Perruno Catfish

All posts regarding the care and breeding of these catfishes from South America.
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clare
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Perruno Catfish

Post by clare »

Please help!
We have a Perruno Catfish who is 23" long.
He is in a tank which is 8ft, soon to be upgraded and has good tank mates,being a mbu and some florida gars which he has always got on well with.
Suddenly he has stopped eating. He was fine for months then has suddenly refused to eat.
In the last 2 months he has reluctantly taken some haddock the first time we tried it, the second time he wouldn`t touch it.
He took Ox heart but couldn`t digest it and brought it up again.

Does anyone have any similar experiences?
The water ammonia is 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 60ppm ( our tap water is about 25ppm)
PH 7.4

Good regular water changes done, at least 350 litres a week.
he ficks around showing he is hungry, stares at us through the front of the tank, then refuses to take;mussel,prawn,whelk,squid,herring,haddock,earthworm,octapuss,whitebait,sprat or catfish pellets.

Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Clare
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Allan
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Post by Allan »

Nitrates is to high imo, 60 ppm nitrate could easily ruin their appetite.

Maybe the solution is better filtering. You need a very high volume of anaerobic filterarea to bring that nitrate down, when the tapwater is 25 ppm.

Have You considered a special nitrate filter, sulfur based?

Or maybe using high quantities of RO water for the changes?
Good regular water changes done, at least 350 litres a week.
How big is your tank? I have seen pond filters adapted on large aquariums, might also be a good solution.
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Post by medaka »

hi clare
first question .. what nitrate test kit are you using

reason i ask is that all my liquid test kits are kept in the fridge. i do this because a few years ago i read that at higher temperatures they can give false readings and have kept them in the fridge since. i have since had this reasoning verified by a guy who specialises in water chemistry, and that high nitrates will impact on the health of fishes,,(some more than others at the lower readings)..
saying that,,
i had a similar experience with a trio of RTC's many years ago, the cause was two fold.. firstly the nitrate reading was a little high, and there was a abundance of nemotodes in the trickle filter, i believe that this was due to the fact that to much oily fish (or other oily type feeds) being fed..
they were kept in a 375 gallon tank [(8ftx3ftx2.5ft)(imperial gallons)] and they were given a 20% weekly water change (sometimes twice weekly if time allowed) i stopped feeding the fish for three days and did daily water changes. i discovered the abundance of nematodes only because of a matter of-coarse i dosed the fish with an anti parasite treatment,thinking that this was an intestinal problem; and once this went through the filter the nemotodes rained into the tank.
well the fish went without food for 5 days and treatment with the anti parasite continued; daily water changes continued; after which I fed a small amount of fresh cod fillet which the RTC's ate and did not vomit up. I increased the water changes to 25% (around 93 imp galls)although you have said your tank is an 8 footer
you havnt said as to the other diamensions.. 93 imperial gallons is around 500 litres. after a two week period the anti parasite was again added and this time the fish were feeding well, but there was no rain of nematodes happening. so maybe this could be happening to your fish..??
I ‘Doc I can’t stop singing The Green, Green Grass of Home’
“That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome.
‘Is it common?’
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clare
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Post by clare »

Thankyou for your help. It is definately not nematodes, we have that problem in another tank which we are currently adressing.
The tank is 8 x 2 x 2, holds approx. 900litres, 800 allowing for substrate etc.
We do 350 litre water changes a week, split into two halves.

We haven`t really fed much oily fish, the puzzling thing is that, he ate twice as well as he should of at first, very greedy.
Now, if he does occasionally take food in his mouth he spits it straight out.

He used to eat anything, mainly sprats and mussels,prawns,whelk,worms etc.
Any more info. would be much appreciated.
We are upgrading his tank to 9 x 3 x 2 soon.The problem with Nitrates,is that all the tanks read the same so we have a reasonable amount of Nitrate in tap water but change 1500 litres of water in total a week. Trying to find something economical is difficult as every tank gets at least 25% water changes. RO is just not practical on those volumes.
Clare
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Post by Allan »

I know RO is inpractical in such volumes, thats why i suggested you looked into a sulfur based nitrate filter, this may be the answer for you.

I only know danish pages on this subject, but I did a google search, and i found this interesting reading, you may look into:
http://mars.reefkeepers.net/USHomePage/ ... trator.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/ ... 3/chem.htm
And here is a pic from a danish site to give you an idea of the practical stuff:http://www.reefs.dk/nitratfilter_nyhed.htm

You would still have to do your weekly big waterchanges, but you may very well be able to get the Nitrates under 25 ppm in your tanks.
I know these systems are mostly used in saline aquariums, but they are getting adapted more and more by people in your situation and to freshwater.

Just a suggestion.
clare
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Post by clare »

Thankyou for the advice. Karl ( my partner) usually sorts things like this out because he understands it better than I do.
Thankyou for the links, anything is worth a try to save his life.
Thanks again for taking the time to help us.
Clare
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Post by aquaholic »

How much food and how often are you feeding it? It sounds like it is simply just full. I have one of similar size and give it a small thawed fish whole (approx 15cm long) about every 3 -4 weeks. I've had some big predatory cats just stop eating for lengthy periods before. Especially if yours has been eating overly well up till then. It's natural instinct is to eat every scrap of food it can in case there will be none in the future. However it eventually just gets too full even for these natural urges. It's a big sized fish for a tank that small remember.

I'd recommend you just put in one or two feeder goldfish and leave it be for a month or three if it weren't for the gar (which would eat the fish first). As long as water parameters are good and it is acting/looking well I would just stop feeding it for a couple of weeks.
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Post by clare »

Thanks to Medekas advide we checked our water at the LFS and found our test kit is not too reliable.
Our tap water actually is 15ppm, and our tank water, 30ppm.
It would be better if we lowered this but a reading of that level shouldn`t cause major problems.

Thanks for the advice from Aquaholic too.
You are the only person we have known on any forum, to own a perruno cat, let alone one of a similar size.

We don`t feed any live food to our fish, but as you say, the Gars would take it anyway. The only live food is eartworms and he won`t touch those.

At the moment, even though he hasn`t eaten properly for 3 months, he doesn`t have a concave stomach, or barbel rot or loss of colour.
So we do hope it may be hunger strike. We know the tank isn`t that big, but he has grown a lot since we got him, and he was in a much smaller tank in the LFS (although adequate), and he was there for a long time.
We basically can`t fit the bigger tank through the door, therefore are knocking a hole in the wall to get it in.

We are going to treat him for internal parasites, just to be sure, and offer no food at all for 2 weeks. He was very greedy at first. I know they do not advise that you treat a disease unless you are sure they have it, but the LFS, who we trust 100% say the Octazin treatment is very safe and won`t harm to try.

Thankyou very much for replying to my post, it has put my mind at rest to hear from someone who keeps big cats.
We are growing on some Oxydoras Niger, Granulosys, Giraffe cats, a red tail and a yellow tail for a tropical pond. The fish house has been built, now we are saving up to kit it out while they grow. We haven`t actually kept any big cats like this before though.

Rather than him having a little tiny bit of food every week, we are going to totally starve him, then try food in a few weeks.

Thankyou again, we really appreciate you advice and are investing in better testing kits!!
Clare
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Post by aquaholic »

Clare,
Please let us know how it goes. A few weeks fasting won't hurt a large cat in the least if it is in good condition. One other thing that might help. I once had a 2 purruno (about 45cm) in with a large silver arowana (70cm). Although they seemed to get on well the silver would attack them on the sly if they grabbed his food. (who said fish weren't smart). I had to start feeding them at night to make sure they got any food at all as purruno are smart enough to get intimidated and quickly learn not to eat. Unsure if gars would do this or not but just something else to think about.

Can try a small feed an hour after all the lights are off and see if it's gone by morning. (and if it is then just start feeding in the same place each time, purruno are smart).
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Post by magnum4 »

LFS, who we trust 100% say the Octazin treatment is very safe and won`t harm to try.
It may not harm to try but Waterlife Octozin is for treatment of hole in the head ,dropsy, Malawi bloat,whitespot and spironucleus, i very much doubt it will help.

I would recommend More water changes x2 per week and some Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) to act as a laxative about 50g per water change for a month to start. OX heart is not a food i would recommend to large predatory catfish, they have troble digesting this type of food IME.

As you change so much water so often. A Nitrogon unit that removes nitrate and phosphate as your tap water passes thouh it on the way to the tank would be useful. The unit is re-chargeable. I've never used one because i have enough RO water storage but I'm sure someone on planet catfish has got one.

If you want to treat for internal worms ect you need Either lots of Waterlife sterazin. Or beter still levamisole.(VET treatment) or droncite (dog worming tablets). Lots of information on the internet about dosage rates ect.

Also can i ask what shop do you go to that sells the species you have mentioned so far and that you trust so much?. I have to travel to get decent fish, an i live not to far away.

Hope this helps
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Post by clare »

The shop we trust is called Wharf Aquatics, in Pinxton, Nottingham. The guys there are Richard Hardwick and Sean Evans who write for PFK. That is where our Perruno came from and most of our other fish.

We have already tried Epsom salts but they had no effect. I know Ox heart is not a good thing for big cats but it was a last gasp attempt really.

We have dosed the tank with Octazin (Waterlife), which I have been told may work if he has internal parasites. So far we are still not trying him with any food but will probably give him a go towards the end of this week, as you said, it will not harm him as he is in peak condition, well, seems to be apart from not eating that is!!!

The Gars do not bother him at all, they are fed whitbait early in the evening so they are full and lay on the bottom at night a lot, as does the mbu. We have tried feeding with the blue light on too but that doesn`t work.

We have checked on him in the middle of the night and he is reasonably active (I know that is not always a good sign) but nobody is bothering him.

Thankyou to everyone for all your help, and advice. I will definately let you know how he goes when we try feeding him again.

Sean and Richard are very experienced fish keepers and they assure me that the Nitrates shouldn`t be a problem to him, and definately shouldn`t stop him eating.
We have other much more sensitive fish which would have an issiue with the Nitrates long before Ferdinand.

Thanks again, it was nice to check the forum and see the topic had come back to life again and we hadn`t been forgotten!
Clare
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Post by clare »

Oh and forgot to say, we already do 2 water changes a week. Total of 2 x 25% water changes a week.
Also, Ferdinand used to swim to the edge of the tank for his food, same time and place every night but now he won`t.
Clare
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Post by coelacanth »

Is it actually a Perruno (which is actually a very rare fish) or Leiarus longibarbis (much more common)?
I'm not sure on whether they undergo long spawning migrations as with some of the other big Pims, but it is possible that your fish is going through such a phase (when there may be some suppression of appetite).
A fish of that size can easily have enough body fat to last 2-3 months without showing any real signs (unlike us, the fat is not subcutaneous but is laid down around the viscera, so it doesn't show as much).
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Post by clare »

As far as we know he is a Perruno Cat, every report we read points to the fact that he is. We have seen Leiarus Marmuratis and he is definatley not one of those. Wharf are excellent with their fish and they said he was a Perruno.

He now hasn`t eaten for 3 months so if it is a period like you say then he should be getting through that by now. It is puzzling that he reluctantly takes food into his mouth then spits it out as though forcing himself not to eat.

Just a side note to Magnum4, I see you come from the Wirral, I was curious because I have family who live on the Wirral, generally in Moreton.
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Post by coelacanth »

clare wrote:As far as we know he is a Perruno Cat, every report we read points to the fact that he is. We have seen Leiarus Marmuratis and he is definatley not one of those.
Got any pictures? There are no images of Perrunichthys perruno in the Cat-eLog, and as the differences between this and L. longibarbis have been the subject of debate in the past it would be nice to have.
Pete
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Post by clare »

I do have a few pictures of him but I am really useless on the computer and would have no idea how to post them. I could try e.mailing them to an address if that would be any good? Or even send one through the post or something?
Would be happy to try to help with pictures if i could.
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Post by coelacanth »

If you hit the e-mail tab at the bottom of this post you should be able to send an image to me, and I'm sure that Jools would like to see one as well.

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Post by MatsP »

Clare e-mailed me some pictures. I put them up on the dphoto web-site for your viewing. I presume Jools can e-mail me for forwarding the original copies.

Image

Here's a group photo!
Image

More pictures here: http://www.dphoto.us/forumphotos/showga ... hp/cat/954

--
Mats
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Post by clare »

Just wanted to say thanks to Matt for taking the time to post the pictures for me. The top one is obviously Ferdinand, our Perruno, and the bottom one has Lillian, the Oxydoras Niger, with fellow companions, Ernie and Flo, the Giraffe cats. We laso have another oxydoras who is not in thw picture. They are all growing on with a red tail and a marble tail (the red tail hybrid).
We don`t usually get involved with hybrids but seeing as though the hybrid was already being produced for food in some countries anyway, we don`t feel like we are contributing to messing with nature simply for the aquarium trade benefits. This hybrid already existed.
Hope you find the pictures interesting, they are all stunners, then again, I am slightly biased!!
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Post by Graeme »

Superb pictures!!
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Post by coelacanth »

clare wrote:The top one is obviously Ferdinand, our Perruno
Ferdi ain't a Perrunichthys, you have a well-grown Leiarus longibarbis unless I am very much mistaken. The pictures are plenty good enough to show that there are too many dorsal fin rays for it to be Perrunichthys, whereas they fit exactly in with Leiarus.
If you check the Cat-eLog for P. perruno I think there is a mention of this.
He(?) looks like he's been rubbing his snout on the glass in the past while begging for food, he has a slightly downturned upper lip which could make him look slightly different to some pictures you might have seen.
In the trade they always call Leiarus longibarbis 'the Perruno Cat', I think this is even how they appear on export lists.
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Post by clare »

I checked it out and it looks like you are right, our Perruno is a Longibarbis.
Does that mean there are any differences in terms of anything else? I know slightly in looks but is the care any different or anything.
Still think he is a lovely looking fish, very attractive even with his lip!! We are upgrading his tank soon to make it wider. In the past he was kept in smaller tanks by other owners, we got him at 2ft.
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Post by magnum4 »

Any updates Clare?

Also reply from waterlife about Octozin:

Octozin will only treat protozoa infections. Sterazin will treat callamanus if you do a couple of courses.
clare
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Post by clare »

We have only treat with the Octozin for now, as we don`t know exactly what the problem is we think it is best not to try too much medication. We now think he is a Longibarbis, not a Perruno, makes no difference as they are very similar but it was very kindly pointed out that he is the Longibarbis.

He is still swimming around, looking active, feeling food with his barbels and even took a baby octopuss into his mouth for a few seconds but then spat it out. We are trying to starve him still, then trying him with food again, the octopuss was put in for someone else but he took it.
Thanks for asking and if there is any change I will let you know.
Clare
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Post by clare »

Well we tried Ferdinand with some earthworms and some sprats which used to be his favourites but he just got really mad, killed any worms which went near him but didn`t eat them and didn`t touch the sprats.
We don`t know what else to do now, just hope still that he may be on hunger strike. I wonder how many other people lose fish for no apparent reason.

Do people have fish which are big and eating and doing well which suddenly go off for no reason? Or is it just us! All our other fish are fine, we understand the principals of filters and water quality and have top filtration etc.
Do good water changes 25% twice a week, plus take out uneaten food every day.
Thanks for all your support and if ever he decides to eat again will let you all know.
Clare
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Post by chacachaca »

So did he ever eat? I was following this thread and was wanting to know the result. I have kept a pair of these fellows for years, and they will sometimes go a month without eating, but never this long...any updates?
The bigger the better...gotta love the big fish!!
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Post by clare »

Sorry I haven`t posted any more on this topic but not much has changed apart from now he sneaks the odd prawn here and there.

His new tank 9ft x 3ft6" comes on Monday and so he should be in it within 3 weeks ( we have to knock the lounge wall out and replace it with patio doors to get the tank in so it may take a little while)!
Hopefully he will eat better in there and feel he can swim around more, he is huge so it is hard to provide much cover but should be easier with more space.

Thanks for the interest in him, he is a lovely character and his marking have come out nicer than ever!
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Post by eupterus »

I am palying devils advocate i bit here but here is a thought. In the wild catfish are sedentary opportunist feeders that spend a vast majority of there doing not a great deal. When small all fish are eaten by anything with a mouth big enough to fit in and this means the pressure to grom is immense. The eating rate and grown rate is ecologically designed to give the best chance of survival. You have a mature fish which would have an extremely good chance of survival in the wild let alone the safe confines of your huge well fed tank. The main thing I noticed from yuor photo is that he is well rounded and my no means looks starved. I would suggest that he or she is a mature fish that may well be naturally slowing down its feeding rate. Tehre are no signs of stress . other than your own :wink: I would wait and see, i would be confident to say that it will feed when hungry.
As for a previous post about Perunicthys perunno being rare, that is not at all the case. I would say you have a perruno there that has matured. They become darker and lose the markings as they do. The camouflage needs to change as the fishs needs change.

Hope this helps, if not ignore me :o
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Post by clare »

Thanks, I don`t ignore anyone that wants to help me!! You are right in everything you say, and he is mature. He is eating pieces, like you say, being an opportunist feeder.

Living in the tropical climate areas would flood naturally so he would gorge, then the waters would dry up and he`d be caught in apool for some 6 months or so, just eating bits and bobs he could find, maybe this is the case here.

Imagine the money we`d save not eating for 6 months! I am not sure if he is a Perruno but his markings are gorgeous and he still has that rounded belly.

Thanks for all your advice and I tend to agree. His name is Ferdinand by the way.
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