Hello all,
About 10 days ago I aquired some Peckoltia. These Peckoltia have been housed in a 4ft*18"*18" tank with a filtration system pumping 1400 l/h. Until now they have looked fine and there has been no problem at all. Today I notice that the smallest one (approximately 4cm) looks as thought it has swallowed a marble. It's stomach is huge and looks as though it's bloated.
I've told a friend of mine about this and they suggested that it could possibly be a bacterial infection, but also suggested that I should come and ask the professionals on planet catfish who may have experienced this.
My question to you is:
- What is wrong with this catfish?
- How do I treat it?
- What do I treat it with?
Regards,
Michael.
Sick Peckoltia.
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Bilby junior
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Barbie
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- Location 1: Spokane, WA
- Location 2: USA
At the beginning of this forum is a sticky that says "BEFORE you post, read this". Could you please go read that post, then respond to the questions it asks? That gives us enough information to actually be of some help to you. Otherwise we'd be expected to guess, and that's not in your best interests, or your plecos. Thanks.
Barbie
Barbie
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Bilby junior
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- Location 1: Melbourn, Australia
Sick Peckoltia
Sorry Barbie,
1. Water parameters
Temperature- 24 degrees (I've just turned up the heater to increase)
pH - 7.0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
G Hardness-0-20 (I've been told by the aquarium owner to raise this to 150)
Water change frequency- a 20 % water change just about every second day, if not every third day.
2. Tank setup
4ft*18inch*18inch
4mm gravel
furnishings- drift wood, slate cave and ceramic caves.
No other tank mates- just the 9 Peckoltia.
The tank itself has been setup and running for about 4 months.
The last newly added fish was 10 days ago.
Filtration- 1400 l/h
3. Symptoms
This one particular catfish, the smallest of the group, has an enlarged, bloated stomach. It's also breathing slightly heavier than it's tankmates.
4. Action taken
Heater has been turned up and gh is going to be increased to about 150.
5. Medications if used
As of yet, nothing, as I'm wanting to find out what the disease is most likely to be and what is the best possible treatment.
TIA
Regards,
Michael.
1. Water parameters
Temperature- 24 degrees (I've just turned up the heater to increase)
pH - 7.0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
G Hardness-0-20 (I've been told by the aquarium owner to raise this to 150)
Water change frequency- a 20 % water change just about every second day, if not every third day.
2. Tank setup
4ft*18inch*18inch
4mm gravel
furnishings- drift wood, slate cave and ceramic caves.
No other tank mates- just the 9 Peckoltia.
The tank itself has been setup and running for about 4 months.
The last newly added fish was 10 days ago.
Filtration- 1400 l/h
3. Symptoms
This one particular catfish, the smallest of the group, has an enlarged, bloated stomach. It's also breathing slightly heavier than it's tankmates.
4. Action taken
Heater has been turned up and gh is going to be increased to about 150.
5. Medications if used
As of yet, nothing, as I'm wanting to find out what the disease is most likely to be and what is the best possible treatment.
TIA
Regards,
Michael.
-
Barbie
- Expert
- Posts: 2964
- Joined: 03 Jan 2003, 23:48
- I've donated: $360.00!
- My articles: 1
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- My catfish: 2
- My cats species list: 58 (i:2, k:0)
- Spotted: 8
- Location 1: Spokane, WA
- Location 2: USA
The fact that the tank is showing no nitrates is a huge red flag to me. Have you read anything about the cycling process your tank will go through in order to establish the beneficial bacteria colonies that digest the waste your fish put off? I would not increase your hardness at this time. Odds are good that will cause a fluctation of your pH and that will just further stress your new fish. Here are some articles on cycling your tank. Please read them, and then we can clarify anything that doesn't make sense for you. Do you have an established tank of your own or one of a friends that has been up a few months?
Swelling of the abdomen in newly acquired fish is not a good sign. Usually the problem is bacterial, but treatment can be difficult, especially in an uncycled aquarium.
Barbie
Swelling of the abdomen in newly acquired fish is not a good sign. Usually the problem is bacterial, but treatment can be difficult, especially in an uncycled aquarium.
Barbie
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Boots n all
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- Location 1: Melbourne Australia
- Interests: My children and fish
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Cycled tank
Hi all,
My first time here so just be gentle with me
Barbie you said " but treatment can be difficult, especially in an uncycled aquarium."
But l thought Bilby jnr said the tank had been running for four months with other catfish in it before the 9 Peckoltia went in, wouldn't this mean that the tank had already been cycled ?????????
My first time here so just be gentle with me
Barbie you said " but treatment can be difficult, especially in an uncycled aquarium."
But l thought Bilby jnr said the tank had been running for four months with other catfish in it before the 9 Peckoltia went in, wouldn't this mean that the tank had already been cycled ?????????
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Barbie
- Expert
- Posts: 2964
- Joined: 03 Jan 2003, 23:48
- I've donated: $360.00!
- My articles: 1
- My images: 15
- My catfish: 2
- My cats species list: 58 (i:2, k:0)
- Spotted: 8
- Location 1: Spokane, WA
- Location 2: USA
He actually said it had been running 4 months, and that there are no other fish in there, nothing about other fish in it. In a cycled aquarium, nitrates are present, unless the tank is heavily planted, even with frequent partial water changes. Increasing the hardness will most likely raise the pH, which will in turn make ammonia more toxic if the tank actually is uncycled. Does that help clear it up?
Barbie
Barbie
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Bilby junior
- Posts: 14
- Joined: 12 May 2003, 12:15
- Location 1: Melbourn, Australia
Sick Peckoltia.
Hey Barbie,
Sorry that I left out that piece of vital information, but the 4 mothns prior to these 9 X 4-7cm being put into the tank, there were 7 X 12-15cm Ancistrus (L043) in there that were breeding. There is no other fish with the Peckoltia. To my understanding the tank was fully cycled, as there were fish in there for 4 month period, with no problem/diseases what so ever.
I didn't even put into account there being anything wrong with the tanks parameters for the reason that it's not a newly setup tank and that there were larger fish in the tank, that got water changes everyday. There is also a good sized Java fern that is in the tank with the Peckoltia.
Now the nitrate situation, the aquarium owner that did the test for me said that there was no nitrate in your tank, that is of any worry to your fish. He then proceeded and said that it's quite good the little amount of nitrate that is in your tank, it's not very often that I see water this clean.
I got him to write down the tank parameters for me so I could post them up. On this piece of paper he wrote Ammonia - 0, Nitrate - 0 and Nitrite - 0.
So he basically didn't write the correct nitrate reading on the paper.
It's for this reason that I posted that there was no nitrate in the water.
Thank you Barbie.
Regards,
Michael.
Sorry that I left out that piece of vital information, but the 4 mothns prior to these 9 X 4-7cm being put into the tank, there were 7 X 12-15cm Ancistrus (L043) in there that were breeding. There is no other fish with the Peckoltia. To my understanding the tank was fully cycled, as there were fish in there for 4 month period, with no problem/diseases what so ever.
I didn't even put into account there being anything wrong with the tanks parameters for the reason that it's not a newly setup tank and that there were larger fish in the tank, that got water changes everyday. There is also a good sized Java fern that is in the tank with the Peckoltia.
Now the nitrate situation, the aquarium owner that did the test for me said that there was no nitrate in your tank, that is of any worry to your fish. He then proceeded and said that it's quite good the little amount of nitrate that is in your tank, it's not very often that I see water this clean.
I got him to write down the tank parameters for me so I could post them up. On this piece of paper he wrote Ammonia - 0, Nitrate - 0 and Nitrite - 0.
So he basically didn't write the correct nitrate reading on the paper.
It's for this reason that I posted that there was no nitrate in the water.
I won't adjust it now, but what is the optimum hardness for Peckoltia species?I would not increase your hardness at this time.
Thank you Barbie.
Regards,
Michael.
-
Barbie
- Expert
- Posts: 2964
- Joined: 03 Jan 2003, 23:48
- I've donated: $360.00!
- My articles: 1
- My images: 15
- My catfish: 2
- My cats species list: 58 (i:2, k:0)
- Spotted: 8
- Location 1: Spokane, WA
- Location 2: USA
Now you see why we try to get as much information as possible about the tank before attempting to help. It saves our time, and gets you answers that will be of some use to your fish before a few days have gone by.
Can you tell me if the bloated fish is eating? Are it's feces normal? You say you're increasing the temperature, but with that, you'll also want to increase the surface disturbance and aeration for the tank to increase the dissolved oxygen levels or you can put additional stress on the fish instead of stimulating an immune response. Have the symptoms changed at all in the last day?
if the fish is eating normally, you can try soaking its food in garlic extract to help it combat any internal parasite issues it might be having, but after much discussion on the subject here, I've stopped recommending treatment with antibiotics for the fear that they do more damage than good in the long run. I do still treat with metronidazole soaked foods in fish with stringy white feces that still have a good appetite. The water changes you are doing are ALWAYS a great idea if your fish is stressed. I'm sorry I'm not more help. Maybe someone will chime in with information I've missed in this discussion.
Barbie
Can you tell me if the bloated fish is eating? Are it's feces normal? You say you're increasing the temperature, but with that, you'll also want to increase the surface disturbance and aeration for the tank to increase the dissolved oxygen levels or you can put additional stress on the fish instead of stimulating an immune response. Have the symptoms changed at all in the last day?
if the fish is eating normally, you can try soaking its food in garlic extract to help it combat any internal parasite issues it might be having, but after much discussion on the subject here, I've stopped recommending treatment with antibiotics for the fear that they do more damage than good in the long run. I do still treat with metronidazole soaked foods in fish with stringy white feces that still have a good appetite. The water changes you are doing are ALWAYS a great idea if your fish is stressed. I'm sorry I'm not more help. Maybe someone will chime in with information I've missed in this discussion.
Barbie