s. petricola disease or parasites possible?

barbara · Post by **barbara** » 08 Nov 2003, 17:22

My group of 5 s. petricolas has been a relatively cheerful group although i've noticed that one of the males has remained much smaller than the other two males and the two females...to the point of looking skinny. Recently i noticed that pretty much all of them seem to have indented areas on the body just posterior to the gills and above the pectoral fins.

I'm wondering if something is going on with them...either parasites which i could treat with praziquantel (if that is appropriate for them) or skinny disease which seems to start (from photos i've recently seen of clown loaches with this) with "hollow" spots along the sides of the body despite the bellies being full (which all have except this one).

Just curious if this is normal appearance on s. petricolas and i simply never noticed it before, or if it might be a sign of something that needs attention.

they are not particularly big eaters, ever. also seem limited in what they will eat...like sometimes they eat flake food but not pellets (presoaked) or tablets for catfish. they like ramshorn snails, daphnia (frozen), sometimes maybe frozen brine shrimp and peas.

Any thoughts, experience or hearsay would be appreciated. btw, these are not wild caught petricolas but ones that were spawned locally and obtained from a lfs nearby.

Thanks,
Barbara

plesner · Post by **plesner** » 08 Nov 2003, 21:24

they are not particularly big eaters, ever. also seem limited in what they will eat...like sometimes they eat flake food but not pellets (presoaked) or tablets for catfish. they like ramshorn snails, daphnia (frozen), sometimes maybe frozen brine shrimp and peas.

Unfortunately I can't help diagnozing your S. petricola, but I did notice one thing which definitely doesn't seem to fit my (also tank bred) petricola. I've yet to try giving them something which they won't eat - and I have to limit the amounts of food I give them - they seem to be able to eat almost non-stop. I use quite a lot of greens, but also black mosquito larvae, frozen artemia, different kinds of sinking pellets and good quality flakes to name a few.

I may not be right here, but to me it sounds like your petricola do have a problem just by the fact that they seem reluctant to eat.

Hope you find a solution. S. petricola is such a cute catfish.

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 08 Nov 2003, 21:34

Plesner

but to me it sounds like your petricola do have a problem just by the fact that they seem reluctant to eat.

Agreed this is out of character how long have you had the petricola?

Have you tested your water to make sure there is no ammonia or nitrite putting them off their food?

barbara · Post by **barbara** » 09 Nov 2003, 02:17

I have had them for two, maybe a bit more, years. They were quite small when i got them and grew quite nicely. it seems to me that they are never eager eaters although the females get quite fat (gravid i assume) and all of them are now showing this indentation along the sides. it is directly behind the pectoral fins. in looking at the cat-elog i see a couple that appear to have this indentation so perhaps it is nothing to be concerned about.

i do weekly or at the most every 10 day water changes of 40-45% (10 or 15 gal of app. 33 in a 40BR tank). the nitrAtes are usually 10-12. no nitrites. no ammonia. ph is around 8.0 KH is not too high, probably around 5 now and GH is increased to about 13 with Kent Af Cichlid Chemistry (haven't measured these lately)...i was using Af Buffer as well and had the ph up to around 8.4 for awhile but decided to let it gradually go back to the tap ph of 7.8-8.0 as they seem to be about the same behavior-wise. recently there was a small amount of cyano (the blue green) that i tried to eliminate by picking it off the vals that it would grow on. in the end i treated with erythromycin...a couple of weeks ago, and it has remained gone so far. the tank has two HOT filters with micron cartridges and biowheels for filtration. also a little filter for the two caves w/marbles (yes...i also am trying and failing on this!...as i read others have been).

They do seem to eat the peas which i occasionally offer...maybe one or two for the group of 5. I have heard others speak of the good appetites of their petricolas or multis so i have always wondered about the pickiness of this group. It is not that they don't eat at all but that they are picky and seem to leave some things entirely...as previously mentioned. if i crush ramshorns and drop them into the tank, THOSE they gobble up! i used to feed them bloodworms but someone here suggested that was best left as occasional food rather than main food. Right now the main things they get are frozen daphnia, frozen brine shrimp, meat eaters flake (which i think they eat). IF there are foods that others find their petricolas cannot resist i would be interested in knowing them.

it's the skinny fellow i'm concerned about particularly.

are intestinal worms common among not wild caught petricolas/catfish?? Some of mine appear to have a white edge showing past the gill covers...sometimes they do flick (although i haven't noticed it lately particularly)...have never quite known if it was just an irritation from the water or gill flukes (which is what else comes to my mind).

Post by **Silurus** » 09 Nov 2003, 02:27

The indented area you see in the catfish is normal. This is the area where the swimbladder would be and it is usually a little sunken in (the effect is probably enhanced by the humeral process immediately below, which sticks out of the body).
As for the thinning fish, intestinal parasites may be a distinct possibility. Although the fish are not wild caught, it could have contracted the parasites from similarly-afflicted wild-caught tankmates.

barbara · Post by **barbara** » 09 Nov 2003, 02:43

thank you for your comments. indeed they could have picked up parasites from another source....either at the lfs where i bought them or perhaps previous inhabitants of their tank left something behind?? that i'm not aware of. currently they are the only inhabitants of their tank.

have you or has anyone else here treated for parasites with praziquantel? and, if so, l am wondering about the regime used....three treatments 7 days apart or continuous 21 day bath.

i originally asked about skinny disease as it is something that clown loaches get and is often thought to be intestinal parasites when, in fact, it is a bacterial situation. just was wondering if catfish are known to have this condition develop, too.

probably it is parasites since he has simply been small for so long and now seems to be somewhat thinner but still active.

Post by **Silurus** » 09 Nov 2003, 04:03

Praziquantel is primarily used to treat for cestodes (tapeworms), which are not particularly common fish parasites. You'd have better luck trying levamisole, which is more effective on the nematode (roundworm) parasites more commonly encountered.

barbara · Post by **barbara** » 09 Nov 2003, 14:32

Ah, yes. I had tried to obtain levamisole and can only get a HUGE amount of it although i have a friend who could send me some. the problem that i see with using it, is that it apparently is not effective over 7.0 ph...is that your understanding/experience? If it weren't for the ph issue, it would be my first choice.

i tried (on an empty hospital tank) to reduce the ph but while it IMMEDIATELY dropped to about 6.6, within two hours it returned to 7.6 which is nearly the usual ph of 7.8-8.0. I am hesitant to reduce the ph unless i can stabilize it.

If gill flukes are an issue, the praziquantel is good for that i am told....although that would not be the apparent explanation for the failure to gain weight. hmmm

s. petricola disease or parasites possible?

s. petricola disease or parasites possible?

low eating

parasite treatment

levamisole