redtail catfish will not stop swimming against the glass. he stays right on top of the surface and slowly swishes his tail to stay in the corner... occasionally does a circle. it has been about 3 days and he has not stopped. i tried turning the heater off(what he is next too) and all lights. i even try his favorite food... bloodworms with no reaction... please help he is my favorite.
Redtail catfish wont stop swimming!!! Help
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Perhaps he has a swimbladder issue? Or there's a lack of oxygen in the tank, or toxins in there.
Those are guesses, would need more info on the tank and animal to tell you anything more substantial. What are your water parameters, temp, tank size, filter and heater type, cleaning and how often, how much and how often is he fed and what of...how big is the fish....see where I'm going here? lol Need more info.
I can tell you one thing though, don't go changing things around so much, that'll make it worse if he's ill. It's not good for them to have you messing with the heater and stuff. .-.
Those are guesses, would need more info on the tank and animal to tell you anything more substantial. What are your water parameters, temp, tank size, filter and heater type, cleaning and how often, how much and how often is he fed and what of...how big is the fish....see where I'm going here? lol Need more info.
I can tell you one thing though, don't go changing things around so much, that'll make it worse if he's ill. It's not good for them to have you messing with the heater and stuff. .-.
thanks for responding.... tank is 45 gallon... tank mates are baby red belly pacu, 3 inch 4 lined cat, 8 inch dragon goby, small bumbe bee cat, 3 bala sharks, and a pleco....filter is a marineland penguin 200, 200 gallons a hour. no swim blatter problem he went to bottom one time and stayed for a few minutes. temp is 71 degrees now because heater broke and im supplying it with a 10 gallon heater. he stays right next to it and will not stop swimming against the glass in the corner with heater. could that be the problenm? he is about 3 to 4 inches. and heis fed 1 time a day but lately i havent seen him eat. it has been 4 days now
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Even if they're young, these fish need to be kept in a 300 gallon tank at the very minimum, and that's likely going to be too small once the fish are full grown too, if kept together. Bala sharks should never be kept in anything smaller than 125 gallons and that's considered a minimum for survival, not preferable to the fish. Those alone need the larger tanks for JUST them, go larger for the group.
Minimum tank size for redtail catfish alone is actually around 300 gallons. They can get four feet long, some larger or a tad smaller, once full grown, so I don't know why you have these giants in such a small tank. They're also aggressive and very high energy fish, best kept with other large fish in a huuuuuge tank or pond.
The bioload and fish size is too much in there, that's the biggest issue.
The heater is another problem, it should be kept around 76 degrees. A few degrees does make a difference.
As for your water parameters, we need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, as well as PH and hardness. We need the numbers not you saying they're spot on. I say this because many will SAY they're spot on, but then it turns out they do not know what actually is spot on.
Minimum tank size for redtail catfish alone is actually around 300 gallons. They can get four feet long, some larger or a tad smaller, once full grown, so I don't know why you have these giants in such a small tank. They're also aggressive and very high energy fish, best kept with other large fish in a huuuuuge tank or pond.
The bioload and fish size is too much in there, that's the biggest issue.
The heater is another problem, it should be kept around 76 degrees. A few degrees does make a difference.
As for your water parameters, we need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, as well as PH and hardness. We need the numbers not you saying they're spot on. I say this because many will SAY they're spot on, but then it turns out they do not know what actually is spot on.
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So, hardness unknown, if you don't have the test solution you can get it online from your local water company.
Your PH is just a tad too high, the temp is too low though handleable for them(I almost forgot they have a pretty good range of temps they can handle from 68-80 degrees or so, so you should be within safe ranges for him at least, the pacu needs it no lower than 72F though), and there is far, far, far from enough space in there, even with youngsters, as again the redtails need 300 gallon tanks minimum, they grow fast and need the space to do it in, your other fish also require much larger tanks.
Water parameters for the Redtail should be: pH 5.5 - 6.8 Temperature : 68°F - 82°F (20°C - 28°C) Water Hardness : 5-10 dGH. And obviously ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be zero, nitrate is tolerable in small amounts...Tank size needs to be bigger. They really do best in large ponds, not tanks. =(
Bala sharks also get over a foot long, like groups, and need a huge amount of space. I suggest you downgrade on your fish, at least on the catfish, or upgrade to a very large pond.
Someone almost tricked me into getting one of those, but I did some research and said no way. They get so big! And are aggressive and very high energy.
Your PH is just a tad too high, the temp is too low though handleable for them(I almost forgot they have a pretty good range of temps they can handle from 68-80 degrees or so, so you should be within safe ranges for him at least, the pacu needs it no lower than 72F though), and there is far, far, far from enough space in there, even with youngsters, as again the redtails need 300 gallon tanks minimum, they grow fast and need the space to do it in, your other fish also require much larger tanks.
Water parameters for the Redtail should be: pH 5.5 - 6.8 Temperature : 68°F - 82°F (20°C - 28°C) Water Hardness : 5-10 dGH. And obviously ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be zero, nitrate is tolerable in small amounts...Tank size needs to be bigger. They really do best in large ponds, not tanks. =(
Bala sharks also get over a foot long, like groups, and need a huge amount of space. I suggest you downgrade on your fish, at least on the catfish, or upgrade to a very large pond.
Someone almost tricked me into getting one of those, but I did some research and said no way. They get so big! And are aggressive and very high energy.
They need to be put back in a larger tank or you're going to be staying home doing water changes to compensate for the bioload or they will be poisoned to death. There wasn't an issue because he had room to swim in the other tank. Imagine going from living in a mansion to living in a studio apartment. You wouldn't exactly be a happy camper.
Did you test after the WC?
Don't worry about him not eating, fish can go weeks without eating and do just fine. You need to worry about the tank size much, much more.
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Hun, we're telling you what the problem is, you're just not listening. It's tank size. Pure and simple. You must have a larger tank, even for babies of those types of fish. Must, must, must or you will have very dead fish. They need THREE HUNDRED GALLONS...and that's JUST for the catfish.
If you don't have that kind of room or money for it, or a very large pond, unless you want him to die you should find him a new home, same with your bala sharks since three of them would need...oh jeez, 200 gallons or so I think is right for three, one need 75 gallons as a minimum but they don't do well if not in pairs as you probably know having gotten three of them. 200 gallons is not, however, ok for the redtail catfish.
That's because in that small tank, he's going to be cramped, and eventually stunt. Stunting happens quick for fast growing fish. Their organs continue to grow, but their bodies stop or slow...and eventually, SLOWLY, the organs are crushed by the smaller body.
Right now, if the fish hasn't started stunting yet, the likely cause for his actions is being in a smaller tank with a bunch of other fish all requiring more space. He's crowded, he's in a tiny area, and he's not liking it.
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Do you have a nitrate filter/scrubber on this tank? If not then I suspect you have a dodgy test kit. From what you have said this tank has been heavily overstocked for a number of weeks and with a weekly 25% water change you have zero nitrates which seems impossible. It appears that you may be getting a false reading in your parameters. As others have said space is the issue here. Redtails frequently swim in this manner when they feel 'cramped' and as Sylverclaws said he will become stunted in a relatively short space of time and the results of this can be horrendous.
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