One Green Catfish

[Ktulu_JL]

I have a newly cycled 20 gallon tank. I have five Platys, four scissor tail rasboras, two black tetras, and one green catfish.

I know it is a weird mix of fish, but everyone has been doing fine so far..

The last two days, the very small one inch green cat has been having balancing issues (going upside-down etc) and isn't behaving like his normal self.

The only thing that has changed lately, is that the plants have been taking off. I have noticed that plant grown on my low light plants (only plants) has been going nuts.

I doing twice weekly two gallon water changes and only feeding my fish what they can eat over a 20 minute period. Is the cat not getting enough food?

Thanks

 

[TCTFish]

I have a newly cycled 20 gallon tank. I have five Platys, four scissor tail rasboras, two black tetras, and one green catfish.

Just how newly cycled is this tank? In other words, how long has it been up and running with fish in it?

and only feeding my fish what they can eat over a 20 minute period.

WAY too much food. You should feed fish what they can eat in two to three minutes per day. A minute more for overly active fish like danios, African cichlids, and rainbow fish. Best to divide that time to two or more feeds per day. Skip feeding for a day or two out of the week and let the fish pick around the tank.

Fish will over eat. They do not know when they are full. They lack that neural imulse that tells us and other animals when their bellies have had enough. It is possible the cory cat is either ill from bad bacteria, parasites, or from over feeding.

You seriously need to do a water test. Test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. Post results for us to evaluate. Numbers please.

Low light plants are going to take more nutrients from the substrate than the light. Nitrate is natural plant food and if you have too much of it, it can cause illness in the fish. If you are feeding at least 20 minutes worth of food per day, I can assure you the nitrates will be high which would explain why the plants are 'taking off'...especially low light plants. This is just a guess, but once we see the test results, we'll know for sure.

What type of filter do you have?

 

[Ktulu_JL]

I have an external whisper II filter. The tank has been running for about 2.5 months now.

I have been closely watching how much I have been feeding the fish. I meant that I spend about twenty mintutes feeding the fish and trying to "plop" food in front of each one, so they all get fed. Otherwise, the platys just eat it all and their bellies get really large. They seem to be way more aggressive than the other fish.

I have had my water tested about twice a month so far, and the fish store has said no spike in ammonia or nitrite levels. I do one water change a week, usually around 2-4 gallons.

The only thing I haven't checked yet, is the pH.

I am getting a water test done today.

The fish is a Cory Cat that looks exactly like this one:
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Catfis24.jpg

I am agreeing that it might be some kind of parasite or bacteria.
I spent a few minutes watching the fish this morning, and never noticed how red the gills are. I can't be certain if that is a new thing, or not.

 

[TCTFish]

I have had my water tested about twice a month so far, and the fish store has said no spike in ammonia or nitrite levels.

FYI, nitrate levels can show high without ammonia and nitrite showing. I'm particularly interested in nitrate levels. This is the accumilated waste in the system. Nitrate levels for a planted tank should be about 15ppm to no more than 20ppm. It leaves enough food for the plants without subjecting the system to ill levels.

A way to feed fish is to swish the food into the water. Make it 'snow'. Every fish will try to be at all places at once when it's snowing food, but we humans are smart enough to know, they will never accomplish this...LOL. Do small sprinkles at a time and clock the fish to see how much food takes up to two minutes for them to eat. If you take this two minutes and divide it say for example four portions, (that's 30 seconds per feed per day 5 to 6 times a week total), there will be less waste. More of the nutrients are absorbed by the fish instead of pooped out. Out in the wild, many of these fish pick and nibble all day long on scraps. Rarely do they come across a full on bonanza to feast all at once, even if fed one flake at a time. Their digestive systems just aren't adapted to such feeding. Their bodies can only metabolize so much at any given time.

To visibly see if the catfish is not getting enough is to see if he's thinning out. If the belly is concaved, then it's not getting enough food. If it's fat, he's getting too much. Either case, if the nitrates are saturating, it can spell problems with health.

There are illnesses that pertain to the swim bladder of the fish that would make it lose it's balance. One step at a time. If you are really concerned, you can set up a small QT for the catfish and it can stay in there while we ponder the origin of it's problem.

I'm looking forward to seeing the test results.

 

[TCTFish]

I have had my water tested about twice a month so far, and the fish store has said no spike in ammonia or nitrite levels.

FYI, nitrate levels can show high without ammonia and nitrite showing. I'm particularly interested in nitrate levels. This is the accumilated waste in the system. Nitrate levels for a planted tank should be about 15ppm to no more than 20ppm. It leaves enough food for the plants without subjecting the system to ill levels.

A way to feed fish is to swish the food into the water. Make it 'snow'. Every fish will try to be at all places at once when it's snowing food, but we humans are smart enough to know, they will never accomplish this...LOL. Do small sprinkles at a time and clock the fish to see how much food takes up to two minutes for them to eat. If you take this two minutes and divide it say for example four portions, (that's 30 seconds per feed per day 5 to 6 times a week total), there will be less waste. More of the nutrients are absorbed by the fish instead of pooped out. Out in the wild, many of these fish pick and nibble all day long on scraps. Rarely do they come across a full on bonanza to feast all at once, even if fed one flake at a time. Their digestive systems just aren't adapted to such feeding. Their bodies can only metabolize so much at any given time.

To visibly see if the catfish is not getting enough is to see if he's thinning out. If the belly is concaved, then it's not getting enough food. If it's fat, he's getting too much. Either case, if the nitrates are saturating, it can spell problems with health.

There are illnesses that pertain to the swim bladder of the fish that would make it lose it's balance. One step at a time. If you are really concerned, you can set up a small QT for the catfish and it can stay in there while we ponder the origin of it's problem.

I'm looking forward to seeing the test results.

Sorry for the repeat post but I don't know what happened. Website wasn't responding then suddenly there's twin posts after hitting the back button. I'm computer tech illiterate :?

 

[Ktulu_JL]

OK, I got the water tested. You are right. Nitrates are WAY up from what they were last test. I think there were around 15ppm, but I just started my formal log recently.

Nitrate: 35ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Ammonia: 0ppm
pH: 7.8
kH: 200ppm
Total Hardness from test: 300ppm

The green cory is still doing figure 8's while trying to get to his destination.

I did feed the fish today once. I used the Tetra "ColorBits/Tropical Granules" and made sure that each non Platy got one piece of food. This is the first time I haven't used flake food in the tank since setup. I haven't seen the two black tetras eat until today.

Here is my immediate plan for now: Just do the one granule thing per non Platy until they get skinny (feed the 4 scissortail rasboras and 2 black tetras one granule per day) and increase my water change to twice weekly (around 8% water change).

I am still looking for any advice available, including stopping my current plan. I have been pondering that maybe this fish is just weak and having issues by himself. He's actually the only fish I want to survive in the tank, which is why I went ahead an actually posted this thread in the first place.

I do have the option to move this fish into a 7 gal or a 10 gal tank. I can move the other fish around to accomodate this, if need be.

Thanks guys for all the help!!!

*Sorry to edit.... The increase in water changes (plan) is to cut down on the nitrate level. I am sure there will be ramifications of this, but I can't recall seeing them this high since this tank was set up.

Sorry to mix things up, but I added (only) new charcoal to the filter as well. Also, I noticed that there is an increase in surface "stuff" floating around. The cat goes up to the surface and then goes back down for about ten minutes. When he is sleeping (or whatever) he seems pretty calm and doesn't move around the tank at all.

 

[TCTFish]

You can do a 10% water change two to three times a week without stressing out the fish and accomplish lowering nitrates. You could also add Phos-X to the filter which will help absorb nitrates. Cutting down on feeds will definitely help. Collectively the nitrates should come down and stay down. Once at the desired level, maintain a 10% once a week water change. It's good to monitor the water regularly. You can use nitrate test results as a guide per say to needed maintenence. If nitrates are above 20 ppm, then it's time for a water change and maintain the filter. Rinse bio media in used tank water and change carbon once a month. Clean out any hoses and tubes of debris when changing carbon.

 

[RoK]

Cories like to have some buddies of their own kind, you should get a few more. Also, it is normal for cories to go up to the surface for air.