Re: Need help saving abused emaciated 15 yr old iridescent shark catfish!!! HELP!
Posted: 18 Jun 2015, 18:07
Hi Fairy, thanks for your PM. Sorry about not being here a while. There is a lot done and written here already.
I'd think the main thing is to set up the fish's tank and using the aged biomedia sounds like a good idea. I hope by now you understand what a nitrogen cycle is. It can be understood quite simply. The clean water the guys are referring above is not about clarity/turbidity but about a lack of nitrogen-cycle toxins in the water, which are
-- ammonia,
-- nitrite (note the second "i"), and
-- nitrate (note the "a").
You will need to buy a test kit - many use this one http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium- ... r-Kit.aspx - and measure these parameters, which is also easy. I'd use a vial with the water you add to your fish tank as a reference.
The fish's ID looks right, granted this is a very unusual case but I think for now it is safe to consider it to be an IDS = iridescent shark catfish. They are very adaptable to a wide range of temps, pH, hardness, etc. and are very unfussy feeders.
It is definitely sickly or at least strongly affected by some physical condition. It's indeed way too skinny and the eyes rightfully concern you the most. It could be severely stunted, which leads to eye / head enlargement w.r.t. the body.
My impression is they can live much longer than 15 years but don't quote me - the reported numbers appear to range from 8 years to decades.
Also, you have to prepare yourself to any outcome and realize there is a limit to what you or anyone can do to save a fish. I've read of at least several cases where a large, aged fish was transferred from a horrible tank and water into a proper tank and good water and they still suddenly died a few months later, despite looking good, healthy, eating well, and having adapted seemingly fine. Fish are tough but long-time abuse, I think, may make their bodies adapt strongly to the abuse to survive but there is no strength left or it is impossible (e.g. due to age, etc.) for a fish to adapt back to good water and conditions.
I'd heed everything Racoll and Birger said above too. Stability and pristine water - ammonia zero ppm, nitrite zero ppm, nitrate under 20 ppm, better under 10 ppm, good aeration - that's your absolute goal, I think. That alone has been shown to heal fish just fine, even those in the worst conditions. The fish does not need to eat much or often. They can go for weeks and even months without food or much food and be ok. If a fish has no appetite = it is stressed by newness, water change, transfer, new unfamiliar tank, toxins in the water, disease, water parameters instability, large swings, medicine, bullying, etc. Offering it food in this circumstance will bring more harm. It can be tried with very little and if no interest - remove the food and give it time.
They like current but it is sickly, so not too much current. They like shade, are stressed by much light. Stirring of the water is crucial to keep it well oxygenated. Make sure the water entering your bio-filter is well aerated.
6" fish would be fine in a 55 gal tank but I'd go with larger. This fish at its current state offers a minimal bio-load = very little waste products - ammonia - is produced, so your tank should cycle very quickly. Fish produce vast(?) majority of ammonia by respiration, through gills, not as popularly believed via feces and urine. Uneaten food rots and produces ammonia too so this must be avoided.
I'd think the main thing is to set up the fish's tank and using the aged biomedia sounds like a good idea. I hope by now you understand what a nitrogen cycle is. It can be understood quite simply. The clean water the guys are referring above is not about clarity/turbidity but about a lack of nitrogen-cycle toxins in the water, which are
-- ammonia,
-- nitrite (note the second "i"), and
-- nitrate (note the "a").
You will need to buy a test kit - many use this one http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium- ... r-Kit.aspx - and measure these parameters, which is also easy. I'd use a vial with the water you add to your fish tank as a reference.
The fish's ID looks right, granted this is a very unusual case but I think for now it is safe to consider it to be an IDS = iridescent shark catfish. They are very adaptable to a wide range of temps, pH, hardness, etc. and are very unfussy feeders.
It is definitely sickly or at least strongly affected by some physical condition. It's indeed way too skinny and the eyes rightfully concern you the most. It could be severely stunted, which leads to eye / head enlargement w.r.t. the body.
My impression is they can live much longer than 15 years but don't quote me - the reported numbers appear to range from 8 years to decades.
Also, you have to prepare yourself to any outcome and realize there is a limit to what you or anyone can do to save a fish. I've read of at least several cases where a large, aged fish was transferred from a horrible tank and water into a proper tank and good water and they still suddenly died a few months later, despite looking good, healthy, eating well, and having adapted seemingly fine. Fish are tough but long-time abuse, I think, may make their bodies adapt strongly to the abuse to survive but there is no strength left or it is impossible (e.g. due to age, etc.) for a fish to adapt back to good water and conditions.
I'd heed everything Racoll and Birger said above too. Stability and pristine water - ammonia zero ppm, nitrite zero ppm, nitrate under 20 ppm, better under 10 ppm, good aeration - that's your absolute goal, I think. That alone has been shown to heal fish just fine, even those in the worst conditions. The fish does not need to eat much or often. They can go for weeks and even months without food or much food and be ok. If a fish has no appetite = it is stressed by newness, water change, transfer, new unfamiliar tank, toxins in the water, disease, water parameters instability, large swings, medicine, bullying, etc. Offering it food in this circumstance will bring more harm. It can be tried with very little and if no interest - remove the food and give it time.
They like current but it is sickly, so not too much current. They like shade, are stressed by much light. Stirring of the water is crucial to keep it well oxygenated. Make sure the water entering your bio-filter is well aerated.
6" fish would be fine in a 55 gal tank but I'd go with larger. This fish at its current state offers a minimal bio-load = very little waste products - ammonia - is produced, so your tank should cycle very quickly. Fish produce vast(?) majority of ammonia by respiration, through gills, not as popularly believed via feces and urine. Uneaten food rots and produces ammonia too so this must be avoided.