Not sure what it is

[Kutebare]

I have a white tipped shark and he is about 2 1/2 - 3 yrs old. He started forming this sore on the tip of his nose a couple weeks ago. He was banging around the 20 gal high tank we have him in after his goldfish friend of 2 1/2 yrs died. I figured the sore was from him banging around but then he started getting worse. He just lays there. Hardly swims at all. A couple times we thought he was dead and when going to get the net and putting it by him he would spaz out again banging into the tank and then trying to jump out of it. About four days ago he developed this sore on his back and it is getting worse. Looks like some flesh eating disease. None of the other fish are having his problems (we have a glass fish in the tank of 7 yrs, a sucker fish, a neon fish, and 2 other small fish... which are all perfectly fine).

Here are a few pics of what he looks like right now.

 

[Matt68005]

Fish TB? Im not sure, but that would be my guess.

 

[coralbandit]

Fish TB? Im not sure, but that would be my guess.

^Joking right^
Take a hard look at stocking.
I don't really care if it has worked for however many years!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Yup looks a lot like an Iridescent Shark. Also known as a Pangasius catfish. At this age he should be much larger. Under proper conditions this fish will get longer than your tank at around 4 feet in adulthood.

Undoubtedly water conditions probably play a role in this.


Caleb

 

[coralbandit]

Site won't seem to pass along thanks I have received PMs and not registered on my thanks list?
Thanks Caleb.
I can count on you to see what the heck the crazy old guy(cb) is talking about!
Yeah thank you again caleb!(tried to do it forum way but not working?)
Irredescent shark in a 20g tall(24 inches long).
However many years and a pleco.
Op since your new I feel bad if you feel attacked but worst if you are unaware of proper keeping techniques.
I would ask of your maintenance habbits but after 7 years I expect not to have much impact on you.
Instead I post to bring your thread back to the top and let others see it and say what they think.
Hope this all gets sorted out in the best interest of your fish.

 

[coralbandit]

It's not a disease yet!
It will be a fungal infection soon.

 

[ImACoolguy]

It's not a disease yet!
It will be a fungal infection soon.

What about nitrite poisoning? Can't it cause lesions?


Caleb

 

[TMRC Exotics]

Something needs to be done about these fish even being available in the hobby. Its quite negligent to offer this fish to any Joe with a ten gallon.

 

[coralbandit]

What about nitrite poisoning? Can't it cause lesions?


Caleb

One out of several fish in 2' long tank can grow to 4' long.
Water quality may well play a major role in this issue.
But I think there is a LARGER cause?
Overstocking that leads to water quality issues.
Anybody have anything to say about a standard pleco in 20 tall?
What about with a irredescent shark?
What about with other fish?
Any questions on maintenance habbits after this stocking issue?
Seems OP is uninformed?
Again sorry to OP but if it is not right I am not being mean to you but stating facts.
OVERSTOCKED IMO...........

 

[coralbandit]

+ 1 tmrc!

 

[ImACoolguy]

One out of several fish in 2' long tank can grow to 4' long.
Water quality may well play a major role in this issue.
But I think there is a LARGER cause?
Overstocking that leads to water quality issues.
Anybody have anything to say about a standard pleco in 20 tall?
What about with a irredescent shark?
What about with other fish?
Any questions on maintenance habbits after this stocking issue?
Seems OP is uninformed?
Again sorry to OP but if it is not right I am not being mean to you but stating facts.
OVERSTOCKED IMO...........

I agree. OP you are seeing problems because your tank is severely overstocked past its capabilities.


Caleb

 

[Kutebare]

Thanks everyone for the input. I still do not know what he currently has. I wish I knew how to check the water but sadly I do not. I only know the basics. Makes no difference I am sure but the water is clean and clear and the rest of the fish are happy. When I said I had the fish for 7 years I meant the glass fish itself was 7 yrs old. I have had the shark (not iridescent) for just about 3 yrs. He resembles the black tip ( sorry I said white tip in my original post) catfish shark. I got him at Walmart when he was roughly 2 inches long so of course they do not inform anyone but I honestly thought that my 20 gal tank was just fine for him.

I use a tetra whisper internal filter for them. I use drinking water from the store for the tank, never tap water since we have a lot of iron in ours. The last time the tank was completely cleaned was roughly 6 months ago when I moved the tank. This was also when I placed the shark (and his goldfish friend) into the tank. They were originally in a separate 20 gal tank.

The reason I moved them from the other tank was because it was downstairs in the basement where my room is at. The tank constantly got nasty even with its own sucker fish while the tank upstairs was always clear.

The other fish in the tank with him is a glass fish (7 yrs old) , a neon fish (roughly 3 yrs old), 2 danios (they look like pearl or rosy) also roughly 3 yrs old, and a sucker fish.

Nothing new had been added to the tank and I have always fed them Tetramin tropical flakes.

 

[coralbandit]

Change water .
Change 3-4 gallons a day for a couple days then up your water changes to 50% once a week.
The wound(IMO it is a wound from thrashing around in a crowded tank) may become infected if the water is not kept clean.
Having not changed water much at all is not good for the fish so start slow like I mentioned.
Make sure you dechlorinate your water and try to get it close to tank tempature.
Either mela fix or pima fix may help?
I don't really take much stock in either of them or know the difference ,but one of them is made to help wounds heal.
Neither of them are any kind of med that would cure anything.
More like bactine/Neosporin IMO and may help the wound heal faster or better.


A API nitrate test kit would be all you need to test your water as I would imagine a 7 year old aquarium would be cycled(no ammonia or nitrites).
But the test kit is not a "must have" IMO for you at this point.
Just start to change water regulary after the first week of slow smaller waterchanges.
This is for fish safety as if you have not changed water in a long time things like ph,gh,kh and nitrates are going to be all out of whack compared to your source water.
Hope he gets better.
IMO that is an iridescent shark,as Caleb mentioned.

 

[samram0829]

I unfortunately know nothing about the fish you keep as I'm still pretty new to the hobby but Melafix will help heal his wounds I use it when my fish have any fin damage and it seems to kinda speed up the healing process.

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[Kutebare]

Thank you both. I went to the pet store yesterday morning and he gave me that melafix. I put it in the tank and with just the one dose my cat shark has been swimming more than he has in 2 weeks. Got things to set up that 2nd 20 gal tank we still had and in a week or so ill move him into his own tank. Also got things so I can use tap water as he also told me using straight bottled water is not necessarily good for them.

 

[emilygupps]

The reason that tank was getting so gross is that you had three very high waste producing fish in a 20g. Sucker fish (pleco) dont really keep aquariums clean. They're poop machines and as was stated above generally belong in huge tanks. Gold fish are also poop machines and usually require their own 30+ gal tAnk. And now for the cat fish as they said those guys get huge and produce lots of waste.

Is rehoming any of your fish an option? Obviously you should hold on to the cat fish while you treat him but maybe the pleco can find a home with a big tank or go to a LFS?



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[Fishperson]

The reason that tank was getting so gross is that you had three very high waste producing fish in a 20g. Sucker fish (pleco) dont really keep aquariums clean. They're poop machines and as was stated above generally belong in huge tanks. Gold fish are also poop machines and usually require their own 30+ gal tAnk. And now for the cat fish as they said those guys get huge and produce lots of waste.

Is rehoming any of your fish an option? Obviously you should hold on to the cat fish while you treat him but maybe the pleco can find a home with a big tank or go to a LFS?



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+1 to this. Look up "plecostomus," "Siamese algae eater," and "otocinclus" on google images. If yours is a pleco or a Siamese algae eater then it needs to be rehomed. If it is an otocinclus then it is fine.

How often have you been changing water and how much?

 

[Kutebare]

I do have a plecostomus but I only got him because I always thought that I needed one to keep the tank clean. I am learning now that he is not really necessary. I do have a pet store near by so I can ask them if they would take him. I was actually told by this (small town) pet store that this specific one I have would stay small. I think he has just about doubled in size since we got him 3-4 yrs ago.

I havent done water changes because the water has been super clear and I did not know about needing to do them. I know now though and will be doing a water change in about a week. I was told to let that medicine start working and such before doing the water changes. It was also that same small town pet store that told me to use bottled drinking water and that it was better and I come to find out its not better at all.b

 

[emilygupps]

You are being very open minded and it's nice to see you willing to make some changes!


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[Fishperson]

I do have a plecostomus but I only got him because I always thought that I needed one to keep the tank clean. I am learning now that he is not really necessary. I do have a pet store near by so I can ask them if they would take him. I was actually told by this (small town) pet store that this specific one I have would stay small. I think he has just about doubled in size since we got him 3-4 yrs ago.



I havent done water changes because the water has been super clear and I did not know about needing to do them. I know now though and will be doing a water change in about a week. I was told to let that medicine start working and such before doing the water changes. It was also that same small town pet store that told me to use bottled drinking water and that it was better and I come to find out its not better at all.b

There are many different types of plecos. Some will do ok in your tank, and some will grow longer than your tank, so you should try to ID yours. It sounds like either bristle nose or rubber lip.

Water clarity is very misleading to new aquarists. It usually has little to do with tank parameters; clear water is often high in ammonia (NH3), nitrite (NO2), or nitrate (NO3), all of which are bad for your tank. Ammonia and nitrite should be kept as low as possible, (less than .25 ppm) but nitrate can be higher (30 ppm). However, lower is better for the fish.

Thank you for being open minded, as Emily said.