Any white tip shark catfish experts?

[i3k]

If anyone has had these white tip catfish sharks before, maybe you can help me out. I've had these fish for about 5 years now. Lately I noticed one of them stoped eating and hasn't been eating for about 2 weeks now. It's swimming normally, looks real sharp and healthy just like the other 3. I change about 30% of water every week and the water is good as far as ammonia levels (0) and pH level is at around 6.8...nitrates(0). I use stresscoat when I do my water changes. Well anyways, today I noticed another one of these white tips isn't eating and it also looks healthy and swims around with no problems. This one is the biggest of them all and I also noticed that it's belly has been really big for the past week like it swallowed a fish...hmmm maybe i should check on my two plecos I have in the same tank...but they are pretty big so I dont think this shark would swallow them. Another weird thing I just noticed today on the biggest white tip, it looks like it got an extra pair of fins right above the rear fins. I just noticed those today and they look like fins but not really. I would have to take a picture to really explain. Ill try to take a picture at night when they are not swimming fast. Well if anyone out there has had these fish before and knows what the hell that growth is, please let me know.

P.S. is StressCoat good enough to use alone when doing water changes? does it get rid of chlorine and heavy metals?

Thanks.

 

[i3k]

The "extra fins" that I'm talking about are not flat like the rest of the fins...these actually look like they have air in them like oval airbags...but are the same coloring/shade as the other fins. So it basically looks like the biggest one has 9 fins instead of 7 like the rest of white tip catfish...I kicked back in front of the aquarium earlier for about 10 minutes and i can see the biggest white tip is chasing one of the other white tip sharks which hasn't been eating for about two weeks now...it might of hurt it self while getting chased by the other white tip..it actually looks like it can't close it's mouth all the way.

If you take a look at my profile picture...this is the biggest white tip i have in my awuarium...you can see the fins...one on top...then two on the bottom and two more on the bottom in the rear and then one more on the bottom close to the tail...well the second fins on the bottom rear now have two more fins right on top of them which look like they are filled with air...I will try to take a pic later on...

 

[penpitt]

What size tank do you have them in? Also what is the salinity of the water? As the cats age they require BW/SW to thrive.

 

[i3k]

I have them in 100gal tank. I have been adding one tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons. I think I need to double on the salt. I have 2 plecos in the same tank and they have been doing great in the brackish water...will they adapt to more salt?

 

[penpitt]

What type of salt are you using? You need to be using marine salt, not aquarium salt. Also 1 tablespoon/5 gallons would hardly be considered BW. The sharks will eventually need full marine and considering they are already 5 years old they should have been acclimated awhile ago to the higher salinity. The plecos will not tolerate the salt at all.Here is a profile on your sharks.

http://planetcatfish.com/catelog/ariidae/hexanema/700_F.PHP

You will need either a hydrometer or a refractometer to measure the salinity. The best advice I can give you is to remove the plecos and start raising the SG a total of .002/week.

 

[i3k]

I have been using InstantOcean salt ever since I had the white tips.

 

[i3k]

I have added some more salt to the tank last night the biggest white tip is not as agressive and has eaten today. However, the white tip that I first talked about is still not eating. Still looks healthy and swims actively, just not eating. I'll be doing water change this weekend and I think I'll transfer the two plecos I have in the tank to a smaller tank. I Guess it's time to turn my 100 gal. into salt water tank.

Damn these white tips are getting huge...I think the biggest one is at least 10" now and he's thick and heavy looking...lol love the look, but it's getting crazy with these monsters.

 

[i3k]

Just some updates...adding some MORE salt helped calming the white tips down...3 out of 4 are in very good shape, are active, and eating aggressively. The 4th one hasnt eaten anything for a month now.. well at least I dont see it eating when I feed them all. I'm not sure how it's surviving but its still very active and doesnt look sick at all. I did notice something wrong with it's mouth/jaw structure...it doesnt close all the way like the rest of the white tips...my guess is...it got a damaged jaw from hitting either against the driftwood or the aquarium it self...not sure if I can do anything for a fish with a messed up mouth/jaw or can I ??

 

[i3k]

Finally...after 3 months I saw the fish eat today...this is crazy...for the 3 months while I would feed my white tips one of them would not eat anything...i watched them and I did not see it eat at all...I have no idea how the fish survived for these 3 months....it was healthy looking and was active like the rest of them...I kept thinking it got a damaged jaw or something...Today they were all eating like some wild animals...I fed them some tetramin crisps and they attacked it like I havent fed them for a few days. I still have no idea why the one white tip wouldnt eat for soooooo long...but how did it survive so long is the question