Roaches in the House

Roaches in the House

During my stay as Aquarium Supervisor of the J L Scott Aquarium in Biloxi I ran an advisory service and a fish disease/ parasite diagnostic service/ lab for the public, pet stores, other labs, aquaculture ventures, other aquariums, etc. I examined many fish, and other aquatic organisms, under many different and sometimes strange circumstances.

One time a man came in with his wife's pet goldfish, about 5 inches TL. The fish was under obvious stress, gasping, mouth open, and opercules flared. It was not eating. Its skin and fins looked ok.

I placed the live goldfish in a bucket of clean freshwater, and slowly added MS -222 ( tricaine methanesulfonate ) with small granules stuck on forceps and stirred the water with the forceps. I kept on adding MS-222 until the fish just barely started to lose equilibrium, noticed by its starting to slip from a vertical body position to laying over on its side. Then I placed it into a finger bowl with clean water so it would start reviving and examined its branchial cavity. A large American roach in a molt stage without wings yet was lodged in its branchial cavity. I disengaged the roach legs from the gill arches and pulled the roach out, and said, "Tell your wife she has roaches in the house."

The goldfish apparently tried to eat a roach that fell into its water and the roach got stuck, causing the fish a lot of stress.

The goldfish was revived in clean freshwater and the man left with his fish problem solved, but a new one to tackle.

Adrian R. Lawler, Ph.D.                 (C) 2012 --