Poorly catfish???

[Minxnfella]

Hi
Does it qualify for an emergency when your usually active mystery catfish (called Thomas) has not moved for 3 days apart from once, when I saw that he had white streaks next to his dorsal fin - it looks like someone has tippexed him for those in the UK. He's just in a not so little crevice in the bogwood and doesn't move if you move the wood. He just shuffles on the spot. If he were a chicken he'd be sat on eggs if you see what I mean.
I don't know what type of fish he is and I'm still trying to find out and see if that could help.
The water is fine, just done the checks. Ph - 7.2, ammonia - 0 nitrite - 0 nitrate - 10. Should I put him on his own or just leave him and see if he comes round? We did change the gravel last week and they stayed in it because we couldn't catch them; he was fine after that and looking for food.

He is in a 3ft tank with 2 baby plecs and 2 guppies so I don't think its because its overstocked.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as he was the funniest fish to watch!! I want my bully back!

Thanks in advance

 

[wetwetwet]

Hi minxnfella,

sorry to hear about your catfish, it is usually a sign that something is wrong when a fish starts behaving differently. I'm not overly familiar with catfish but maybe he doesn't like your new gravel or feels put out by the disturbance - this is where he previously spent his time forageing. btw why did you change the gravel??

What does he eat and is he still eating?

The white streaks sound like it could be some kind of disease - is it getting worse? a better discription may help. You could possibly try a broad spectrum bacteriacide(sp) which are readily available from your lfs

If you haven't found this site before you could try here to ID your catfish

Planet Catfish


Keep us up to date

 

[Minxnfella]

Hi
Ive tried planet catfish and can't find him on it so I'm just hoping I'll bump into his species one day.
I haven't seen him since yesterday and when I looked the white doesn't seem to have spread anywhere. I tried to fish him out and put him in a treatment tank but he wasn't having it, which is good right?
I'm treating the whole tank with melafix and hoping for the best.
I never saw him eat before and haven't seen him eat tonight, but neither did the other plec so it's not too much of a worry.
I changed the gravel because my plants were supposed to arrive last week and haven't yet. and to be quite honest bright pink and purple seemed like a good idea then, but unlike some things it doesn't grow on you.

Thanks for the help.

 

[cryosi]

se how he/she gets on with the meds! if u can get a pic and one of us catfish peeps can look and maybe tell you what u have how big is ur mystery! i hope things look up for you!

 

[William]

Can you describe or draw a picture in paint or something of the catfish otherwise? We can be quite good at guessing I hope the meds work for thomas, good luck. About him evading capture, most fish even on their last legs will try but it is good to see he has so much energy he was available to escape it completely. If you haven't seen him eat yet? Do you have algae wafers or pellets for the plecs - he should eat these?

 

[Minxnfella]

Hiya
Well, I haven't seen him all today, but that might be because I haven't really been looking.
I haven't seen him eat, and there has been plenty of opportunity for him to; so far they've had broccoli, cauliflower (which they devoured), peas/petits poi, I tried carrots but they didn't like those. Even the goldfish wouldn't eat those . This is of course surplus to the tank full of algae which they have abandoned and the algae wafers. Maybe he eats when Ive gone to bed and it's safe to come out without being watched.
It's all very bemusing.
Had I thought ahead a little I could have got the fella part of the namesake to take a couple of photo's whilst he was staying. But I didn't.
So, for a completely insufficient description, here goes. We all know he's probably something really ordinary really and it should be easy.

He's about 3 1/2" long, and quite chunky. Have you seen all the leapard print/safari print stuff? He's those sorts of colours - tan and brown. He has biggggg whiskers, and an evil and somewhat dangerous looking dorsal fin, with a lovely serrated scissor type edge to it (why I was using the net not my hand!). He has a proper tail like the goldfish do (my babies) and his tail is stripey, as are his fins and much of his back end. The rest of him is spotty not stripey. He's odd, but stunning. If he ever came out (bast*rd fish, I wanna see him ) sorry about that.

That's about as good as it gets from memory. How's that? Anyone have any idea? Anyone just want to come round and identify him for me? I'm lost. I feel blonde so I'm going. xxxx

 

[cryosi]

sounds like a syno! something like a Synodontis eupterus. does it look like this

http/web.mit.edu/lxs/www/cichlids/feathe...herfin-cat.html

 

[PunkRock050]

OOOO Wow! I want one!! But im afraid I might kill it with my bottom feeder bad luck

 

[PunkRock050]

BTW what kind of fish is this in the top left? Its pretty

 

[Gibbo]

Where did you get this mystery catfish from minxnfella? Check planet catfish again and concentrate on the Doradidae and Synodontis families.
Does the body seem armour plated and are his eyes a little 'beady'? Do his flanks (side of body) have armoured 'teeth' along them?

It sounds like it could be a type of Doradid to me because of his reclusive nature! Synos, although sometimes secretive, still remain relatively active, even within the confines of a cave or such.

 

[Minxnfella]

HElloooooo
Well, last night Cryosi and I decided he was a syno....featherfin catfish to those of us who don't remember scientific names.
Today, my plants have come, and yet again I have moved his bogwood around. However, now he has his huge cave back (where I can spy on him) and he seems relatively active and happy. I am now wondering if his tippex marks are scarring??? He likes hiding inside the heater guard, or did, but now I've covered it in plants! Do you think he could have caught himself? Either way, his white patches aren't as noticable so I think the melafix is working, though my mother took back her spoon so it's a bit of a guess as to how much I'm putting in
Anyway, thanks for all your help. I am off to get some hillstream loaches this afternoon for the other tank.
Tata
xx

 

[Gibbo]

If you came to that conclusion, great! They are cool fish and my Old Featherfin (called 'Feather', Imaginatively enough ) used to scar as well, almost as if someone had drawn on him with chalk. It's great to hear that he's perked up a lot though, a weight off your mind and a relief. The Hillstreams are funny fish as well, I've had two for a year and a half now and they're mad!!! Great fun to watch and relatively undemanding. They like a bit of current and a bit of powdered/crushed flake to go with the algae.... if you see them head on they look like bumps with two little eyes on top, like cartoon ghosts!!