Very Sick Raphael Catfish!!

[cockwheat]

Hi everyone! I am posting because I have run into a situation I cannot find a solid solution or explanation for. I have a 55 gallon tank with 1 Veiled Angelfish, 4 platy, 3 albino corydora catfish, a small population of Ramshead Snails, and 1 Raphael Striped Catfish. I do 35-40% water changes every 1-1.5 weeks depending on my workload for school that week. Before my situation now all of my readings were normal, pH is constantly at +/-7.5, ammonia and nitrites always 0ppm, and nitrates usually sitting at +/-20ppm. This past week I stupidly let a full two weeks go by between changes because I got busy with schoolwork, and I didn't really notice anything wrong until I changed the water, tested again, and saw my Raphael Catfish not looking too great. I did the first new water change 3 days ago and before I did the water change I noticed my Raphael was out of his 'hut' in the daytime, something super unusual for him. Upon closer inspection I saw small chunks of his skin seemingly falling off along with redness and apparent irritation on his dorsal fin and the joints of his pectoral fins, especially on the right one. He also has only returned to his hut once, seeming to prefer be sitting out in the open or lazily climbing the glass, two very odd behaviors for him. I thought this was weird not only because none of my other fish are showing any signs of sickness, but because catfish are supposed to be a bit more resilient than other types of fish when it comes to getting sick. Since the first water change I have been doing a 50% water change every day with a gravel vacuuming every other day. Starting yesterday I have started giving the Raphael a Methylene Blue dip according to the directions on the bottle along with a rise off in a bucket of aquarium water before being returned to the freshly cleaned tank. I am only using the Methylene Blue as a precaution because I truly cannot figure out what is wrong with him and I've seen many suggestions on various forms of other people recommending it for sick Catfish because they can be sensitive to a lot of other meds. Since yesterday he has only gotten visually worse, the right fin is extremely red with growing sores, it almost looks like it may be slightly swollen as well, and his eyes look like a cloudy film is growing over them. I am attaching pictures for reference. I am getting ready for today's water change right now and I've just tested the water, here are the parameters (These have essentially been the same since I've been doing the 50% changes every day):

pH: 7.5 (normal)
Ammonia: .5-.25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
Temp: 75F

I have a 20 gallon hospital tank I set up that is ready to go for him to be transferred into, I'm really just unsure of what my next steps should be for him! He is my baby and I'd do just about anything for him, there are two large specialty fish stores close to me so I'm willing to travel and get him what he needs! I appreciate any advice at all and thank you in advance!!

Edit: I forgot to add what treatments I use! I use API StressCoat and StressZyme every water change and have since the tank was started. Also there were no new additions to the tank!

 

[UnknownFishies]

Do water changes to get that ammonia down. I don’t know much about illnesses but @Colin_T does. Move him to the 20 gallon in case the sickness is contagious. Watch him closely as well as the other fish for changes. Sorry I can’t give any more advice. Hopefully he recovers!

 

[cockwheat]

Do water changes to get that ammonia down. I don’t know much about illnesses but @Colin_T does. Move him to the 20 gallon in case the sickness is contagious. Watch him closely as well as the other fish for changes. Sorry I can’t give any more advice. Hopefully he recovers!

Yes the ammonia is a big concern for me! Considering the tank is well established do you think I can get away with doing a larger water change? Maybe around 70%? Its concerning the levels have stayed the same after so many days of large changes. Also thank you for tagging others!

 

[UnknownFishies]

Yes the ammonia is a big concern for me! Considering the tank is well established do you think I can get away with doing a larger water change? Maybe around 70%? Its concerning the levels have stayed the same after so many days of large changes. Also thank you for tagging others!

yes i would do a 70% water change. The levels are definitely concerning but i don’t think that’s what would’ve caused this sickness. In the meantime research on the internet to see if anyone else had this same problem.

 

[cockwheat]

yes i would do a 70% water change. The levels are definitely concerning but i don’t think that’s what would’ve caused this sickness. In the meantime research on the internet to see if anyone else had this same problem.

Thank you for the quick responses! I'll definitely do a 70% and the Raphael will go into the hospital tank. Research is what lead me to the use of the Methylene Blue but it was a bit frustrating, I kept finding people with similar issues but no one had all of the symptoms my guy has, and everyone had a different answer for what it may have been

 

[UnknownFishies]

How’s it’s poop. White stringy or normal? Does it gasp for air or rub against objects in the tank? If he has these he might have a parasite. @Slaphppy7, any ideas on what this could be?

 

[cockwheat]

How’s it’s poop. White stringy or normal? Does it gasp for air or rub against objects in the tank? If he has these he might have a parasite. @Slaphppy7, any ideas on what this could be?

I haven't seen any poop from him even though I feel like I always have an eye on him... I'm moving him to a hospital tank tonight so hopefully I'll be able to figure it out if he's isolated. I saw him appearing to scratch once but I've never seen him do it again and it was only for maybe 30-45 seconds the other night. He is not gasping at the surface but he is definitely breathing heavier than normal. Usually when I look at him it's hard to even tell if his gills are even moving but its clearly visible now hard he breathes.

 

[UnknownFishies]

Hmmm... so with the changes in breathing, cloudy/clear film over his eyes, and that one time it was scratching, I think he has a parasite. But let’s wait to see what others think before you get medicine for parasites. I’m very sorry this is happening to your fish.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Have you tested your source water to see whether you're getting an ammonia reading from the source water itself?

Have you thoroughly checked the tank for a source of ammonia like a dead fish, snails etc?

When did you last clean the filter, and how?

Sorry about your catfish, that's certainly very worrying.

 

[Colin_T]

The white patches on the fish are excess mucous caused by something in the water irritating the fish. This can be ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, incorrect pH, medications, plant fertiliser or an external protozoan infection.

Because the white patches aren't over the fish's entire body, it would suggest external protozoan infections like Costia, Chilodonella or Trichodina. These regularly occur in dirty tanks with lots of gunk in or tanks with lots of fish in. In your case, it's probably due to not enough big water changes, lack of gravel cleaning and a dirty filter.

The red patches on the body can be from poor water quality, bacteria or external protozoan parasites biting the fish. Methylene Blue should kill any bacteria or fungus but does nothing to protozoan parasites.

The red dorsal fin could be bacterial or really bad external protozoan infection.

External protozoan parasites also cause fish to rub on objects.

-------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. After that, do it once a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

If there's no improvement after a week with daily water changes and salt, or it gets worse during that time, you will need a broad spectrum medication that treats protozoan and bacteria.

-------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

 

[cockwheat]

Have you tested your source water to see whether you're getting an ammonia reading from the source water itself?

Have you thoroughly checked the tank for a source of ammonia like a dead fish, snails etc?

When did you last clean the filter, and how?

Sorry about your catfish, that's certainly very worrying.

I had not thought about ammonia from the source! But I just tested it and it is reading at 0ppm. Definitely no source ammonia from anything in the tank, I thoroughly check the bottom of the tank frequently and would've turned something up in the gravel vacuumings I have been doing. I use a sponge filter material and I last cleaned the filter 2 weeks ago, I usually clean every other water change and replace the sponge every month/month and half. I clean the filter in a bucket of aquarium water and am about to do than tonight with this water change!

 

[cockwheat]

The white patches on the fish are excess mucous caused by something in the water irritating the fish. This can be ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, incorrect pH, medications, plant fertiliser or an external protozoan infection.

Because the white patches aren't over the fish's entire body, it would suggest external protozoan infections like Costia, Chilodonella or Trichodina. These regularly occur in dirty tanks with lots of gunk in or tanks with lots of fish in. In your case, it's probably due to not enough big water changes, lack of gravel cleaning and a dirty filter.

The red patches on the body can be from poor water quality, bacteria or external protozoan parasites biting the fish. Methylene Blue should kill any bacteria or fungus but does nothing to protozoan parasites.

The red dorsal fin could be bacterial or really bad external protozoan infection.

External protozoan parasites also cause fish to rub on objects.

-------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. After that, do it once a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.

Add some salt, (see directions below).

If there's no improvement after a week with daily water changes and salt, or it gets worse during that time, you will need a broad spectrum medication that treats protozoan and bacteria.

-------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.

Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.

The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.

After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.

If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.

I would assume the skin was excess mucus but wherever it is peeling off it leaves a white 'ditch' where it seems the skin is gone or open sores, wouldn't that be evidence of skin damage rather than mucus damage? Please correct me if I'm wrong!

I'm transferring him to a cycled hospital tank tonight so he will be in a clean environment, I will also put an air stone in there with him per your recommendation! He will get another Methylene Blue dip along with this.

Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but with all the research I have done I have seen multiple times across several forums to avoid using salt with most Catfish because they have a more porous and sensitive skin compared to most fish and tend to be more sensitive to most meds. Should I adjust the normal salt dosage because of this? Or skip right to broad spectrum anti-protozoan and bacteria meds? And would you have any recommendations for any brands of these meds?

 

[Colin_T]

I use a sponge filter material and I last cleaned the filter 2 weeks ago, I usually clean every other water change and replace the sponge every month/month and half.

Don't replace filter media/ material unless it is falling apart. If you replace the media, you get rid of the beneficial filter bacteria that keeps ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm.

If you have filter pads/ cartridges, you can replace them sponges. Just buy a filter sponge for another brand of power filter and use a pair of scissors to cut the sponge to fit in your filter. Put the sponge in the filter and leave it there for a few months, then throw the filter pad/ cartridge away and leave the sponge. Sponges last for 10+ years and get squeezed out in a bucket of tank water every 2-4 weeks (after they have established).

 

[cockwheat]

Don't replace filter media/ material unless it is falling apart. If you replace the media, you get rid of the beneficial filter bacteria that keeps ammonia and nitrite at 0ppm.

If you have filter pads/ cartridges, you can replace them sponges. Just buy a filter sponge for another brand of power filter and use a pair of scissors to cut the sponge to fit in your filter. Put the sponge in the filter and leave it there for a few months, then throw the filter pad/ cartridge away and leave the sponge. Sponges last for 10+ years and get squeezed out in a bucket of tank water every 2-4 weeks (after they have established).

Ok I think I may have been confused by your question I definitely answered wrong! My filter is an Marineland Emperor 400 and it has BioWheels (media) and a sponge component. I replace the sponges as I said and I rinse the BioWheels out every month (3-5 weeks)! Hope that clarifies a bit!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ok I think I may have been confused by your question I definitely answered wrong! My filter is an Marineland Emperor 400 and it has BioWheels (media) and a sponge component. I replace the sponges as I said and I rinse the BioWheels out every month (3-5 weeks)! Hope that clarifies a bit!

But why replace the sponges?

They'd be housing beneficial bacteria, and don't need to be replaced. Unless you're talking about a finer filter floss that falls apart quite quickly?