My Catfish Aren't Doing Very Well

[fish-r-fancy]

Hi, I just bought 3 catfish and they arent doing very well. They are all just laying around and look dead. I actually thought one was dead and went to net it out and it moved its fin it didn't even swim away or anything. All of the catfish were active in the store. Could this be from lack of hiding spots? Or are most fish usually like this when you first bring them home? I'm going to have my water tested some time soon. Is there anything else that I can do? I don't want to do a water change because all the new things happening it might stress the fish out more then they already are. Is there anything else that I could do? Thanks

 

[Cheffi]

Hi, I just bought 3 catfish and they arent doing very well. They are all just laying around and look dead. I actually thought one was dead and went to net it out and it moved its fin it didn't even swim away or anything. All of the catfish were active in the store. Could this be from lack of hiding spots? Or are most fish usually like this when you first bring them home? I'm going to have my water tested some time soon. Is there anything else that I can do? I don't want to do a water change because all the new things happening it might stress the fish out more then they already are. Is there anything else that I could do? Thanks

How big is your tank? What else have you got in there? What kind of catfish have you bought? When did you put them in? You really need to have your own test kit when you keep fish. When your fish are acting differently or strangely the first thing you should do is test your water. If you have water problems your fish will be less stressed by a water change than being poisoned by bad water parameters. Not that I am saying there is anything wrong with your water but you would know by now if you had your own kit.

Catfish like to hide so make sure you have plenty of hiding places but to be honest they don't sound too good to me.

 

[fish-r-fancy]

actually I think it's just because they may be nocturnal because now that it's getting darker they seem to be more out and about or it's just they needed time to settle into the tank. I think I might get some black lights from home depot to make the tank darker. Would this help if it was just that they were nocturnal or you don't think it will have much of a difference? Also by adding a black backround would that do anything?
I'm not sure what kind of catfish they are, because of that the people at the lfs sold them to me for cheap. They are all different kinds of catfish though. They are all in a 55 gallon. Tommorow I will do a water change and add plenty of hiding spots. I have some pieces of driftwood that I want to add and I'll collect some rocks. Thank you for all the help.

and to answer a couple more of your questions I have no other fish in there, except the big cats. I just added them in earlier today.

also once the fish seem healthy I will try and get some pics up.

 

[Cheffi]

Pic's would be good just so you can hopefully get an id as some of these cats grow huuuuuge.

 

[CFC]

Please try to post in the correct sections and supply as much information as possible when asking for advice.

 

[DebraAustin]

actually I think it's just because they may be nocturnal because now that it's getting darker they seem to be more out and about or it's just they needed time to settle into the tank. I think I might get some black lights from home depot to make the tank darker. Would this help if it was just that they were nocturnal or you don't think it will have much of a difference? Also by adding a black backround would that do anything?
I'm not sure what kind of catfish they are, because of that the people at the lfs sold them to me for cheap. They are all different kinds of catfish though. They are all in a 55 gallon. Tommorow I will do a water change and add plenty of hiding spots. I have some pieces of driftwood that I want to add and I'll collect some rocks. Thank you for all the help.

and to answer a couple more of your questions I have no other fish in there, except the big cats. I just added them in earlier today.

also once the fish seem healthy I will try and get some pics up.

Be careful about what you put in the tank. A piece of driftwood, just picked up off the beach can be contaminated and could contaminate your water and kill your fish. The same thing with rocks. There are some rocks that will leach their minerals into the water and kill your fish. All rocks (even the safe ones) need to be scrubbed really well (but don't use soap as the residue can be poisonous to fish) and boiled for at least 30 minutes and then allowed to cool completely before putting them into the tank.

I am not a rock expert, nor am I a driftwood expert, but have read enough on this forum to know better than to just put anything I pick up that looks pretty or interesting into my tank.

Just so you'll know catfish do a lot of just sitting around and sometimes I have thought mine were dead, because it is even hard to see their gills moving they move so little and so fast, but they will settle in after a few days. Mine are more active when it is darker in the tank, so don't fret if you had just put them in they were probably acclimating.

Also, make sure you are doing the proper acclimating before you put them in the tank. Floating the bag in the tank for at least a half hour to an hour. Since I have a very alkaline tank I add just a little of the tank water to the bag several times during the hour in order for them to better adjust to the ph and then I let them loose. Fish are not very good at regulating their body temperature and other adjustments, they don't have coats and hats they can put on if needed, so we need to help them out.

Hope you find this info useful. I also hope that someone that knows more about rocks and driftwood will help you out.

Debra

 

[cane76]

you should be testing the water before you go out and add fish.go and get some some tests asap and you can see what your dealing with.im confused if there are no other fish in with the 3 new catfish the tank was uncycled when you added them?and why buy 3 unknown catfish in the first place?

 

[fish-r-fancy]

actually I think it's just because they may be nocturnal because now that it's getting darker they seem to be more out and about or it's just they needed time to settle into the tank. I think I might get some black lights from home depot to make the tank darker. Would this help if it was just that they were nocturnal or you don't think it will have much of a difference? Also by adding a black backround would that do anything?
I'm not sure what kind of catfish they are, because of that the people at the lfs sold them to me for cheap. They are all different kinds of catfish though. They are all in a 55 gallon. Tommorow I will do a water change and add plenty of hiding spots. I have some pieces of driftwood that I want to add and I'll collect some rocks. Thank you for all the help.

and to answer a couple more of your questions I have no other fish in there, except the big cats. I just added them in earlier today.

also once the fish seem healthy I will try and get some pics up.

Be careful about what you put in the tank. A piece of driftwood, just picked up off the beach can be contaminated and could contaminate your water and kill your fish. The same thing with rocks. There are some rocks that will leach their minerals into the water and kill your fish. All rocks (even the safe ones) need to be scrubbed really well (but don't use soap as the residue can be poisonous to fish) and boiled for at least 30 minutes and then allowed to cool completely before putting them into the tank.

I am not a rock expert, nor am I a driftwood expert, but have read enough on this forum to know better than to just put anything I pick up that looks pretty or interesting into my tank.

Just so you'll know catfish do a lot of just sitting around and sometimes I have thought mine were dead, because it is even hard to see their gills moving they move so little and so fast, but they will settle in after a few days. Mine are more active when it is darker in the tank, so don't fret if you had just put them in they were probably acclimating.

Also, make sure you are doing the proper acclimating before you put them in the tank. Floating the bag in the tank for at least a half hour to an hour. Since I have a very alkaline tank I add just a little of the tank water to the bag several times during the hour in order for them to better adjust to the ph and then I let them loose. Fish are not very good at regulating their body temperature and other adjustments, they don't have coats and hats they can put on if needed, so we need to help them out.

Hope you find this info useful. I also hope that someone that knows more about rocks and driftwood will help you out.

Debra

I didn't end up using the driftwood that I found because it didn't sink yet and most of my works were from the petstore and I cleaned them off very well with the hose. I also did the vinegar test on most of my rocks to make sure they were absolutly safe.

The catfish are starting to move more and I got my water tested, they sold my an alkalinity(spelling) buffer, and I also did a large water change.

I did float the fish for 30 minutes in there bags then realeased them.

you should be testing the water before you go out and add fish.go and get some some tests asap and you can see what your dealing with.im confused if there are no other fish in with the 3 new catfish the tank was uncycled when you added them?and why buy 3 unknown catfish in the first place?

The only fish in the tank are the 3 catfish and and the tank is already cycyled.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Did you do a fishless cycle, or cycle with other fish that you moved out? I assume either of these must be the case; otherwise, the tank would not have been cycled.

It is very important that we find out what the fish are - otherwise, you are not going to be in a position to cater for specific dietary needs or whatever. Like mammals, some catfish are herbivores, others carnivores-it wouldn't be a brilliant idea to buy a cat cheap and try to feed it on lettuce leaves, or expect the hamster to eat cat food. Like with other pets, it is very important to do research first and not let oneself get carried away by bargains. You are in a position where you're going to have to do your research after the event, but hopefully not too much damage will have been done.

It is however imperative that you do the identifying now. Can you post us a pic? Or look in some books, google planetcatfish or anything else you can think of?

 

[fish-r-fancy]

I'm downloading a video right now to go in the pics section. I could only gte a video of one but I will try and get pics of the others. As you will see in the video they have goten a lot more active. Also the one in the video I'm pretty sure is a bullseye catfish.

 

[cane76]

glad to hear they are doing better