Pond filtration for my Red tail catfish

Izzy1

Feeder Fish
Feb 18, 2014
2
0
0
Malaysia
Hi guys, this is my first post here and I am hoping to benefit from the extensive experience of the members here in hopefully solving my problem.

I have a pond running across the front of my home that is approximately 3.5 feet deep, 3.5 feet wide and 38 feet long. It is serviced by a concrete 3 chambered box filter containing a sump, bio rings and coarse sponge as filter media. The filter is about 4 feet deep, 3 feet wide and about 4.5 feet long. The water is sucked in from one end of the pond and reintroduced at the other end through a cascading water feature and a jet to circulate the water a bit. It has a large stand of reeds growing in the middle from a terracotta pot.

For the past 8 years the pond has existed happily with mainly tropical fish such as tiger barbs, guppies, mollies and a surly red eared slider named Helmut. The water is crystal clear and odourless and every species has bred profusely to produce hundreds of juveniles. The stand of reeds serves as a great nursery!

I don't really do much in the way of maintenance aside from partial cycling twice a year along with replacement of the finest filter sponges.

2 and a half years ago my husband bought a little Red Tailed catfish for me which was only about 3 inches long. We released it into the pond and never saw it again until one day he popped out to say hi and was about ten inches long. He is now about 2.5 feet long and up to a few months ago was amazingly affectionate and playful. We would feed him by hand, pet him and he would come to us when we splashed the water.

About four months ago he developed lockjaw and he stopped eating out of our hands and completely changed. He is not as active though he hasn't wasted away so he must still be eating somehow. We netted him carefully to have a closer look and he struggled so much that one of his longest whiskers broke at the base :(....

His mouth closed easily when we moved it shut but when we put him back he still swam with it open.

One of our Arowana breeding buddies say that it is probably the water. My question (finally) is this. Could it be a filtration issue that caused the jaw issue and if so what happened recently that was so different than the past eight years. Should. I add or remove anything from the filter box? Should I cycle more frequently? Will the whisker grow back?

Sorry for the mega long winded posting, this RTC has become part of the family with visitors greeting and feeding him all the time. We want him to be comfy and happy as possible. Thanks in advance.
 

jeremoose

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 10, 2011
599
2
48
Canada
Sorry I can't help with your problem but I think I speak for everyone here when I say: PICS OF THE POND PLEASE :D Really sorry to hear your catfish is having trouble.
 

aldiaz33

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2007
2,312
214
296
Bay Area
Welome to the forum. Your pond sounds amazing; doing the math it comes out to around ~13,000 gallons or ~49,000 liters!

In order to be able to help troubleshoot the issue, we would need to know your water parameters. Most people here use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

The kit will cover Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate & Ph. If you could share your test results that may help us pinpoint the problem.

Can you elaborate on what you mean when you say you partially cycle the pond twice per year? If this means you are changing out the water, what percentage of the water would you say you change out? Do you know if your water provider adds chlorine or chloramines? If so, are you using a water conditioner to neutralize the chlorine/chloramine when you perform water changes?

Posting your waters parameters will also help troubleshoot the issue.
 

Yoimbrian

Dovii
MFK Member
Feb 11, 2013
920
252
102
Twin cities
A 2.5 foot red tailed cat will have the bio load of thousands of guppies. My first guess would be his waste finally overcame the capacity of your bio filtration such that you have ammonia or nitrites present. Alternatively if you are relying on plants to remove nitrates instead of water changes you could have hit the capacity of your plants and gone really high on the nitrates.

I agree with the top two posters. Check the ammonia nitrite and nitrate levels, and post pictures ASAP!


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

Izzy1

Feeder Fish
Feb 18, 2014
2
0
0
Malaysia
Thanks for the replies everyone. I will first of all try to get the water tested so that we have more to go on. By partially cycling the water I mean that about 2/3 is drained away and slowly replaced over the course of a day or so, with the addition of conditioners and anti chlorine since the source is mains water.
as you may imagine changing the water in the pond is quite an effort but if it is the only way it has to be done I suppose.

Is it true by the way that the ceramic rings in the filter chamber should never be washed? And do they have to be submerged or partially exposed to air?

i will try to post some pictures soon.
 

aldiaz33

Blue Tier VIP
MFK Member
Jun 19, 2007
2,312
214
296
Bay Area
You can lightly rinse the ceramic rings if they are dirty, but be sure to use pond water and not (chlorinated) mains water, otherwise you may kill off all the beneficial bacteria growing on the media.

Ceramic rings can typically be used either submerged or in a trickle (wet/dry) system; either method works, but I would defer to the manufacturer's recommendation.
 

bigbipo

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 3, 2006
15
20
33
43
NYC
I too have a 3 foot RTC and he almost died one from extreme low ph drop. His whiskers did grow back. He will eat everything in ur pond that he can...



Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store