Albino Catfish

[BaylorPerez]

so i noticed my albino catfish is swimming sparatically? is it scared? stressed? its been doing this for the past couple days and my LFS said it was normal when a new fish is added. thing is my catfish has been in the tank for 3 weeks and its now just starting

 

[Munroco]

One of the first rules is "unless you know and trust your LFS be very wary of any advice they give"

 

[BaylorPerez]

yea they may not know how long its been doing it

 

[fluttermoth]

What sort of 'catfish' is it? How big is the tank, and what other fish do you have in there? Have you tested the water and/or done a water change? How is the tank decorated?

 

[BaylorPerez]

3 aquatic plants ( 1 planted, 2 potted )
tank is 20 gallons
albino catfish is about 4 inches
Other occupants
 
4 neon tetras
2 blackfin tetras
4 blacktipped danios ( i think thats their breed )
2 black mystery snails

 

[fishfrenzy14]

so i noticed my albino catfish is swimming sparatically? is it scared? stressed? its been doing this for the past couple days and my LFS said it was normal when a new fish is added. thing is my catfish has been in the tank for 3 weeks and its now just starting

Is it a albino corydora? in my experience they(corys) are very sociable creatures and should be kept in groups.. not sure how many but, i have 4 corys, 3 emerald, and one albino cory. we got our first cory from a friend who was rehoming their fish. he did this for several days until we got the others and now they swim from side to side nose to tail it is very entertaining. i could be wrong as i said this is in my experience, this is what worked for me haha

 

[BaylorPerez]

i had 2 before one died. but if it is a cory one, then i should buy another if i have the space for it?

 

[fluttermoth]

Could you get a picture of the fish so we can properly identify it? We can't really advise you unless we know for certain what species we're talking about.

 

[BaylorPerez]

just found the type from petsmart where got them.
it is a albino cory catfish
1st one died about 3 months ago, 2 months after i had bought it

 

[Blough]

(I'm quoting where you said "I had 2 before one died. but if it is a cory one, then should I buy another if I have space for it?") I really haven't got the hang of quoting things yet, sometimes it works but this time it isn't working.
If you've had recent deaths I wouldn't put more fish in there for a while, in case they died from something like a disease or a problem with the tank. Wait a while, and make sure you don't have anymore deaths. Nobody wants to waste money by buying fish that is just going to die.

 

[BaylorPerez]

well none of my fish have died within a 1-2 weeks, but i was just curious as to why is keeps moving around in spastic manor. 

 

[PepperjacksMama]

Could you describe spastic?

Some behavior is disease related. If it is just swimming rapidly back and forth as well as up and down the glass. Then no worries. Corys do that, much more soon when younger.

But as Corys are very social more is always better. As well with the Tetras and Danios. Though Danios do better in a long tank, as they are boisterous swimmers.

Is the tank a 20 high or 20 long?

 

[BaylorPerez]

its 20 long and and i think 19 high.
 
and spastic as you described where it swims back and forth and what looks like it hits its head every so often when i watch it. It looks like it its scared but it doesnt do anything else. i mean from what ive seen it has just been swimming fast back and forth, no white spots(from what i can tell as its a albino cory) and no gasping for breathe as what could be from the tank water. So it may just be very energetic.
 
 
And when thinking of getting another catfish(albino probally) does it matter what type of catfish i get. like does it have to be another albino cory? or can i get a colored cory and it be the same?

 

[PepperjacksMama]

As posted on another thread, most albinos are bronze albinos. It's best to get the same species. As it helps bring out their natural behavior. Albinos and bronze get along well and breed readily. I have a three year old Cory from a bronze father and albino mother.

The spastic behavior then sounds like a Cory being a Cory.

As for tank size a 20 long is 30×12×12 and a 20 high is 24×12×16.

 

[BaylorPerez]

so im good with getting either a bronze or other colored cory or just another white albino cory