julii catfish behavior

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bubbles10

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 4, 2011
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33
Location
North Carolina
I was wondering what the typical behavior of a julii catfish is? I got two of them a few weeks ago and for the most part, they swim around a lot and occasionally lay on the bottom of the tank (I assume they are just resting). Well, the last 2 days, one of them has been sitting on the bottom every time I look in the tank. When I put food in last night, it took him a while to start swimming around and eating it, but besides then, I haven't seen him swim around any. It doesn't look like he has any kind of external disease and all of the other fish in the tank look healthy as can be. Is it normal for these catfish to sit around all day or could it possibly have some kind of illness?
 
Mine are lazy most of the time, but if I put something new in the tank, in this case eco-complete, they are super active swimming around and checking everything out. I think they really appreciate a soft substrate like sand. I wouldn't worry too much if your water parameters are ok. I hope you have more than 2 cories total? They should really be in a school; you won't likely see natural behavior if they don't have buddies.
 
I do only have two.. the person at the fish store did mention they were schooling fish but they said they should be fine with 2 to 3 of them, however I felt iffy about that and should have gone with my gut and gotten more of them! I may consider going back and getting a couple more just so they will have more friends.. I never thought about getting a new substrate.. come to think of it, they do seem like they struggle sometimes to reach the food that falls between the gravel. Is there a specific type of sand they like or is there only one kind? (I'm fairly new to fish keeping so I am still learning some stuff.. and by the way, thank you for your quick reply!)
 
bubbles10 said:
I do only have two.. the person at the fish store did mention they were schooling fish but they said they should be fine with 2 to 3 of them, however I felt iffy about that and should have gone with my gut and gotten more of them! I may consider going back and getting a couple more just so they will have more friends.. I never thought about getting a new substrate.. come to think of it, they do seem like they struggle sometimes to reach the food that falls between the gravel. Is there a specific type of sand they like or is there only one kind? (I'm fairly new to fish keeping so I am still learning some stuff.. and by the way, thank you for your quick reply!)

I HIGHLY suggest you get at least 6. How big is your tank? You can also google julii cory and check out their profiles to learn more about their habitat and habits. I would not keep 6 in a 10g or less- they need space to swim in a school!

People use aquarium sand (expensive) or pool filter sand or play sand. I've never used sand, but lots of people do and lots of fish appreciate it! I would love to try sand sometime.
 
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I have a 10g but I also have other fish in there so I don't think it would be possible to have that many in there.. I have 4 rosy tetra white-fins, a small pleco, and 2 blue-eyed forktail rainbowfish (the other two died shortly after getting them due to high nitrite levels, which are now under control).
 
bubbles10 said:
I have a 10g but I also have other fish in there so I don't think it would be possible to have that many in there.. I have 4 rosy tetra white-fins, a small pleco, and 2 blue-eyed forktail rainbowfish (the other two died shortly after getting them due to high nitrite levels, which are now under control).

Oh ok. Your tank is improperly stocked I think, so you really need to make sure your water parameters stay stable, and that means frequent water changes. Your fish died because the carrying capacity of your tank is not enough to support all those fish, so the number of water changes you were doing were not enough. Or the tank was not cycled.
Please look up profiles for each of the species you have, just to get an idea of what their needs are. Different fish prefer different types of water, temperarures and have different feeding habits. Ideally this research should come before stocking the tank. There's not much of a point in keeping fish that do not display normal behavior i think.

There are lots of healthy stocking options for 10g tanks out there. I've used a few male guppies/1 betta/ 2 platties/ a group of male Endlers. Those were not in the same tank, they were separate tanks. A group of pygmy cories works too, since they are really tiny! There are lots of options, but each requires extensive research to make them work. 10g are more difficult to keep than larger tanks because there is much less of a cushion when your water parameters change. So please be diligent with water changes. I do 2-3 20% water changes each week, and I always get rid of uneaten food each day.

This forum has lots of resources for new fishkeepers, so please research as much as you can to provide your fish with the best possible home and to provide yourself with fish in the best health
 
4 is the absolute BARE minimum for these guys. also, rosy tetras? never kept them. they look cool, but yeah, +1 to gaby, improperly stocked.
 
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