Help - Bristlenose Catfish

[Tenko]

I've had 3 catfish for about 5 months now, they've been fine until today my girlfriend noticed one of them looked a bit different, he wasn't attaching to the glass properly.

It looks like his mouth is swollen, especially just below his bottom lip near his belly. Initially I thought it looked like a sore, perhaps he's been attacked or injured himself there and it's infected and swollen, but it doesn't look like an open wound. When I first got the baby catfish one of them died within a day, probably of dropsy, and this doesn't seem to be like that, he's only swollen around his mouth.

I've checked the water, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and PH are all fine. KH and GH are high but they always are in this area. Temp is 24C.

I did a 20% water change just to be sure and cleaned both the filters. I fed them as well, the sick/injured catfish seemed to latch onto a pellet happily enough.

I have 3 catfish in this tank, one is a bit bigger than the others and does tend to chase the other two off if they get too close. Could this have been the cause? Stress or injury while escaping? I've heard they can be territorial but hope that a 1m x 0.4m x 0.5m tank is big enough for them all. I could create another area of open gravel for the other two catfish to grab, would that help?

Any suggestions as to what I treat him with? I have melafix and myxazin, both are totally useless at teating a deteriorating guppy with fin rot in my small tank.

 

[Angry_Platy]

its hard medicating or treating catfish problems as catfish are particularly sensitive to any medication and may do more harm than good. You certainly cannot add salt like you would if it were another fish with the same problem....

That said, I would keep the water clean....regular water changes...more so than what you would normally do it.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[patchwork_python]

Just caught up in this section - if you're keeping your catfish on gravel, do you hoover it regularily? Bacteria can build up in dirty gravel and cause infections in catfish because they spend most of their time sitting on top of the gravel and thus the bacteria that cause illness. Depending on the size of your tank an external canister filter is probably best at removing organic debris and mulm.

Also, does the gravel have a smooth, rounded grain? Pieces of sharp gravel or other aquarium decor can also cause small wounds which can get infected, made worse by bacteria in the gravel. It could even just break the mucous layer and leave the fish open to illness. The small size gravel about 1-2mm wide is preferable in some cases to the pea-sized gravel, altho sand is possibly best but higher maintenance to ensure it doesn't become stagnant and cause similar bacterial problems to the gravel.

I would do your water change, and hoover your gravel at the same time. Adding a general tonic such as interpet no.5 the liquisil general tonic or waterlife's paragon might be beneficial long-term. King British also make something similar and their products have a good reputation.

Let us know how the fish does.

Oh btw, myxazin isn't very effective for fin rot and I wasn't impressed by melafix either. Waterlife's Protozin is best for fin rot. Painting the affected area with methylene blue and dabbing on some vaseline afterward to seal on the medication also helps but if it's not too serious I wouldn't stress the fish out with painting unless the infection wasn't coming under control with the protozin.

 

[Tenko]

Thanks for the replies.

I don't know much about the gravel, it was the only stuff the lfs sold. It doesn't look sharp, but it's not entirely smooth and rounded either. When rinsing it it didn't feel too abrasive on my hands. I'd estimate it to be 1-2mm.

With 3 catfish in one tank they do manage to accumulate a fair about of poo. During my exam time I've limited water changes to 20% every 2 weeks, which I've done before, but I think I'll have to do this every week now as the catfish are a lot bigger than they used to be.

I vacuumed both tanks and did a 20% change in the 180l and a 30% in the 40l. I caught the sick catfish and moved him to the small tank and started with Melafix. So far he's had 2 treatments with no sign of improvement. I realise it's a bit quick to have any affect, but I'm not sure how to treat catfish.

His head looks very swollen and I doubt he can open and close his mouth. He just lays there looking mishappen. Such a shame as the catfish are my favourites. I'm going to slip a few pellets in tonight and see if he tries to eat.

I think I've seen protozin in my lfs, if I get time I'll get some. Trouble is I have an exam tomorrow, and one the day after that, but I'll try to spare an hour to nip out for some. Would the protozin benefit the catfish?

The guppy's tail is almost completely gone so I don't think he'll make it. I've tried daily water changes as well as treatments of myxazin and melafix so would be willing to try something else. I've never seen methylene blue in the shops though, where can you get it from? Is it available in the UK? What is it anyway?

 

[Tenko]

He's still alive.

I've ditched the unsucessful Myxazin and Melafix and bought some Esha 2000 the lfs guy said of all the ones he had this was the strongest. Didn't know whether to believe him or not, the various lfs in Colchester don't have a great track record with me.

I did a 40% water change and started treatment, so will keep you posted on what happens.

Even though his head is very swollen and his mouth looks almost impossible to move, he did chomp on a pellet last night so is still eating.

He also seemed quite interested in chasing the tiny catfish I originally bought for the small tank away whenever he strays too near, so he can't be suffering too much.

The guppy's tail is no better, I'll be very surprised if he recovers but will keep trying this Esha stuff.

 

[Tenko]

Esha 2000 hasn't helped the catfish, he looks in a right state now so I'm thinking about ending it for him.

The Esha may have slowed the guppy tail rot a bit though. I still looks a bit white around the edge in places but the rot has almost stopped. I hope a big water change and starting the treatment again tomorrow might help him out.

 

[Tenko]

I'm sure I posted this morning. That's 2 replies that have vanished!

Sad to say that the catfish was dead this morning when I got up. At least he isn't suffering anymore.