Help with Synodontis Petricola / Cuckoo catfish???

[Hazze]

I think we are talking about the same thing by the tail. Where the tail fin joins the body there are 2 cream coloured lumps. That could be Lymphocystis or the start of an ulcer. Monitor it and if it goes red in the centre and the red spreads outwards, then it's an ulcer. If they remain cream/ white and grow bigger and lumpy, then it's Lymphocystis, which is a stress virus that will clear up in a few months if the fish is well looked after.

Ok thanks I will keep a very close eye on it! I'll update here any developments.

Thanks again for all your help and advice - I've learnt a lot!

 

[Mergatroyd]

The medicine did throw the cycle and I had a nitrite spike which I sorted very quickly with Prime.

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This is why it is good to have a hospital tank: avoids messing up your primary tank and needlessly medicating all your fish.

 

[Byron]

The medicine did throw the cycle and I had a nitrite spike which I sorted very quickly with Prime.

Keep in mind that Prime detoxifies nitrite (along with ammonia and nitrate) temporarily, not permanently; Prime is effective here (detoxifying ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) for 24-36 hours. If any of these are still present, they will then revert back to the toxic form.

Also note that most test kits (like the API) register the detoxified and toxic forms of all three the same, so nitrite will show as nitrite whether it is toxic or non-toxic.

In situations like this, where medications cause bacteria issues resulting in nitrite, adding a bacterial supplement can help. I have successfully used Seachem's Stability in this situation, and Tetra's SafeStart will work. Prime is not a "treatment" as such and should only be used with a water change.

 

[Hazze]

The medicine did throw the cycle and I had a nitrite spike which I sorted very quickly with Prime.

--------------

This is why it is good to have a hospital tank: avoids messing up your primary tank and needlessly medicating all your fish.

Yes I agree. I learnt that lesson on this occasion. I will definitely have a hospital/quarantine tank when I move and have more space! I was wondering what people generally keep in those tanks to keep the filter biologically active/cycled?

 

[Hazze]

Keep in mind that Prime detoxifies nitrite (along with ammonia and nitrate) temporarily, not permanently; Prime is effective here (detoxifying ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) for 24-36 hours. If any of these are still present, they will then revert back to the toxic form.

Also note that most test kits (like the API) register the detoxified and toxic forms of all three the same, so nitrite will show as nitrite whether it is toxic or non-toxic.

In situations like this, where medications cause bacteria issues resulting in nitrite, adding a bacterial supplement can help. I have successfully used Seachem's Stability in this situation, and Tetra's SafeStart will work. Prime is not a "treatment" as such and should only be used with a water change.

Yes I used SafeStart to get the filter back on track which worked very quickly.

I did wonder how the test kits worked with the non-toxic forms. Thanks for clarifying.