Sick striped Raphael catfish

[spikethefish]

Hi,

I have a raphael catfish that is about 8 years old and his skin is breaking off and he is breathing heavy. Attached is a pic.

We have been giving him the Artemiss for medicine ( I attached it). Also we have been cleaning the water and ensuring the filter is good.

Did you have any suggestions for our little guy?
thanks.

[bekateen]

Hi spikethefish,

Welcome to PlanetCatfish. To better help you, please check this out.

On first glance, this looks to me like a bacterial or stress related damage due to ammonia spike or bad water quality.

Cheers, Eric

If you are planning to post about a fish that is ill, please remember to provide as MUCH of this information as possible. If you can, a picture would be a great help. We can't help you without the information necessary to get a complete picture.

1. Water parameters
a) Temperature range.
b) pH.
c) GH.
d) KH
e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, levels.
(Most LFS's will check your water and give a list of readings).
f) Water change frequency and amount (as a percent of tank volume)

2. Tank set up
a) Size.
b) Substrate.
c) Filtration.
d) Furnishings.
e) Other tank mates.
f) How long has it been set-up?
g) When was the last new fish added?
h) Foods used and frequency?

3. Symptoms / Problem description

4. Action taken (if any)

5. Medications used (if any)

Any posts without this sort of information will only slow down our ability to give you the help you want. Please help us help you.

If the question you need answered isn't addressed in this post, and you've already read the site information, you can also try doing a SEARCH or browsing the FAQ section. If you don't see a question in the FAQ that you think should be addressed, add it! We value your input. You are, after all, the people that make the difference here, our Members!

Cheers,
Eric

(and thanks Ian and Barbie for the bit I plagarized from your cory and pleco sections)

[spikethefish]

Hi, thanks for the help. To answer your questions:

1. Water parameters
a) Temperature range. [Around 78F]
b) pH. [tested ok]
c) GH. [our water in our area is hard]
d) KH . [not tested]
e)Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, levels. [tested ok]
(Most LFS's will check your water and give a list of readings).
f) Water change frequency and amount (as a percent of tank volume)
[Changing every day around 10%]

2. Tank set up
a) Size. [ 22 gallon]
b) Substrate. [nothing at bottom of tank]
c) Filtration. [we use a filter appropriate for size of the tank]
d) Furnishings. [some aquarium decorations, but some are rocky -- they have been there for years]
e) Other tank mates. [2 neon tetras, 1 angel fish, angel fish exhibits some red discoloration]
f) How long has it been set-up? [ at least 5 years ]
g) When was the last new fish added? [none for months]
h) Foods used and frequency? [API bottom feeder shrimp pellets for catfish, API tropical fish flakes for others, typically given twice a day ]

3. Symptoms / Problem description

[Catfish has flaking skin , breathing heavy, and reddish discoloration of skin.]


4. Action taken (if any)
[Make sure fresh filter installed. Water changes. ]



5. Medications used (if any)
[Finished API fin and body cure a week ago.
Started Artemiss 2 days ago.
Considering switching to coppersafe as situation for catfish is rapidly getting worse.]

[spikethefish]

Here is the latest picture of our catfish

[Jools]

The catfish is shedding skin likely in reaction to something new in the water. Where is the water sourced (e.g. from the faucet/tap) and what do you use to treat it?

Cheers,

Jools

[spikethefish]

Thanks for the quick help.
We haven't introduced anything new.

We have been using tap water for years. We use API tap water conditioner by following the instructions.

[bekateen]

I'm thinking it's a water issue also, especially if the angelfish has a redness... that could mean bacterial infections or at least skin irritation and hemorrhage.

You say it's a bare-bottom tank? If so, I'd start a series of progressively bigger water changes... 10% today, 25% tomorrow, 50% the next day and 75% the day after and going forward for a while.

If you're adding a dechlorinator product, I'd double dose it each day, and make sure to add enough for the whole tank (44 gal if double dosed), not just for the volume you're replacing. Also add an extra airline with a simple airstone on the end until the skin clears up.

You can try Melafix as a care product for the fish, but it's not a strong cure for anything.

Good luck,
Eric

[spikethefish]

Thanks a lot everyone.

Yeah it's all open on the bottom save for some decorations.

Should we use some other form of water besides tap water? If so what type of water could we alternatively use. Or just double our water conditioner as you mentioned and do the progressive water changing process?

In addition, we are in the middle of artemiss treatment. Should we switch to melafix or coppersafe perhaps? Artemiss says wait 24-48 hours before starting another treatment. We have already done some bacterial infection treatment using api fin and body cure.


thanks again.

[Jools]

Tap water can change overnight as different additives or sources are used by the water authorities - more often in summer - but it is a common issue.

There are a lot of meds going/have gone into the tank. I'd go with Eric's water suggestions and stop all other treatments except potentially melafix after a larger water change.

Good luck,

Jools

[bekateen]

As far as changing water, is your current water basically the same as it has been over all the years you've had this fish? If so, don't change. If the water has become harder then yes probably need to add some RO water with routine water changes.

I have two thoughts about the water. 1) other fish you keep (the angelfish and neon tetras) generally prefer soft water and so too do the raphaels (at least I can say I've collected them in the wild in very soft water). But, 2) raphaels have a wide distribution which undoubtedly covers a range of water hardnesses and in my experience raphael cats are resilient and tough so they should have some tolerance to harder water, even if limited. Also, the angelfish and neon tetras you have are probably not wild caught, in which case they may have adapted to a wider range of waters too. In that case, your "hard" water may be tolerable. (Question - how long have you had the angelfish and neon tetras?)

So I'm back to my point that if your water now is the same as it's been for years, don't change it.

As for the medicine, I'm not familiar with that one you're using, so I don't know what to advise. You could suspend its treatment for a while or if you have only a day or two to finish the treatment, you could re-dose each day after water changes to finish the course of therapy and then just be done. My inclination is to suspend the treatments during the water changes.

Good luck,
Eric

[spikethefish]

Thanks for all the help. my little guy didn't make it though.

I guess our town made some change to the water not sure what it was.