Advice on my new Cat

[koltsixx]

How much I'm interested in fish?

I have seen that catfish are hit or miss, my syno is purely a night appearance. Unless there is food. Mine just seems to be a shy specimen


I really love the look of the new guy you have, and not too large either. Aros are also on my dream list for one day

Yeah, I mean you actively try and learn and appreciate info. and I said I thought that's cool. Not everyone is like that. Some already have their own ideas and aren't as open or just aren't as interested.

Catfish are definitely a hit or miss. Not only because of individual differences but because trying to balance out overall maximum size and the fact that many are extremely opportunistic predators and most being nocturnal means finding the right one to suit oneself can be challenge.

The pics don't even do it him justice. They're cellphone pics and he was always in a weird position. The only thing that helped was him being so close to the light source to make the pics relatively clear. Another fish you maybe interested in is Centrodoras brachiatus which is a Doradidae. Their family also tend to be fairly reclusive but brachiatus is more outgoing and gets to a manageable size. Combine that with their cool spines and that they're safe with even relatively small fish and you've got a pretty cool cat.

 

[Hendre]

Yeah, I mean you actively try and learn and appreciate info. and I said I thought that's cool. Not everyone is like that. Some already have their own ideas and aren't as open or just aren't as interested.

Catfish are definitely a hit or miss. Not only because of individual differences but because trying to balance out overall maximum size and the fact that many are extremely opportunistic predators and most being nocturnal means finding the right one to suit oneself can be challenge.

The pics don't even do it him justice. They're cellphone pics and he was always in a weird position. The only thing that helped was him being so close to the light source to make the pics relatively clear. Another fish you maybe interested in is Centrodoras brachiatus which is a Doradidae. Their family also tend to be fairly reclusive but brachiatus is more outgoing and gets to a manageable size. Combine that with their cool spines and that they're safe with even relatively small fish and you've got a pretty cool cat.
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Thanks man I am a less experienced keeper, so I will listen to what looks like sensible info from the experiened guys and learn bit by bit. My opinion is malleable.

That's what makes them interesting. I'll find one someday

That is an interesting cat for sure, too big for my tanks unfortunately. Your pics definitely are good, not shabby at all. I prefer the smaller cats since the big ones need a massive tank to be comfortable, I like having enough space for the fish to move well

 

[kno4te]

The one thing I would suggest and that came to mind. Especially if still not coming around. I have a floating log which I have suction cups that are zip tied to it.

Have it stuck to my glass and the power head in front. I've done it before for fish that are constant swimmers or riverine like this catfish. But not with this catfish lol. Sometimes a little stimulation will help to wake it up. Also take into consider a little MB dip for ammonia poisoning will help and qt'ing at the same time if it's not getting better.

Beautiful fish. Was debating getting this or not too. Still am.

Not much else to offer as u already know the game and doing a part already.

 

[koltsixx]

Thanks man I am a less experienced keeper, so I will listen to what looks like sensible info from the experiened guys and learn bit by bit. My opinion is malleable.

That's what makes them interesting. I'll find one someday

That is an interesting cat for sure, too big for my tanks unfortunately. Your pics definitely are good, not shabby at all. I prefer the smaller cats since the big ones need a massive tank to be comfortable, I like having enough space for the fish to move well

Even less experienced keepers don't always have those qualities and it's refreshing to see you do.

Sorry I had thought I had been informed that my Nodosus gets around 15 inches so suggested another fish around that size. Didn't even read that according to planetcatfish they only get a little over 8 inches. Around that size Hasemani which is in the same Genus as Brachiatus gets around 8 inches. Looks just like the Brachiatus but I don't know if they're as outgoing. A lot of the members of the Dorididae family tend to be reclusive. Some of the bigger species get over it as they put on size but IME the smaller species are both harder to come by and tend to be very reclusive. Another really awesome and underrated fish is Pimelodus Ornatus. Very outgoing for a cat, active and they get to around 11 inches max. Not as safe as the Dorididae around smaller fish though. Still their mouths aren't overly big that a community should be a problem.

The one thing I would suggest and that came to mind. Especially if still not coming around. I have a floating log which I have suction cups that are zip tied to it.

Have it stuck to my glass and the power head in front. I've done it before for fish that are constant swimmers or riverine like this catfish. But not with this catfish lol. Sometimes a little stimulation will help to wake it up. Also take into consider a little MB dip for ammonia poisoning will help and qt'ing at the same time if it's not getting better.

Beautiful fish. Was debating getting this or not too. Still am.

Not much else to offer as u already know the game and doing a part already.

What's really funny is I've been considering buying one or three of those floating Logs and doing exactly what you did zip-tying it toward the top back of the tank. My Platinum Scherzeri hang at the top around my fake plants and I thought they might be comfortable if they had a place to dash into. I also thought it would be a good way to provide a shaded section toward the back of the tank to help reduce algae growth and make some of my more shy fish comfortable. Should be perfect for this situation as they seem to be fast flowing fish but at the same time are part of the driftwood cat family. I also considered adding more current to the set up as well. Just bought three powerheads that I was going to add to my set ups.

I've got some MB and would be comfortable giving him a dip so I'll give it a try. I'd love to give him his own tank but all I have right now is a ten. This was an impulse buy on my part, definitely not a good practice with fish. I was considering moving him to my growout tank though since the tank he's in has some fish that are a lot bigger then him and might just stress him more.

The Nodosus really are beautiful and I know how your feeling because it's how I felt before pulling the trigger. Wish I could help you make the decision. guess if mine makes it, it'll make the decision a little easier. By the way, thanks a lot for the advice; it's appreciated.

By the way he's still at the surface but is no longer circling. Instead he's sitting just behind a filter outlet so he's not in the current of it hovering in place. Hasn't laid down or tried to hide, just keeps moving. Also finally figured out a perfect description of his swimming. It's very much Gulper like. Gulper almost seem to waddle and they almost look like they're having trouble swimming, that's what this Nodosus is doing. Dorsal down with his tail facing down as well almost as though his spine is bent while his tail does large but slow movements back and forth. All his other fins seem to be used for is direction.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Wow. I am happy someone like you got this fish, so we can learn.

It'd be of utmost importance to me to know what Wes, the vendor, thinks of it.

The fish that got most stressed out in shipping IME were black ear sharks but they were still strong and energetic, just swimming wildly. When fish gets almost unresponsive, it usually means it got poisoned or nearly suffocated (or frozen... what was the arriving water temp?). If it was merely due to stress, I'd surmise the stress caused some kind of internal problem, perhaps in the brain, like a seizure or a stroke etc.

Some fish just don't ship well and we appear unsure why. It's rare but knowing next to nothing about this fish, we can't discount this possibility.

I'd give it pristine, stable water and as total a lack of stress as humanely possible and pray and hope for the best. I'm not sure what the aforementioned Methylene Blue bath would accomplish but I fear it'd do more harm than good at this point, because knowing Wes, I must assume he by far and large had done everything right to ship this little precious jewel of a fish and it's just that the fish doesn't ship well or suffered too much stress en route, hence, all stress now must be avoided at all costs.

If other fish don't bother it as far as you can tell, I'd leave it in the tank.

How many specimen did Wes put up for sale? fugupuff Wes could also know how well it ships in his experience, how ever limited.

$0.02

 

[Hendre]

Even less experienced keepers don't always have those qualities and it's refreshing to see you do.

Thanks, I try to be likeable

Sorry I had thought I had been informed that my Nodosus gets around 15 inches so suggested another fish around that size. Didn't even read that according to planetcatfish they only get a little over 8 inches. Around that size Hasemani which is in the same Genus as Brachiatus gets around 8 inches. Looks just like the Brachiatus but I don't know if they're as outgoing. A lot of the members of the Dorididae family tend to be reclusive. Some of the bigger species get over it as they put on size but IME the smaller species are both harder to come by and tend to be very reclusive. Another really awesome and underrated fish is Pimelodus Ornatus. Very outgoing for a cat, active and they get to around 11 inches max. Not as safe as the Dorididae around smaller fish though. Still their mouths aren't overly big that a community should be a problem.

Those are cool, the pim gets a little big but the others sound like interesting specimens. 8 inch seems fine for my tank but apart from price and rarity, probably wouldn't go well with what I have planned for my tank

The Nodosus really are beautiful and I know how your feeling because it's how I felt before pulling the trigger. Wish I could help you make the decision. guess if mine makes it, it'll make the decision a little easier. By the way, thanks a lot for the advice; it's appreciated.

It looks great, hopefully it recovers

Some fish just don't ship well and we appear unsure why. It's rare but knowing next to nothing about this fish, we can't discount this possibility.

I agree with this ^^

 

[koltsixx]

Wow. I am happy someone like you got this fish, so we can learn.

It'd be of utmost importance to me to know what Wes, the vendor, thinks of it.

The fish that got most stressed out in shipping IME were black ear sharks but they were still strong and energetic, just swimming wildly. When fish gets almost unresponsive, it usually means it got poisoned or nearly suffocated (or frozen... what was the arriving water temp?). If it was merely due to stress, I'd surmise the stress caused some kind of internal problem, perhaps in the brain, like a seizure or a stroke etc.

Some fish just don't ship well and we appear unsure why. It's rare but knowing next to nothing about this fish, we can't discount this possibility.

I'd give it pristine, stable water and as total a lack of stress as humanely possible and pray and hope for the best. I'm not sure what the aforementioned Methylene Blue bath would accomplish but I fear it'd do more harm than good at this point, because knowing Wes, I must assume he by far and large had done everything right to ship this little precious jewel of a fish and it's just that the fish doesn't ship well or suffered too much stress en route, hence, all stress now must be avoided at all costs.

If other fish don't bother it as far as you can tell, I'd leave it in the tank.

How many specimen did Wes put up for sale? fugupuff Wes could also know how well it ships in his experience, how ever limited.

$0.02

Thanks for the compliment Viktor. I'm glad that I'm able to share and if anyone benefits all the better.

Lol, I didn't mention Wes because I didn't want to paint him inadvertently in what people my see as a bad light. Since I am and have always been very happy with how he's treated me on a professional level. Not that I think that's your intention, just want to clarify that I don't think this should reflect on Wes in any negative way if anyone interprets it that way since that's not my intention. I am merely worried and want to do what I can to help ensure survival of the Nodosus.

It had me worried because after opening the box and taking out the bag I gently touched the bottom of the bag and though the fish was laying right there, there was no response. It just rolled around with the movement of the water. The breathing was very shallow and he was very light in color. The arriving temp was around 80-81. Last time I had a fish come in like this it was a pair of Pearsei from another vendor. One made it the other did not. The situation however was very different. The Pearsei where packed poorly, the bags leaking water and there was no heat pack in the middle of winter so when the fish arrived the water was ice cold. That was another vendor though who as far as I know has gone out of business since.

I'll hold off on the MB bath then since as you said I don't want to add additional stress. I know in the past I've made the mistake of trying too hard and accidentally only making the situation worse as between moving the fish, etc I did exactly that over stressed the fish. I am about to do my scheduled water change but will do what I can to minimize how invasive I am with it.

Wes, had two up for sale and I believe he's keeping a smaller individual for himself. How much experience he has with them I don't know since he said this was the first import into the US. So I'd guess this would be his first time dealing with Nodosus. I spoke to him the other day and he checked back with me later in the day. Unfortunately the situation hadn't improved and I think I did a poor job explaining the situation since all I said was it didn't look well to me and I didn't like the way it was acting. Thanks for the advice Viktor, it's much appreciated.

 

[kno4te]

Sorry koltsixx , only suggested the MB if it was getting worse. Glad others have input. Definitely don't want to stresss the fish out.

thebiggerthebetter is right. Clean water and patience does wonders.

MB have used for ammonia poisoning with fish like this. I assume this occurred. Once again I assumed it requires high oxygen in the water and being sensitive.

Look forward to seeing it get better and swimming around. See what wes says.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

No problem guys and again I only offered my thoughts based on the most likely supposition (knowing that Wes surely had done all he could) that it must be the stress of shipping that got to the fish.

I don't think anyone can cast a shadow on Wes He is a celebrity and a pioneer of our hobby. I think being pro-active from the start is very important in cases like that, including getting the vendor's input asap. Is all. Just preferences, I guess.

Again, in my ignorance, IDK what Methylene Blue does, that is, how it helps with the aftermath of ammonia poisoning. I need to read up on that. Thanks again, fellas.

 

[justarn]

Symptoms do make me think it got cold, I've accidentally frozen a tank by knocking the mixer tap...
I wonder if the delivery company left it outside for a long period and then once The package got it the van or indoors the heat packs caught back up...?