Abouttina quiao Expertise I can answer all questions about chemistry of water and I would say, I am familiar with almost all diseases of fresh and saltwater fish. I have had my 125 tropical salt and 45 agressive for yrs. I managed a petshop for five years and I am a petcare specialist for a large petchain now. I love my animals. I love this kind of work. Helping people keep their fish sucessfully is so rewarding to me.
Experience I managed a petshop in Bridgeton called Petpourri for about 5 years...I am a petcare specialist for a large pet chain. I have 2 African greys, a Nandey conure,a potbelly pig, 2 rats and a hamster. Oh and did I mention a 125 tropical salt and a 45 agressive salt. I have had brakish and fresh. I am very familiar with disese and chemistry of your tank. I also have 2 senegul chameleons and the anoles that live in the bottom of their 37 high tank. We keep tons of reptiles at the store and keep a couple as pets love them all. I have worked in the pet business for yrs.....along with taking care of all of mine.
Expert: tina quiao Date: 3/15/2008 Subject: Catfish skin problems
Question I bought two different kinds of catfish. One being a Pictus Catfish and the other an Iridescent Shark. Both seemed to come down with the same disgusting skin disorder and they were both killed by it.
To me it looked like their skin was shedding. I'd had him for only about a week. I could tell it wasn't normal because it looked like my shark had a really hard time swimming. He was only like that for about a day and the next morning his whole head looked like it was covered in a thick covering of it. It looked like it may have suffocated.
My Pictus was new and it only lasted one day in my tank. It had accumulated a really gross skin covering but instead of suffocating, I saw him swim really fast, then float at he bottom of the tank vertically and then his gills stopped moving. It was really sad and I want it to stop. I think it may be a disease or something wrong with my water chemistry. How can I prevent it from happening again? Thanks.
Answer Bill, I would treat your tank with coppersafe it sounds like you have a horrible infestation of parasites. Fungus don't happen that fast. Fluke worms collect in the gills and suffocate your fish. This is a mineral based medication and will stay in your tank for 30 days. If your carbon is more than 3 days old you don't have to remove it. Especially since some parasites take 20 days to get rid of. I don't think it is your water chemistry. You can always test, but prob not. Pangassious cats are very hardy.....it has to be something other than that. Good Luck, Tina
