All my catfish are going to die.

[HungDang]

I had this situation before but not in cat, it was my teacher's FH! I took the fish out in another tank and use Methylene blue(2-3 ml per gallon of water), do water change 30% every day ans add more methylene blue into the new water, do that every day untill the fish get better!
you should bath other fish in Potassium permanganate water(1g per gallon) 15 min a day in a few day just in case. 100% water change for the 220 G tank; after add new water in add Potassium permanganate into the tank at 3-4 g per gallon(there should be no fish or plants in the tank at the time, and plant can be treat like other fish with 15 min Potassium permanganate water a day or just let then in there for a few day); the Potassium permanganate could make the sillicon turn puple, but I think its a cool color.
You can also use tetracycline( I think they usually sell it at 250 mg tablet or powder) instead of using Methylene blue and Potassium permanganate that can color the tank's silicon!
temerature should be at 86F like other members said!

 

[Piscine]

The only time I have seen tissue deterioration like that, I was looking at some discus that had severe ammonia burn in a thread about children overfeeding fish.

I'm not saying that's what it is, but that's what it looks like.

 

[mike b]

In response to joem the cats are scaleless and as such they have a higher sensitivity to salt aquarium or otherwise I dont pretend to think I know everything but this is one thing I do know look it up I dont want to hijack anyones thread with this back and forth I was just offering my opinion on the subject within my scope of knowledge of keeping the big cats so with that being said to the op again sorry for your loss

 

[arowfan]

Based on how it's tail looked it looked like it was getting beat up by another fish, pretty badly at that. Also I wouldn't do 70% water changes...that is too much. 50% is the safe and recommended water change amount unless something desperate is needed.

What sort of substrate are you using or is it a bare bottom tank? Decor in the tank?

Also I would never keep my cats at 86 degrees for prolonged periods unless you had a ton of aeration. I keep all of my shovelnose between 76-82 and when it's above 80 I keep the water level down so my filter returns are putting extra o2 back in the water by returning them a few inches above the water line.

Sorry for your loss. The sores could have been anything from internal parasites of some sort to scrapes/cuts from decor in the tank.

Hey everyone this was my fish and this sucks to see what happened to him, this makes me very upset. I have pics of the catfish moments before shipping and he was in PERFECT condition which I will post here later...the pictures you showed seem to be exactly what the person I quoted is saying...you told me there was a marble catfish in there that was on his ass the whole time-you should have paid more attention to that, especially if he was getting attacked.

Second, I asked you what tank he was going in and I remember you saying a 300 gallon-had I have know you were putting him in a 220 with all the big cats you have in that crammed tank, I wouldn't have sold it to you as there was someone else interested with an empty 300 that could have taken him.

That being said, I'm glad your fish are fine.

 

[slednex11]

cats are ok with salt just use half ive had a few big cats in a salted pond to help heal a beaten up female ray with no affect on the cats at all!!! still wanna know what this is as i never did figure it out! its almost like the RTC skin is melting off its body and its not from ammonia burn either ive sen that from cats to rays!!

 

[Joe M]

In response to joem the cats are scaleless and as such they have a higher sensitivity to salt aquarium or otherwise I dont pretend to think I know everything but this is one thing I do know look it up I dont want to hijack anyones thread with this back and forth I was just offering my opinion on the subject within my scope of knowledge of keeping the big cats so with that being said to the op again sorry for your loss

Wait what? Where did this scaleless catfish thing come from? I've never heard of this?!?


Seriously though, ask anyone on MFK who keeps these big catfish what the only thing they would add to a tank would be to treat common issues. The answer is aquarium salt. It is 100% safe to use and very beneficial in certain situations. The salt is only harmful if you put it in the tank undissolved, in which case if a cat touches it, it will burn their skin. I think you should look it up on MFK and come back and tell me what you find.

 

[Joe M]

Hey everyone this was my fish and this sucks to see what happened to him, this makes me very upset. I have pics of the catfish moments before shipping and he was in PERFECT condition which I will post here later...the pictures you showed seem to be exactly what the person I quoted is saying...you told me there was a marble catfish in there that was on his ass the whole time-you should have paid more attention to that, especially if he was getting attacked.

Second, I asked you what tank he was going in and I remember you saying a 300 gallon-had I have know you were putting him in a 220 with all the big cats you have in that crammed tank, I wouldn't have sold it to you as there was someone else interested with an empty 300 that could have taken him.

That being said, I'm glad your fish are fine.

Chill bro. The cat was originally supposed to go in a 300, but there was a change of plans and Mike put him in his 220 instead until he could get his pond set-up this spring. That being said, I watched this whole thing unfold and saw what happened. It wasn't ammonia burns unless it was a new type of ammonia that doesn't appear on an API kit, and the little marble couldn't do this kind of damage. The RTC could probably eat him if he got hungry.

Nobody said it was your fault, it was just bad luck or something that was in either the new RTC or the tank that wasn't able to do any damage until the stress level rose a bit from the new introduction. If the new fish was being beat up, it and 2 others wouldn't develop circular wounds/boils on their skin. That doesn't come from fighting fish.

 

[slednex11]

ya this is not physical wouds from fighting etc or ammonia is a disease of some sort

 

[Meyjeffery]

Just a thought, if you have a pond do you have a UV sterilizer, if not now might be a good time to buy one, hook it up to your tank and then use it when needed for your pond. I use a 36 twist uv on my 280 gallon and have helped with other diseases. Try it at about 200 - 300 gallons an hour flow rate, will help temperature increase problem as well.

 

[Joe M]

Just a thought, if you have a pond do you have a UV sterilizer, if not now might be a good time to buy one, hook it up to your tank and then use it when needed for your pond. I use a 36 twist uv on my 280 gallon and have helped with other diseases. Try it at about 200 - 300 gallons an hour flow rate, will help temperature increase problem as well.

Thats a good point. I actually meant to mention one of these when I saw Mike, the OP, today, but it completely slipped my mind. It is definitely a good investment, especially when the pond is done. IF he doesn't see this I will let him know tomorrow.