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I don't know if this is the appropriate forum, but here goes.

I just checked my cats (I feed them at this time of night) and my poor tandan catfish has been skinned alive! It also looks like he's got finrot?

This has only just happened today because they were fine yesterday. It seems that the new fish in the tank has been "latching on" and sucking away. This new fish is a large Black Shark, about the same size as the tandans but a little more stockier. The shark has only been there for 3 days, but I have now removed the shark from the tank, and moved the affected tandan into the hospital tank.

He is alive, just not moving or anything, he's breathing, looking about slowly. He will swim if gently prodded. (He swam to the bottom of the tank instead of just sinking)... I have placed a dark towel around the tank to give him some privacy.

Here are some photos:

Tandan laying there miserably I have a toothbrush there to prop him up against so he doesn't roll over onto his side.

Close up of skinned area His whole body is supposed to be covered in grey/brown speckles, but the white areas are where his skin has been suckered off.

Fin Rot? His pectoral fins are absolute tatters but I couldn't get any clear photos of them, only his tail.

Can anyone help me fix my cat. I will be zipping into the pet store first thing tomorrow morning to get some fin-fixing meds (assuming he makes it through the night). If anyone can respond to this thread by then, is MelaFix (or is it MelaFin?) a good thing to use on catfish? Or should I look for something else?

It doesn't look like the skin was rasped off by the black shark. Seems to me that the black shark gave your tandan a really nasty infection (did you quarantine the black shark?).
Melafix would be appropriate. If it doesn't work, you may have to try something stronger.

I feel real bad now... I didn't quarantine the black shark... If it is an infection, it's my own stupidity at fault. Now my poor catfish has to suffer.

The tank contains other catfish, 3 big black salmontail catfish (arius graeffi), an asian bumblebee catfish, another tandan (who has a small "baldpatch" on him, but he is swimming and eating fine) and several bristlenose plecos.

None of the other cats have this skinning problem (except for the aforemention other tandan with the smaller patch on him).

I'm skeptical about it being an infection though... I have caught the black shark a few times chasing the tandans and "rubbing up" alongside the tandans during the 3 days it's been in the tank... he never pesters the other cats... but I'm certain the tandans weren't like this yesetrday (they were both swimming happy and healthy yesterday until today).


PS: I rang the pet store up when I found my tandan like that and they said that many of the sharks/sucker mouthed aggressors sometimes get a taste for the slime coats of other fish and latch on and bore holes in them.

I'm pretty certain it's an infection of some sort. The condition of the fins makes it pretty obvious. The whole issue of whether the skin was abraded off may be questionable, but black sharks make lousy community fish (plus, they get really big).

Thats a lot of damage in one night so i don't think its a infection. More likely the black shark IMO. melafix is a bit on the weak side for damage of this nature, and just in case it is an infection go for a broard range anti-bacterial medication, this will stop any onset of fungus ang give the wound time to heal.

keep us informed.

Ok, I bought a bottle of MelaFix (Cajeput Oil 9.23 g/L) and a bottle of Fungus Cure (2.00mg/ml Acriflavine and 0.40mg/ml Malachite Green) It's all the pet store had in range (I live in a small town, so there's limited range on meds)

I took the other tandan out with the smaller bald patch on him and put him in a seperate tank. I am now treating both of them with the med.

It's so gross... The really sick tandan is covered in what looks like the skin you get when you boil milk/soup... and he has what looks like 2 small balls of yellow/white fuzzy cheese growing on his side.

Do fungal infections really break out this fast???

He has died...

I can't believe this is what he looks like less than 12 hours from when I started this thread.

Here are some clearer photos:

Full body shot

Close-up of the yellow scunge/skin

The furry cheeseballs I mentioned

Close -up of rotted fins

Close -up of rotted tailfin

Sloughing skin

Skinned area


PS: I couldn't have overdosed him!!??? - I followed the dosage rates on the bottles! *cries*

That was a huge amount of damage to be fair. I was surprised it was still alive when you showed the first pictures, but you have to try because you never know, shame you lost it.

I don't think you over dosed however there is know need to use both chemicals togeather. start with the fungus cure with the other cat and as it starts to heal move on to the melafix. fungus does break out very quickly yes.

Too late now, but I think the catfish may have been 'skinned' by being driven into, along, through, or under tank decor by the black shark. Lacking scales or armour, it had little protection against repeated abrasion of the skin.

My Asian RTC on separate occasions gave a giraffe cat and a Chrysichthys this treatment, before I caught on and removed them.

I decided to try my Albino Channel Cat in with my Oscars.... they tried to kill it, there was a bad sore on it's side and one twice the size on it's belly. I thought it was working out so I left for a while and quickly moved him out when I got home. I put melafix in, but the next day there was this fuzzy fungus growing from the sore's, I thought for sure he was a gonner, I then did a 50% water change, added aquarium salt, and more melafix, the next day it fell off and now he's totally healed. I have noticed that when a fish is sick and laying on the bottom within 1/2 an hour of putting in melafix they seem to perk up and start swimming again...... I love that stuff.....