they seem sleepy

[curious]

hey! hows it going, well my catfish shark seems like it rests alot, im really not sure if it should be doing this at all but it swims around and does laps around the tank and then sits at the bottom with its fins down close to its body. looks healthy it has great color bt it seems like the top fin was nipped at. if anyone could help me i would appreciate it. i'd hat to see my favorite baby to die.

 

[tttnjfttt]

First of all, how big is your tank and what fish do you have in it?

Also, can you post your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and temperature?

Being listless and also clamped fins (holding them into their body) often is a sign of stress, and one of the first places to check is usually with the water quality.

 

[@ombomb]

If by "Catfish Shark" you mean Columbian Shark, do you add salt to the water?

Is it one of these: http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/ariid...anema/700_f.php

 

[curious]

i took a sample of the water over to the lfs and they tested it and said it was perfect, i didnt for some reason get the readings ( stuff on my mind) but even the guy said it was stress. i have 55 gallon and there is only 2 angel fish in there with this shark, which by the way is the columbian shark and i add salt because they are brackish fish. so all in all im still a little lost. poor thing.

 

[@ombomb]

You keep it with Angels....? They're freshwater.

When you say you add salt, do you know the SG of your water?

 

[curious]

im sorry, im not sure what you mean by sg of the water i have been adding salt to my water for as long as i started it, the guy at the fish store actually recommended me to add the salt, i guess its better because it helps the gills or something.

 

[curious]

so i guess my angels also eat ghost shrimp as well. we dumped 5 ghost shrimp in to the tank and the angels attacked them like they never ate before. is this normal as well? can anyone also tell me what i need to buy for clamped fin syndrome or disease ( which ever it is).?

 

[@ombomb]

What I imagine you are actually adding to your tank is salt designed to help heal fish, NOT marine salt which is required by Marine / Brackish fish.

My advice would be to rehome the shark.

They can not be kept with Angel fish as they require COMPLETELY different water in adulthood.

 

[curious]

the salt that the guy handed me to buy is called Aquarium salt by doc wellfish, and your right all it does is basically reduce stree and improve gill function and its for fresh water fish but he said to add it to the water for my shark. i wish the employees at some fish stores knew what they where talking about because this is starting to get old.

 

[Breakthecycle2]

How often should you use aquarium salt? My tank is 2weeks old and completly stocked. I made that mistake through some bad advice. I have a bad recurring Ich problem, that I think is under control.

 

[@ombomb]

the salt that the guy handed me to buy is called Aquarium salt by doc wellfish, and your right all it does is basically reduce stree and improve gill function and its for fresh water fish but he said to add it to the water for my shark. i wish the employees at some fish stores knew what they where talking about because this is starting to get old.

True.... but you'll know for the future to research the fish yourself before you buy them. People in fish shops are there to sell fish...

As I said before you will need to rehome the shark, or the Angels and go brackish but I would stick with the Angels, assuming your tank is large enough to house them...

 

[IMCL85]

You should see my cory they haven't move for almost 4 hours.

 

[curious]

i add the salt whenever i do a water change which is usually every 3 weeks. the sharks seems better all the sudden, i dont know what has gotten into him but he's swimmimg around fast and doing laps around the plants and eating better too. maybe it was a weird stress thing. i guess i didnt think to research my fish considering me being new at this and all and im glad that there are people around to ask like you guys, and not making me feel too stupid.

 

[@ombomb]

Glad to hear he's perked up , but the fact remains that you can't keep it in freshwater long term. You still need to look into rehoming the fish or setting up a seperate (and large) brackish tank for the shark.