PlanetCatfish.com

hi
my bristlenose catfish fry have started to die. The last 2 days i have lost 6. they are in a 48L tank with bog wood and are fed with british king algae wafers and catfish pellets. The baby's that seem to die are all from the same spawn and all the same size. they are in with 3 previous spawns. all feeding very well with plump tummys.
can anyone shed any light on my problem.

I had the same issues mate,I lost my first few batches at the 30 day mark approx. If you can get past the 45 day point you will be golden!
Are you raising them bare bottomed or with a substrate?
Are there any other fish in with them? I swear adults kill them if there isnt enough space, competition for food is another major issue, especially raising different spawns in the same tank.
What temp are you raising them at? I stick at 26 degrees successfully.
I loose about 1 or two a week for teh first 2 months, even when they are seemingly super healthy, dont know why maybe natural attrition.

Firstly
Increase areation
Feed them softened Zucchini in the morning and remove any left in the afternoon, feed chips in the evening and remove any left in teh morning.
There should always be food available.
Keep the bottom of the tank spotless, decomposing food will blow their guts out with infection in no time.
Water quality is vital, try small water changes every day (if you suck out all the poo and old food on a daily basis you will be fine)
I have had very good results feeding decap brineshrimp cysts as well

Good luck

Hi,
I also had that issue a wee while ago.
Now I keep 4 spawns (Max) in a 110 L tank.
You may find that in a 48L tank the amonia has got a bit out of control.
Now you have 4 spawns in there so you have added up to 25% extra load to the filter.
Assuming that ammonia and nitrIte are OK, and airation is good, then it was the pH dropping that got me!

I feed tons of food!, and vacume every 2nd day. Also I crush up the pellets into almost a powder, as the little guys seem to find the smaller bits easier.

Cheers

Geoff

I seem to have 3 generations of fry on the go all the time. I find the adults show no interest at all to the fry up to 25mm (when i get rid of them). I do have the occasional death but not many. Mine are in a 24x12x15 which is half full. Massive filtration & aeration (air curtain run from dedicated airpump, sponge filter run from separate airpump, fluval 1 internal filter, fluval 4 internal filter).

I feed them potato, cucumber & all kinds of sinking pellet & tablet - mostly green-lip mussell & crab and krill pellets.

hi
the temp i keep them at is 27c
with gravel in the bottom
with about 6 endlers (i any tihing starts to happen i happens to them first)
saw white spot on them before catfish all gone now with white spot teminator 48 hr treatment.
do a 25% water change every 2 days and have to clean the filter at the same time. i remove the uneaten food most days.
thanks john

What are your water parameters (Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, as well as pH, Hardness, Alakalinity)? If you have soft water, it's likely that the pH crashes due to high bioload. But if you post parameters, we may give better suggestions.

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Mats