Please Help...

[Midnight6333]

I just bought a Hypostomus plecostomus suckermouth catfish last night...Its about 3 or 4 inches (I think)...I also bought 3 female guppies...I put them in a small tank...so that i could quarantine them for a few days before putting them in the big 10 gallon tank...I had the tank lid open to stop the large amount of bubbles from forming at the top...I went to bed...(the tank is in my bed room)...When I got up I checked on my fish...I have 6 tanks...3 10 gallons...3 small tanks...everyone was there but catfish...at first I thought it was killed by the guppies and they ate it (which had happened to me before...but with a lot of guppies not 3 and the catfish was very small) but he was a big catfish and there is only 3 guppies so if they did mange to kill it there would be some sort of carcass...then it hit me that it could have jumped out....and if it did my cat who was in the room all night could have got it...I looked all over and then found it laying still...I picked it up and it was all dry and stiff...I was going to go wrap it in a paper towel and bury it but the next thing I knew was it was squirming...I quickly put it in another small tank (with the lip on)...then I thought it was dead because it was just floating there...it didn't even look like it was breathing...so I left it in there for a few minutes and came back and it was now sucking on the tank again....it been about an hour and a half since I found it on the floor...

I don't know if it is hurt...my cat is normally good with fish (in the tank) and other small animals like mice, hamster, frogs...but he’s still a cat...

I want to know if there is anything I should do?
Anything I should treat it with?
any problems that may occur because of him being so dried out?
Is there anything I should look out for?

 

[Midnight6333]

Opps...sorry I didn't see that there was a Emergency Forum...I'll go post there....

 

[nmonks]

If it is swimming about normally now, then it'll probably be fine. I might look out for fin damage, and if any rot sets in, treat with fin-rot remedy. But otherwise, it sounds like this fish should be called Lazarus!

Seriously, some of these suckermouth cats aestevate (the summer version of hibernate) in mud holes on riverbanks. They are very tough. I wouldn't be in the least surprised it goes on to live for another twenty years!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Midnight6333]

Thank you Neale,

I'll keep an eye out for fin damage, and rot...

I looked at him more closely and he seems to be ok...I don't see any wounds....and he’s acting normal again....

Thanx agian!

Midnight

 

[PlecMama]

Plecs are legendary in their ability to bounce back after being dried and "dead" and covered in carpet fluff.

Hope he does ok

 

[Midnight6333]

He made it through the night and he acting ok...but I think he may have some fin damage...or Fin rot...on his tail...

I do have this thing but I don't know if it will work for that...

http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=TB635

What Meds. should I use...

 

[PlecMama]

More like this one:

http/www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=JF165

but I've never heard of that brand, so you might just want to go to your shop and ask what anti-bac meds they have. Also watch what you give plecs, they are sensitive to meds, give it a half dose if you have to give it anything.

 

[§tudz]

the big 10 gallon tank...

Erm... you do realise that 10gallon isn't big and is FAR too small for you plec?

 

[bunjiweb]

Thats exactly what I was thinking... 10G is NOT a big tank, my 150G is quite big, but not even close to some of the tanks people have that I would class as BIG!

Ben