AboutShorty Expertise ~my dad got mad and took away my internet. dont kno when ill have it back. sorry...~
I will answer all questions as best I can, and if I am unsure of the answer, I will be willing to do research. I can answer questions about tetras, especially neon tetras. I can also answer questions on common diseases and parasites and how to treat them, and tank setups, maintenance, and cleaning. I can provide info. on cichlids (including breeding), goldfish, raising and breeding fancy guppies, and feeding your fish. If I don’t know the answer to your question, I will research and tell you my findings.
Experience I am 16 years old, but I have owned at least one fish tank since I was in elementary school. I now have a tank dedicated to raising and breeding fancy guppies, with much success. I have another tank with goldfish, which I’ve had the longest, and a larger tank with convict cichlid cichlids, which I have successfully bred, jewel cichlids, and an oscar. I’ve also raised and bred other cichlids as well. I used to have two other tanks, one with angel fish, and the other with tetras, which I recently got rid of. I’ve raised other fish such as catfish and gouramis along the way too. Since I have had fish so long I know much about diseases, and parasites, and how to treat them.
At the time i am writing this now i have:
1 Oscar
2 Jewel Cichlids
1 betta
6 goldfish
1 Kuhli loach
1 Rainbow shark
1 pleco
25 guppies
6 adult convict cichlids
30 young convict cichlids
Organizations I am hoping to volunteer at Hawk Creek.
Education/Credentials im only 16.... but I've been on the honor role my whole life(averages in the mid 90's), and im taking college courses in highschool.
Expert: Shorty Date: 9/20/2007 Subject: Catfish with sores
Question QUESTION: I have a 30 gal fresh water tank with 2 gold fish (5in and 2in), 3 gourami (5in, 3in, 2in), an albino catfish (3in), a black bug eyed one (2 in), a suckerfish (3 in), and grey catfish (5in).
The grey catfish has two big scrapes on both sides as if it's been skinned. We noticed this morning and I took it out and put it in a 5 gal tank on its own with water from the original tank. It seemed despondent and slow but perked up a bit and can be seen eating. I added a little salt thinking that might sterilize the wound.
I can see the meat through the scrapes and it looks clean but painful and substantial. I'm guessing the gourami were eating at it - but I've nothing to support that supposition. Could it be an infection?
What can I do to spur healing or just come to a proper diagnosis? Should I change the water every day? The fish was barely visible it was so small when we got it 5 months ago - now it is an impressive 4 or so inches long .. everyone seems quite healthy before today.
ANSWER: Hey Tanya! i would say the sores are from the catfish scraping on something or the gouramis attacking it. Gouramis can be very viscous when they get older. i had some once. they pretty much killed everything else off in the tank. i would medicate the tank w/ MelaFix b/cuz it helps heal wounds and sores. ur catfish is probably slow and despondent because its stressed out. being attacked can really stress a fish out. i wouldnt change the water everyday because this can stress a fish out even more. i would do a 25% water change every other day.. hope ur catfish gets better soon!
p.s. i would make sure that the tank has a cover on it. one day i came home to find my 6 year old catfish dead on the floor b/cuz it jumped out of the tank!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks! He wants to hunker down behind the filter now - sort of panicked. The sores look bad - some of the muscle is peeling away now ... it was just the skin before but now that the interior has been exposed it's the meat as well.
If he heals do I put him back? Or do I need to get rid of the Gouramis?
ANSWER: if he heals, u could try putting him back in, and watch carefully for any aggression towards him. also, i would remove anything from the tank that could be sharp or abrasive. good luck!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: So the catfish died - no surprise there. Subsequently an albino cat fish and a sucker fish died and today a very large gold fish died ... we had a real hard time getting the tank stable - lots and lots of kill - we finally got it stable and had no die-off for many months ... now we seem to be back at it after adding these Gouramis ... perhaps that's just a coincidence ... no one is showing signs of stress - they just turn up dead. At this point we've got 3 gouramis (one very large), one of those black bug-eyed goldfish and two small gold fish. My inclination is to remove the gourami's and start over with a number of fish on balance. What can I check in order to make sure I'm starting with an optimal environment?
This is distressing!
Answer Hi Tanya. I'm sorry to hear your catfish died. The cause is fish tuberculosis. One day your fish will seem fine and happy, the next day you wake up and their dead. Sometimes they show symptoms, but most of the time they just turn up dead with no cause.
This is one of the most fatal fish diseases. There is NO cure or treatment for it. In most cases when fish catch this, in order to get rid of the disease, you'll probably have to buy a whole new tank or bowl, and filter. Seeing as you have such a big tank and will probably NOT want to spend a lot of money for a new one. In this case you will have to clean the tank out and let it sit and dry for a set amount of time. I would say AT LEAST two weeks. But even then its not a guarantee, even bleach wont kill this disease. Fish can catch it through other affected fish or contaminated food, or contaminated water. so you may want to buy new food too. In most cases with this, you have to make a clean start. Quarantining the fish would be useless because fish can have it for 6 months without any symptoms and end up dead, thats why your tank may have seemed stable, when in fact your fish were slowly being killed on the inside. i know this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but this is whats wrong. If you want you can medicate the tank, but i doubt it will help. if you anymore questions fell free to let me know. i hope for the best!
