Deformed Catfish!

[ugot lucky]

Hello,
Since if have my catfish he has been losing parts of his fins to the point that were once side just
has the hard cartlage and rest is lost and some dangling. I was reading that catfish can have probelms
with growth if they are not getting enough calcium. I ruled out illness because he seems to be fine and does not
have any fungus. He eats well and swims normaly nothing abnormal. Does anyone have ideas?
All comments are well apreciated and please post if YOU have ideas.
THANK YOU!

 

[razer121]

i know you have said you have ruled out illness, but can we get a picture? that sounds like a severe form of fin rot to me,

 

[ugot lucky]

i know you have said you have ruled out illness, but can we get a picture? that sounds like a severe form of fin rot to me,

I cant as of right now it's 12am here lol. But if you watch this fourm ill post some for you tomorrow mid-day ok?
I THINK another way he might have got this was from his shelter that he was once living in. like the act of him clinging onto the shelter might have added stress to his fins causing them to wear away. Ill get some pics for you though tomorrow if you keep on watch list.

 

[Wills]

Hi fin rot can occur in two ways, bacterial or fungal and some bacterial forms of fin rot dont really show any external forms apart from the decaying of the fins.

You could try dosing the tank with API Melafix which is a natural remedy using plant extracts to promote healing and also has some anti bacterial properties.

Though before you do that we need to work out what caused it in the first place so it wont happen again as badly damaged fins can kill fish.

So first of all - what kind of catfish is it? How big are they at the moment and how long have you had them. What size tank is it living in and what other fish do you have in there? On the bottom of the tank is it sand or gravel and if it is gravel how sharp is it? Also how long has the tank been set up?

Wills

 

[simonas]

If this is the Channel Cat thats in with the goldfish ( notorious for being dirty fish) and guppies it may be your water stats are too high due to poor water quality/maintenance hence the fin rot. Pics will reveal a lot

 

[ugot lucky]

haha underwater photography takes some pratice!!!

 

[ugot lucky]

ok im having serius probelms with getting pictures on here.. I cant add attachment says "Bad Gateway" I dont understand what that means.. any help? I got the pics just need to get them on here.
ALSO I dont have guppies in the tank yet and I have 3 goldfish 1 catfish in 55 gallon tank and do 40-50 percent water changes every weekend. Im on well water if that could be a prombelm but I shower with that water and brush my teeth with it im not missing fins lol.
And I kinda lied in first post I NOW RELISE that every once in a while he will make a quick move and kinda scratch himslef on the bottem of the tank on the side of the deformed fin. Also my rocks on the bottem are smooth pebbles. AND I was told that you sometimes cant see the fungus this rais;s concerns for me..

 

[ugot lucky]

Hi fin rot can occur in two ways, bacterial or fungal and some bacterial forms of fin rot dont really show any external forms apart from the decaying of the fins.

You could try dosing the tank with API Melafix which is a natural remedy using plant extracts to promote healing and also has some anti bacterial properties.

Though before you do that we need to work out what caused it in the first place so it wont happen again as badly damaged fins can kill fish.

So first of all - what kind of catfish is it? How big are they at the moment and how long have you had them. What size tank is it living in and what other fish do you have in there? On the bottom of the tank is it sand or gravel and if it is gravel how sharp is it? Also how long has the tank been set up?

Wills

Is that for freshwater? catfhish its albino channel cat. and size not very big maybe 5 inches. smooth pebbled rocks.

 

[Wills]

Yeah the Melafix is for fresh water - a lot of people do use well/rain water for fish tanks with 0 problems lets face it if its a natural source of water its probably better than tap water really as you dont have to deal with chlorine.

To be honest it does sound like some kind of fin rot though whether its bacterial or fungal I dont know. I would get some Primafix and some Melafix and dose both at the same time which is totally fine to do all you need to do is increase the surface agitiation either by adding a water stone or powerhead or if you lower the water level the current from the existing filter will allow more air into the tank.

Do you have a liquid water testing kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? I would check the well water as well as your tank for these readings just to rule out them as an issue.

Wills

 

[ugot lucky]

Yeah the Melafix is for fresh water - a lot of people do use well/rain water for fish tanks with 0 problems lets face it if its a natural source of water its probably better than tap water really as you dont have to deal with chlorine.

To be honest it does sound like some kind of fin rot though whether its bacterial or fungal I dont know. I would get some Primafix and some Melafix and dose both at the same time which is totally fine to do all you need to do is increase the surface agitiation either by adding a water stone or powerhead or if you lower the water level the current from the existing filter will allow more air into the tank.

Do you have a liquid water testing kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? I would check the well water as well as your tank for these readings just to rule out them as an issue.

Wills

bought some melafix and doing the 7 day treatment. Hope this helps my poor catfish. ALSO going tog et water tested by lfs tomorrow they do it for free.

 

[Wills]

Cool keep us posted on how the medicine works out remember to increase the airation in the tank.

With the water testing its good that the LFS do it but I really would buy your own test so you can always find out if thats causing an issue. Its only about £15 for the set and you can keep on top of working out whats going on when an issue arises.

Just a link for some info on your cat http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=6 its quite a monster in the making there.....

Wills

 

[ugot lucky]

Cool keep us posted on how the medicine works out remember to increase the airation in the tank.

With the water testing its good that the LFS do it but I really would buy your own test so you can always find out if thats causing an issue. Its only about £15 for the set and you can keep on top of working out whats going on when an issue arises.

Just a link for some info on your cat http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=6 its quite a monster in the making there.....

Wills

so local fish store told me the results. she said that are water was perfect and was the best for an aquarium. so must have got the disease from their water or something or past enviroments. I knew that I was doing everything corect since Iv been doing alot of reading. But going to continue with the treatment should see resuLts tomorrow or the next day.
ASLO I treated all the tanks in the house with it so they all start off fresh again.

 

[Wills]

Did she give you any exact readings and do you know if she used a strip test or a liquid test, the liquid tests are in little test tubes and the strip tests are on bits of card or plastic.

Not doubting you but you need to be this ruthless to get to the route of illness with fish. Hopefully though if the water is good now and you have the meds in it should be getting better you usually notice something by day 4 Look for a black edging to the fins this usually means healing

Wills