sick panda

[Halo 99]

My panda catfish is really tipsy and can barely swim.
i found him this morning halfway lodged under a rock and his tail was shreded. he had a recent bite mark on his tail from being in a tank with a black phantom tetra. he also flips upsidedown alot and is emancipated. I think it could be bacterial and I have a feeling its advanced and he might not make it. I just recently looked at him and now it looks like he also has pop eye.

1. Water parameters
a) Temerature range.
b) PH.7
e)Ammonia 0, Nitrate 0, Nitrite 0,
f) Water changes every week

2. Tank set up
a) Size. 6 gal eclipse
b) Substrate. gravel
e) Other tank mates. betta, 2 other pandas, niger oto, 4 dwarf rasboras-all other tankmates are very healthy
f) How long has it been set-up? 4 monthes

4. Action taken (if any) I put him in a small temporary container because my spare hospital tank is being used for my newly arrived betta from asia.

5. Medications used (if any) I put a pinch of kanamyacin, melafix and aquarium salt in the container.
I was wondering if I could put the catfish in with my betta because I'm doing the same treatment on him(he has a suffered from shipping stress) but Im afraid the catfish could have some thing else and be contagious.

I just want to know if those are a good med choice or if anyone thinks it can be too late and i should euthunize him

[Danny O]

I actually logged on to talk about the same thing. I have a 55 gallon tank, good water parameters like you, 74 degrees... yet I can't get the Pandas established. Currently I have 5, about ten minutes ago I had 6, last week I had 8. I loose two or three every few months, all in close proximity. I ususally try to replace them with a few more and am lucky if 1 out of 3 survive a few days after arrival. Yet, at the same time, I have 15 tetras, 4 angels and a pl*co (not to mention snails) that are doing great.
I have read other posts that complain of the same mysterious deaths with Pandas. Some posts say the Pandas are temperature sensitive and desire colder water. Yet other posts disagree. Some say they are sensitive to gravel and should have sand substrate, yet lots of people have corys with gravel. All in all, I think I give up on the Pandas.

[Starsky]

I have ten pandas in my tank right now and I've had them for almost a year and I've had no problems with them whatsoever. I know people say pandas like cooler temperatures but my water temp average is 28 degrees celsius (We've got tropical weather). Then again, the stock I got were already bred locally, maybe they have gotten used to the warmer temp.

[ricorn]

Hi
Dont give up on them, they are great little fish. I have to wonder if your getting your pandas from the same supplier
all the time. I have 1 reverse breeding trio in a 150 gal
tank,gravel bottom 72 degrees F have had this tank up to 82
degrees.1 breeding trio in 10 gal. bare bottom,76 degrees.
about 40 babies all assorted sizes in a 20 gal long
bare bottom at 74 degrees. They seem pretty durable to me.
Cant help with water parameters,I dont keep track of them.
however the reverse trio has many tankmates 8 different pleco species,angels,cichlids,killifish,rainbows etc.
Hopefully you can figure out why they die on you.
they are worth having