Catfish Disease????

[moeldner]

I have recently aquired a second hand tank that came with a few fish. I've started stocking it up, but realised the other day the catfish that came with the tank has a very noticeable white/pink patch on it's stomach.

I'm pretty sure that catfish is a bristlenose (can post pics later). He/She is quite dark brown, with lighter patches, no bristles though.

THe fish is about 3-4" long, and the patch is circular and covering most of the belly. I am concerned about this.

The tank acquired on Monday, and completely cleaned out and re-filled. Only additives to the tank at the moment is Stress Zyme, and water conditioner. PH is approx 7.

EDIT: Water temp is around 29 degrees celcius.

Any ideas? I can post pics of the catfish and the blotch in a couple of hours when I'm home from work.

Other fish in the tank are:
3 x Harlequin Rasbora (came with the tank)
3 x Cardinal Tetras (had 11, but they've been dropping off this week)
2 x Zebra Danios (came with the tank)
6 x Australian Rainbow Fish

 

[red-devil0602]

you only got this tank on monday, filled it and put the fish in?
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

No I think the tank is an established one, hence it having fish living in it. What does worry me is you doing a 100% tank clean! That'll kill off the bacteria and change the conditions in the water, if not make it go into a mini cycle. None of it's residents will appreciate it at all and that on top of the stress of the move won't help them at all.
As for the patch on the cat I really don't know. Is hard to judge without a piccy. You need to find out the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Bloo]

Have a look at this thread by Black Angel - perhaps it could be of help ?

And apart from that - I would be very concerned if you put all that fish in to a brand new uncycled tank
Sadly most of them will almost certainly die within the new few weeks unless you take some drastic steps (but we can hopefully help). If you really have only set up this tank from scratch, I'd strongly advise that you take any currently healthy fish back to the shop and do some more reading about starting a new tank by using fish to cycle.

You say your cardinal tetras have been "dropping off" from 11 to 3 ?
Well that would be because the are very delicate fish and require pristine water conditions and a very stable and well mature tank. It might be best to rehome the remaining ones if you want to save their lives.

Do you have ammonia, nitrate and nitrite test kits ? If so, what are your current readings ? How big is your tank - i.e. how many gallons or litres does it take ?

Good luck

 

[sunflower]

Is there any chance of getting a photo of the patch?

My female bristlenose is pale/pinky underneath but she has always been this way and I thought it was normal?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi moeldner

Welcome to the forum!

It sound to me like your fish might have a bacterial infection caused by the stress of having the tank cleaned out and perhaps even having water from a different source added. This is very serious and life threatening, but there are medicines that can help.

If you are new to fishkeeping, please post in the Beginners section and we will help you get through the process of re-establishing the bacterial colony that is so necessary for a tank to support your fish.

Pictures will do a lot to help us identify the problem and if you put your location in your profile, we can recommend medicine that will be available in your area.

Good luck and I hope to be reading more of your posts soon.

 

[moeldner]

Apologies for the quality of the shot - it's hard to get him/her to not move.

Hope this helps.


I was assured by the pet shop I went to (the guy I spoke to used to be a breeder, and still keeps many tanks of his own. I also took advice from friends withtanks as well.

The tank is second hand, and the fish that came with it seem relatively happy. I haven't lost any more fish in the last 48 hours, so I'm hoping things have stabilised. I'm starting to wish I had read more on the web, and not relied on a pet store to tell me what I should be doing.

The environment seems to have stabilised since I added teh dual action stress zyme which is supposed to speed up the development of the bacterial colonies.

If these pictures aren't clear enough, I'll try and get some more. Bob (the catfish - previous owners daughter named him) is very reluctant to come out while we are awake. He can be seen swimming around the bottom after lights out, but not on the side of the tank. He is very quiet.

He is also the biggest fish in the tank at the moment.

Could someone pleas confirm my assumption that he is a bristlenose???

Any more ideas on what I can do for him?

The colony is being fed a tropical fish flake food, blood worms (alternate days) and spirulina plus vege tabs for bob - although he doesn't seem to be eating them.

Thanks for your interest - I am a little new to this. I have been keeping bettas since christmas, and they are fine (2 males and 2 females).

 

[moeldner]

I do have a bottle of a multi-purpose remedy with the following active ingrediaents:

4.0 mg/ml methylene blue
2.0mg/ml acriflavine
0.4mg/ml malachite green

Will this help poor bob? SHould he be quarantined? If so, how do I set upa quarantine tank quickly (don't currently have a spare tank).

Damn I wish I'd looked into joining a forum before I started this. I was really relying on the guy at the pet shop to help me out.

 

[Bloo]

Ah ok, so the tank isn't brand new, but was already established before ?

I can see the discolouration and it doesn't look normal
Its very hard from that picture to say what kind of plec it is - but it could very well be a bristlenose.

If he's not too hard to catch, perhaps you can put him in a clear clean bowl with some fishtank water and take a better picture ?

I would have it at a gues (without a much clearer picture) that it's a bacterial skin infections. Have you had a look at the link I gave you to Black Angel's post ?

Dont beat yourself up about it. Most people in fact join because the have an urgent problem they need help with quickly !

If at all possibly, it would be best if you could quarentine him, but as you don't have a setup for that, it might be very hard for you to doo and cause more harm than good to place him a a new and uncycled tank.

I'm not too sure about the meds you have there, but I'd either do what Black Angel did or I'd buy some meds specifically to treat bacterial infections. Just check with the shop that the meds are suitable for catfish too. Then dose and treat exactly as per directions.

 

[morgan]

When I started fishkeeping I was told that I could add fish after 1 week! I put in Neon Tetras, a Golden Apple Snail and a Hillstream Loach which I already had in a cold tank (not much difference in temperature between cold and tropical in a heated house). I then added 2 Mollies, 2 Platies and 2 Guppies. Totally stupid but I was "advised" that it was OK. Amazingly they all survived! I don't recommend it though, I was very lucky not to have a disaster on my hands.

 

[moeldner]

Are these better???

It is proving difficult to get a clear shot from underneath - I'll try again when lighting is better tomorrow.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Yeah, I got told I could add after just 4 days. *doh* And as a result I lost one of the harlequins. The rest survived but more through daily w/c and sheer luck. Am fishless cycling my big tank. No mistakes this time.
Hugs,
P.
Edit:Oh my! That looks icky and I'd say it looks very much like and injury that's become infected. You say the fish came with the mark? Or are you not sure? Either way it needs treating big time. I'm not the best to suggest the right thing so I'll leave that to the experts.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Bloo]

THanks those are much better pics !
that's horrid. Poor Bristlenose (it's definitely a common bristlenose)
Looks certain to be bacterial - it could even be as a result from a heater burn that became infected.

 

[moeldner]

so what should I do? Quarantine? Or treat the whole tank?

 

[Bloo]

Well if you can't quarantine with a filter and a heater then you have no choice but to treat them all. I've been in a situation like that before and it didn't affect the other fish, though obviously it's not good to treat needlessly. If you have a fair few fish, it might be worth getting a spare 10 gallon tank. Also get a small filter that you just keep running in your existing tank so that you can just whip it out and use it in the hospital tank. It will also need a 25 Watt heater.

But seeing that you can't feasibly set that up right now, you will have to treat all.
I don't know what bacterial meds are used in Australia so you will have to check with your lfs.