Advice on my new Cat

[koltsixx]

Something about them seems "off" to me, even kno4tes. I don't have much catfish experience so it's probably just that rubbing me the wrong way.

Mine is definitely rubbing me the wrong way but kno4tes seems okay to me. His sounds like the description I read in the Planetcatfish article. Ah well, still keeping my finger crossed and hoping for the best. Thanks again for the help bro.

Archers aren't too bad of a tankmate. Mainly to themselves. So it should be ok.

I'm sure ur cat will be active and acting right. Once it starts eating I think it'll be get it going.

The brief feeding episode was a bit surprising. Didn't expect it. Will start to up the flow of my powrhead and see what happens.

That's what i was figuring. The Archers are surface dwellers and not prone to many quick movements so I thought they might make the Nodosus more comfortable.

Thanks man, I hope so. It's such a stunning cat and I'd hate to lose it.

I think it should be good. I have a feeling they come from fast flowing, highly oxygenated waters.

 

[koltsixx]

Sherz? Not quite sure what that is...

Sorry Hendre, that I didn't address this in my last response. I have two Platinum Siniperca Scherzeri. It's a type of Perch. I had one Platinum and one with a hint of yellow on it's head but the yellow faded and now they're both pure white.

 

[Hendre]

Less imposing works. Archers may work, they are also awesome.

This fish is definitely on my wish list. How I'll get one beats me

 

[koltsixx]

Update: Woke up this morning and the Nodosus was floating near the spot he took up on arrival, just behind the flow from the out of my filter and powerheads; out of the current. He is till alive but laying on his side not moving. I doubt he'll last the day. Really bummed, I really liked this fish. Was the best of both worlds, a cat that was supposed to like swimming in open water and was a good looking cat as well.

I was pretty sure the cat wasn't going to make it from day one. As I said he looked bad on arrival which led me to palm the bag to see if he responded which he didn't just sloshed around with the water. Upon introduction he sank weirdly and when he finally began swimming, swam awkwardly and began hovering at the surface. If he wasn't in his spot hovering he was bumping into things. I had added salt just in case he was suffering from was osmoregulatory stress.

After speaking to you guys and getting some good suggestions I moved him to a 75 where the fish where less intimidating and cut some eggcrate to divide the tank giving him the lionshare of space(poor Scherzeri got cramped). Since a floating hide was mentioned by kno4te and I would have to order one and didn't want the Nodosus to wait I fashioned a hide out of a plastic cup that floated at just the right position and used a suction cup and tiewrap to keep it in place. Also since kno4te mentioned he had success turning down the flow and maximizing surface agitation I added a spray bar and decreased flow in the tank. I also kept the lights off to minimize stress. I tried feeding the cat in every way I could think of but nothing doing. I tried leaving the shrimp stuffed with pellets for him, tried forceps, tried using a string to drag it along and make it wiggle. I tried soaking it in bloodworms, I tried frozen and live bloodworms, I bought baby snails in case they fed on inverts in nature. I tried sea monkeys, I tried feeder guppies I got from a friend but the cat never ate any of it. I kept on my maintenance and tested the water daily all to no avail.

Pretty bummed. Life's been kicking my butt lately and it's stuff like this that makes me consider taking a break from the hobby. Seen somethings available that I've been interested in so i guess I'm going to have to decide soon what direction I want to go.

 

[kno4te]

Sorry to hear about this! A break is a good thing. Helps to refocus.

 

[Hendre]

That really sucks, I hope he doesn't die on you

Maybe taking a bit of a brake will help you a bit

 

[moe214]

Sorry to hear.. atleast you did all you could. And I agree with kno4te

 

[Woefulrelic]

Hopefully it turns around. Wes gonna give you credit towards the next pair he imports?

 

[koltsixx]

What are you guys doing to me? You're supposed to say no don't do that! Don't you realize that's what I was looking for?!?! lol

Sorry to hear about this! A break is a good thing. Helps to refocus.

Thanks kno4te, thinking about maybe buying that juvenile Nodosus up out from underneath you.

That really sucks, I hope he doesn't die on you

Maybe taking a bit of a brake will help you a bit

Thanks Hendre, I hope not either. Last time I checked a little while he was still with me. Though now he's dropped to the aquarium floor and is hiding in an pipe ornament in his tank. The flow in this tank is very minimal except for the surface agitation. Despite that though when he was resting at the bottom he was acting like he was having a hard time keeping himself right.

Sorry to hear.. atleast you did all you could. And I agree with kno4te

Thanks Moe. I did try everything I could think of. I just wish it was turning out better.

Hopefully it turns around. Wes gonna give you credit towards the next pair he imports?

Thanks Rich. I'm still hoping he rallies for me as well. lol I wish he would. Nah, in all seriousness I don't know if I'd want that. I'm not sure what's going on with the fish and not sure who is to blame or if there's even anyone to blame. So I wouldn't want Wes to have to pay for something when I'm so unsure of what's going on.

As for taking a break, well even if the fish hasn't rallied; I have. Sometimes no matter how hard life gets you gotta push on through. It's too easy to let giving up become a bad habit until you finally become so complacent you wind up never coming back. So I'm gonna fight to stay in the hobby. Hell I may try and take it to the next level and try out some of things I had wanted to in the past that I had let die.

Thanks again everyone for the support and advice. I'll let you guys know if the Nodosus makes it through the night.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Bummer but it comes with the territory. Sorry to hear that ,Josh, but man up, man, please! Your account has been of great value, your write-ups are of rare quality and depth, and your service to the MFK has made you an unsung hero in my book. Few know how much tinkering you do in the background for the MFK.

To give you a few examples from (only!) my last 3 weeks -

-- I've just lost one of my wels at 1.5' for no conceivable reason whatsoever in a 4500 gal;
-- I stupidly killed a 1' slobbering catfish and a 10" tig (my 4500 gal crowd did a number on them);
-- I lost a 12" temensis pbass (grew it up from 2") in the same 4500 gal 3 days after introduction to possibly indigestion;
-- I've lost 2 koi 10-year olds of great sentimental value to me, who I brought here with me from Rochester, NY...
-- Out of the blue, my 22" piraiba got ripped up in the other 4500 gal, has no skin on the rear third and almost no tail, just bones...

That's just a few weeks of the year ... So what... You pick up your snot, clean up, learn up, dust up, and move on.

I'm sure Wes, having read this thread, should send you a replacement or at least extend a store credit to you because the cause is so unclear. I am more than sure he had done everything right by this fish. But neither have you done anything wrong based on all we know... fugupuff