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Baby redtail catfish problem please help

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases & Cures' started by Teddy, Oct 22, 2013.

  1. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    Hello everyone , im teddy and im new on this forum someone from reef 2 reef said i could find answer here ...
    So like 5 days ago a friend got me a gift > 15 baby redtail catfish because he knew that i was looking for a few, anyway they are all around 3-5 inches long, and in the tank i have 2 rainbow fish , 7 humbug catfish ,5 neon tetras and 3 zebra danios.. Wich i know might get eaten ive had redtails before xp.
    So from the day the rtc's were introduced in the tank they were all very active and eating dried blood worms and krill, but i noticed that some are very skinny but the rest look very healthy.
    Yesterday 3 of the skinnny ones died and one of them has wounds and cuts only on its head, but i dont have anything that would hurt them like that.. So i thought it might be from the rocks that are in the tank because i see them hiding behind them sometimes but im not sure and im going to take all the rocks out and leave the drift wood.. But im still confused from the wounds... Can someone tell me how they might of happend? But im not able to upload any pics :(

    Also i want to change the subtrate in the same tank and put sand. But im worried it might harm the fish :( can anyone give me tips on how to change it??

    Just so no one says idk what im doing, ive had piranhas, large redtails, shovel noses for freshwater and trigger fish , parrots, lionfish and eels for saltwater...
    So can anyone please help me ? Anything would be helpful
     
  2. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Hi Teddy, welcome to the forum. What size tank are they all in? What are the water parameters?
    The ones that were skinny and died could've just been weak since birth (swing how they were much smaller than the others). If they were hiding in and around the rocks then the one could've got the scratches from either swimming into them or trying to squeeze between them.
     
  3. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    Thank you :) and tbh i havnt tested for a while but everything was normal from the last time i checked last month, and i just took out all the rocks out and left some driftwood and the tank is a 55 gal quarentine tank going to move them into a pond after all the dying ends xp , and sadly another skinny one is dying as i type :(
     
  4. HBIC

    HBIC Need help??? That's what we're here for :)

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    Sounds to me if they are skinny they are probably just weak stock, do you know where they came from?
     
  5. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    Well not all of them just some, and they came from a lfs,
    And do u think its weird if theyre just swimming next against the glass but only on the side where the heater is
     
  6. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    No, I don't think it's weird at all. In my 150g, one or all 3 of my oscars will huddle around the heater and in my 20g my yo-yo's & panda garras hang out on or around the top of the heater. Some of my tetras and rasboras, in my 55g, mainly stay on the right side of the tank which is the side the heater is located.
     
  7. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    Thnx so much for the good and fast answers friends, but i wish the dying would end lol
     
  8. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    And no answers abOut the substrate ?
     
  9. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Seeing how the fish are going to be in the tank, just take it slow and steady, don't try to rush it.

    Make sure that the sand your going to put in the tank has been rinsed really good.

    Take out all of the decor. Scoop out all of the gravel. Drian out as much of the water as you can and vac up some of the debris that just got stired up. Fill tank back up, like you just did a water change, turn heater and filter(s) back on. Run the tank bare bottom for about a day or until any of the left over debris has settled to the bottom of the tank. Drain water down again and vac out debris, leaving enough water for your fish to swim around in. Start on one end of the tank and start putting in the sand (when i did my tank, I used a 1 qt measuring cup). When you get all the sand in then put the decor back and slowly add the water. If alot of sand got stired up when refilling the tank, may want to wait a bit for it to settle before turning the filter(s) back on. Hopes this helps.
     
  10. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    Thank you for the advice friend but instead of sand my bro got verry little flakes of rocks that almost look like sand , so im hopin itll be much easier
     
  11. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    My friends one redtail is dying atm , i havnt seen any of the die infront of i just pick it up after its gone, anyway this one i wanted to watch the symptoms.. It breathes heavily and starts to float for a minute then swims back down then floats again and twitches and starts to swim rapidly in circles spyrling down and all over again..
    What does this sound like to u guys?
     
  12. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Should make it a little easier for ya, follow the steps I've listed above and you should do just fine.


    Typical signs of a sick/dying fish to me. I've seen that behavior before in sick/dying fish as small as neons to large pond koi.
     
  13. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    My friends the dying stopped thank god lol but one rtc swallowed a hole 3 inch rainbow fish and its all the way in but its tails out and i can tell it wont go in any further, should i keep let it be or try and pull it out?


    X3V7Z3TC9XKGD8MQ
     
  14. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    If you can get a hold of the catfish, you can pull gently on the fish it swallowed to see if it'll come back out. If it dosen't want to come back out, then about the only thing else is to let it be and see if the catfish will either spit it out or swallow it the rest of the way.

    Glad to hear that your fish quit dying on you.
     
  15. Teddy

    Teddy Thread Starter New Member

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    Well i tried to pull getnly but its holding on tight lol, lets see what happens

    And me too :)
     
  16. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    Keep us posted on the status/outcome. Hopefully all goes good.
     
  17. Mishell

    Mishell New Member

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    15 redtails?!. Oh my goodness, that's an awful lot. Thats a lot of food competition. We've never had more than one at a time, since they get enormous. After needing a 600.gal tank, was when we decided to go outside and get koi. Red tails need an ample amount of food since they grow so quickly. If you have skinny ones, they're probably not aggressive enough to get enough food JMO.
     
  18. Mishell

    Mishell New Member

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    Oh my gosh! ! That poor thing!! If a rtc can open its mouth wide enough it will eat whatever touches its "feelers" It seems cruel to keep non feeders in with it/ them. Either the fish will start to fall apart to the point it can be more easily swallowed, or its long enough to be slowly "digested". I've never had a rtc spit anything out, but if overfed, it will regurgitate all over you tank (ugh). Good luck. I miss our redtail. He had a great personality. But our old floors can only hold so much. Enjoy them!! !