Hi there. I recently got a 13 gallon tank for a beta fish and recently bought a small Raphael Striped Catfish who is just awesome. In the past two days, I've noticed the water is cloudy and my catfish is swimming at the surface quite a bit and read several forums saying he must be looking for air. I had only one filter in the tank which was a submersible filter and did not have a strong current, so I added a HOB filter that is much stronger. I'm just curious as to how long until I can see results and the tank has more oxygen for my catfish to go back to the bottom of the tank. I cycled the water yesterday and today I added the second filter to help airize the tank for him
Raphael Striped Catfish
- Thread starter AllisonL
- Start date
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jessipanda
Aquarium Advice Freak
When you say you “cycled” the tank, what do you mean? How long has this tank been setup? Do you just have the catfish in it currently, or is there a betta with it as well? Have you tested the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH)? What is the tank temp?
These are all important questions for us to be able to help figure out what's going on with the fish and tank. If this tank is new, cloudy water may mean a bacterial bloom, which is a good thing. A fish tank needs beneficial bacteria.
Check out this sticky, many useful links:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154837
Articles to Help you Get Started with your Aquarium
These are all important questions for us to be able to help figure out what's going on with the fish and tank. If this tank is new, cloudy water may mean a bacterial bloom, which is a good thing. A fish tank needs beneficial bacteria.
Check out this sticky, many useful links:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154837
Articles to Help you Get Started with your Aquarium
That usually points a water condition issue, nitirite most likely in this case, and could be lethal if not addressed quickly. Fortunately those rafaels are pretty tough fish and can survive alot of abuse. Do you have a test kit?
Hi, welcome to Aquarium Advice.
Your little catfish is in need of a couple pwc (partial water changes). It will possibly die if it doesn't get clean water. There are toxins which are produced from the breakdown of food and waste from fish.
Please do water changes, at least 2 - 50% pwc asap. Please use water dechlorinator (Prime brand is ideal and best for a new fish keeper) If not the fish could die.
You need to get the water tested. Save a sample of the water about at least half cup to get tested at the lfs if you do not have a liquid test kit BEFORE you do the pwc, and then also save one after the 2 water changes.
Please read the link in my signature right away it will help you learn about your tank and the keeping of fish.
A tank can't really cycle in a day, unless you are taking established media / filter pads from a tank which already has grown BB aka beneficial bacteria. It takes weeks to grow a colony of BB which can process the ammonia in a tank which is caused by degrading food and fish waste.
Be careful of over feeding too. It is easy to do. I am an over feeder, but over the years I have been working on getting better but I still do it :/.
We want you to have healthy happy aqua critters. Read fast!
Edit addition: So you can bring a paper or use your phone to notate from the fish store test for before and after tests, the Ammonia, NitrIte and Nitrate, as well as pH and anything else they can tell you. GH / KH or whatever else they have to tell you.
Don't just let them tell you it is goo or fine, get a reading.
Your little catfish is in need of a couple pwc (partial water changes). It will possibly die if it doesn't get clean water. There are toxins which are produced from the breakdown of food and waste from fish.
Please do water changes, at least 2 - 50% pwc asap. Please use water dechlorinator (Prime brand is ideal and best for a new fish keeper) If not the fish could die.
You need to get the water tested. Save a sample of the water about at least half cup to get tested at the lfs if you do not have a liquid test kit BEFORE you do the pwc, and then also save one after the 2 water changes.
Please read the link in my signature right away it will help you learn about your tank and the keeping of fish.
A tank can't really cycle in a day, unless you are taking established media / filter pads from a tank which already has grown BB aka beneficial bacteria. It takes weeks to grow a colony of BB which can process the ammonia in a tank which is caused by degrading food and fish waste.
Be careful of over feeding too. It is easy to do. I am an over feeder, but over the years I have been working on getting better but I still do it :/.
We want you to have healthy happy aqua critters. Read fast!
Edit addition: So you can bring a paper or use your phone to notate from the fish store test for before and after tests, the Ammonia, NitrIte and Nitrate, as well as pH and anything else they can tell you. GH / KH or whatever else they have to tell you.
Don't just let them tell you it is goo or fine, get a reading.
Last edited:
How's it going?
jessipanda
Aquarium Advice Freak
Have a feeling OP may not be coming back, at least not any time soon... Been a month and this was OP's only post in the community. :\ Hope their catfish survived.
Yeah, me too.
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