Very Sick Bronze Catfish!

[Illyria]

Hi,

I am new a REALLY need help with my sick catfish. I noticed this morning (9am) that it was lying on the bottom upside down. It was breathing and following me with it's eyes. When I put food in the tank it ate and swam around normally. I noticed again later on in the day that it was sitting on the bottom, but this time the right way up. But still it would occasionaly swim around seemingly normally. It's now (1:30am) at the bottom of the tank upside down again and then getting up and swimming around but staying close to the bottom. It doesn't have any spots or discolouration and doesn't not appear bloated or appear to be gasping for breath or struggling to swim (when it does swim).

It shares a 3 X I.5 X 1 foot tank with one other Bronze Catfish and 50 (very young) assorted Platys. The tank is 3 months old and the last water change was just over a week ago. PH is 7.0 I've checked ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and all are zero. I do not have a hardness test and I do not have any medications- but will get them ASAP if needed.

I have included photos of the catfish at the bottom of the tank. PLEASE HELP!!

 

[Tolak]

Odd that nitrates are zero in a tank with corys & plenty of platy fry. Are you using a liquid kit or test strips?

Barbels look good enough, either constipation or an internal bacterial or protizoal infection affecting the swim bladder. What are you feeding them, and what do feces look like?

 

[Illyria]

Odd that nitrates are zero in a tank with corys & plenty of platy fry. Are you using a liquid kit or test strips?

Barbels look good enough, either constipation or an internal bacterial or protizoal infection affecting the swim bladder. What are you feeding them, and what do feces look like?

I'm feeding them Nutrafin Livebearer Food. I use a liquid test kit. When I set up the tank I used some of the biological filter from three year old tank; but all other fish seem absolutely normal. I haven't noticed any faeces. How would I treat constipation?

 

[Tolak]

Corys do require a more meaty diet, though you do want something with more roughage than the usual flake food. Start with some frozen brine shrimp. While not a protein heavy food, it does have some roughage, which is good for the digestive tract.

Generally a couple of cooked peas are good for digestion; corys are really not fond of veggies. Beyond the brine shrimp, epsom salt is an excellent laxative. One teaspoon per 10 gallons, increase by a teaspoon per 10 gallons daily for a maximum of 3 teaspoons per gallon. This is a long term bath, meaning in the tank the fish lives in. Short term, 5-15 minutes, add one teaspoon per gallon, watch the fish for any signs of distress.

 

[Illyria]

Would the salts and different foods affect the other fish?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Illyria

Was your cory in the tank while it was cycling? He looks swollen, is he plumper than he usually is?

 

[Illyria]

The tank was cycled, then 5 platys lived in it for about a week before the cory that is sick now and the healthy one and 50 other platy fry were added. Like I mentioned it has been noticeably sick for one day so far.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Illyria

Since we can rule out damage that might have come from cycling, the most common thing that will go wrong with a cory that it will get a bacterial infection of some kind. The gravel you are using could have led to this. If you are feeding fry and livebearers, excess food may have dropped down and become lodged in the spaces between the gravel where the corys couldn't reach it. Then it is food for potentially harmful bacteria. Since the corys spend most of their time on the bottom, they are sometimes the first to be effected. Clean water and substrate are essential to keep corys healthy.

If you live in the US, you could treat him with tetracycline, or Maracyn 1 and Maracyn 2. If in the UK, try Myxazin or Interpet Anti Bacterial medicine. They might help.

While salt baths are useful in some situations, long term use of salt in the water will cause damage to the liver and kidneys of corys.

 

[Tolak]

I noticed that swelling as well, which could indicate a bacterial problem. I also noticed little to no barbel erosion, which is another indicator of a bacterial issue, most commonly from the substrate. While this does not rule out an internal bacterial issue it is commonly found in corys suffering from a bacterial ailment.

Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, not to be confused with aquarium salt, which is sodium chloride. Aquarium salt & corys doesn't mix, really rough on them as Inchworm mentioned. To my knowledge the worst thing epsom salt does is raise the GH, that's the reason for adding a little at a time. It does draw fluid out of the fish, whether the internal problem is bacterial, protizoal, or digestive, there is some swelling there that is apparently affecting the swim bladder. It also cleans out the digestive tract, and can be added to food.

Noticing that you stated that your time is 5 hours later than me, it's safe to assume you are in the UK or thereabouts. Big problem there is obtaining the proper antibiotics, these must be prescribed by a vet in the UK. The epsom salt will get a jump on whatever the ailment is in any case, and can be used with any med I can think of that would be used for a bacterial problem. It is also not going to harm your bio filtration as many antibiotics can.

I really wish something could be done about the difficulty aquarists in the UK have obtaining medications. While I don't advise going at every situation with in many cases is a prescription med, when it is needed obtaining it as quickly as possible can be key to the recovery of a fish.

 

[Illyria]

I am in Melbourne, Australia. Will these medications affect the other fish?

 

[Tolak]

Epsom salt won't, and actually platys like water a little harder. With fry you would want to medicate them at half the suggested dose, so a med tank for the sick cory would be the best idea.

 

[LauraFrog]

Antibiotics will damage your biofilter, so you will need to keep a careful eye on your ammonia and nitrites while you treat with them. Platys are tough as nails and they should be fine with epsom salts. Personally, I would quarantine to treat with either because it's a lot easier to monitor the fish and the water conditions, and also keep the tank spotless, when the fish is in quarantine.

Antibiotics are pretty easy to obtain in Australia, you can get tetracycline at most pet stores, it's sold as aqua cure or aquaricycline.

 

[Illyria]

Thank you all for your help. I will get a quarantine tank and some antibiotics tomorrow. Now just to survive the night!

 

[Illyria]

I was convinced by the end of yesterday that it was a swim bladder issue, and not a bacterial one. Someone suggested to me to try spinach as it works more efficiently than peas. Today it seems a lot better. Still having trouble swimming- still slow and not moving away from the substrate- but loving the spinach and so is the healthy cory! Has anyone else tried/had success with spinach as a remedy?

Today.

 

[Illyria]

It died last night. It looked like it was getting better than rapidly declined. It is quite upsetting. I will from now on keep a very close eye on my corys and other cats.