net and see.
poke it with a wooden spoon, then your fingers are not near it! call the pet store you got it from and give them heck! if its not dead it sounds like its not far off it!
It could either be dead or asleep. You should get like a q tip and poke it with that or something soft just to make sure you don't injure your shark.
It is a saltwater creature, so if you put it in a freshwater lake, that probably killed it.
tap on the glass, but its probably dead
If its in deep water floating around its probably fine, just maybe in a bit of shock and taking its time to the new surroundings. If its on its side and floating at the very top of the tank then its dead. Fish that die lie and the top surface of the water, but if its under water its alive... good luck!
Im sorry to say but its more then likely dead. Poor thing... the reason is cause you probly didnt do somthing right. Or it was old or it had health problems. if you got directions from the person you bought it from then they might have explained the things you need to do wrong. Take a clean popsickle stick or something and poke it if you want but not hard in case its playing dead. or wait intil it starts to stink. I had allot of fish before some played dead some was dead because in like a day they got stanky wow thats a bad smell. anyway good luck i hope the poor things not dead....
is it a real small shark or is it a buenos aires barb shark... chances are that if he is not moving his gills then he is probably dead and fish do not always float on their backs when dead, all my fishes died at the bottom of the tank looking alive, except for one or two when I used to own tropical fishes
try to catch it in the net, if he is alive he will do anything to get away... if he doesn't or acts too lazy (lets himself be caught) it means he might be dying.... also if its nighttime, fishes have to sleep too, they do if they are in the dark (they stay still as if they were dead) that is completely normal
are you new to fishes?
Yes it is dead!
Is your shark an iridescent shark (see photo in the link below if you aren't sure)? "Playing dead" is somthing they do when they are stressed. Iridescents are more comfortable in a group when they're young, but rather than get more (if this is what you have) I'd recommend taking it back if you can return him. These fish get very large (the can get more than 4 feet) and really shouldn't be in any aquarium!

Link about iridescent sharks: http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profil... - if this isn't the kind you have, could you post the name? You can add it to this question by using an icon in the toobar under your question to "add details".
ADDITION: Read the comments in this link about iridescent sharks: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_pang....
well you should check in the morning to see if it is still not moving and if its not just take it back to the store and have them check if its alive and if not just ask for your money back.
I'm going to assume it's a fresh water "shark". They aren't really sharks, but they call them that because the kinda look like them.
If he is floating and not moving... he is probably dead.. or near death at least.
Did you put the fish in a fish tank with a heater (not a light, a real heater!), a filter, cycled water, and water that has been dechlorinated?

If you answered no to any of those questions that is most likely why the fish is dead. They cannot survive without those things. You can keep trying and they will keep dying.
However, if you did have a fish tank properly set up then it could possibly have died from shock to the new environment or disease that it contracted at the fish store or had from the breeder.well he has a chance of living what i would if you have any stress drops or a bottle that says stress coat put a few drops in there also call the pet store were you got it from or go to the pet store and tell them you bought a fish and it died you can get your money back and get a new one
Did you dechlorinate the water? If you did then the ph from what the shark was in before was radically different from the ph you have in your tank. Also if you didn't acclimatize the fish by floating the bag and you dropped him into much cooler water could also do this. Yes it could kill it in a few hours any of these things.

Answer 4

Im sorry to say but its more then likely dead. Poor thing... the reason is cause you probly didnt do somthing right. Or it was old or it had health problems. if you got directions from the person you bought it from then they might have explained the things you need to do wrong. Take a clean popsickle stick or something and poke it if you want but not hard in case its playing dead. or wait intil it starts to stink. I had allot of fish before some played dead some was dead because in like a day they got stanky wow thats a bad smell. anyway good luck i hope the poor things not dead....

Answer 5

Did you dechlorinate the water? If you did then the ph from what the shark was in before was radically different from the ph you have in your tank. Also if you didn't acclimatize the fish by floating the bag and you dropped him into much cooler water could also do this. Yes it could kill it in a few hours any of these things.

Answer 6

Is your shark an iridescent shark (see photo in the link below if you aren't sure)? "Playing dead" is somthing they do when they are stressed. Iridescents are more comfortable in a group when they're young, but rather than get more (if this is what you have) I'd recommend taking it back if you can return him. These fish get very large (the can get more than 4 feet) and really shouldn't be in any aquarium!

Link about iridescent sharks: http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/318.htm - if this isn't the kind you have, could you post the name? You can add it to this question by using an icon in the toobar under your question to "add details".


ADDITION: Read the comments in this link about iridescent sharks: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_pang.php

Answer 7

If its in deep water floating around its probably fine, just maybe in a bit of shock and taking its time to the new surroundings. If its on its side and floating at the very top of the tank then its dead. Fish that die lie and the top surface of the water, but if its under water its alive... good luck!

Answer 8

It could either be dead or asleep. You should get like a q tip and poke it with that or something soft just to make sure you don't injure your shark.

Answer 9

is it a real small shark or is it a buenos aires barb shark... chances are that if he is not moving his gills then he is probably dead and fish do not always float on their backs when dead, all my fishes died at the bottom of the tank looking alive, except for one or two when I used to own tropical fishes

try to catch it in the net, if he is alive he will do anything to get away... if he doesn't or acts too lazy (lets himself be caught) it means he might be dying.... also if its nighttime, fishes have to sleep too, they do if they are in the dark (they stay still as if they were dead) that is completely normal

are you new to fishes?

Answer 10

well he has a chance of living what i would if you have any stress drops or a bottle that says stress coat put a few drops in there also call the pet store were you got it from or go to the pet store and tell them you bought a fish and it died you can get your money back and get a new one

Answer 11

poke it with a wooden spoon, then your fingers are not near it! call the pet store you got it from and give them heck! if its not dead it sounds like its not far off it!