- Have you tested your water?
- No
- If I did not test my water...
- ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.
- Do you do water changes?
- Yes
- If I do not change my water...
- ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.
Hi, I'm worried about my bullhead (pretty sure a brown bullhead) so I wanted to see if anyone has had a similar experience. He is about 7 years old and 16 inches, so he may just be nearing the end of his life, but if he has a disease I will try to treat him.
Right now, he's alone in a ~200 gallon cylindrical tank with a large external filter (not sure many gallons it holds) and a smaller internal filter. He was caught in the wild in an area that gets relatively cold and does fine without a heater. I have not been able to decorate his tank so all there is right now is some air stones. My test system is broken right now, and the kit I have is expired, so I can't be 100% sure on the exact water quality. I will be testing it but that unfortunately won't be possible until at least next Tuesday. The tank is established and filtration is very good, so I doubt that's the problem but I do understand that testing is important.
He's very active and always swimming around the perimeter, even now. He is blind and a little slow so I thought he might just be having trouble finding the foot at first, but I saw him a couple times swim right up to the food but then ignore it and swim away. I'm not sure how long he has been doing it because I switched to sinking pellets a while back which makes it difficult to observe him feeding. He seems to be breathing a little heavy, but I hadn't really observed his gill movements before so that could be normal. Also, he is losing his color and turning a mottled black-white-grey pattern. He used to be solid black all along his back/head , with a lighter underside and some mottling on the bottom/sides. Now, he is not solid black on his back but a mottled color with some white. His fins also have some white around the edges/on the rays. I assumed this was just him aging, and it appears to be a natural coloring, but I wonder if it has something to do with him not eating.
He had a tankmate that he bullied, which I took out of his tank but it got sick. I treated the tankmate with copper and he is doing much better. I'm not sure whether the tankmate got sick before or after being removed from his tank, but he doesn't seem to have any of the same symptoms as the other fish so I don't think he has the same problem.
TLDR: My bullhead is ignoring food and turning a lighter mottled color on his back/head I'm not sure whether he's sick/what he has, or if he is just nearing the end of his lifespan.
Right now, he's alone in a ~200 gallon cylindrical tank with a large external filter (not sure many gallons it holds) and a smaller internal filter. He was caught in the wild in an area that gets relatively cold and does fine without a heater. I have not been able to decorate his tank so all there is right now is some air stones. My test system is broken right now, and the kit I have is expired, so I can't be 100% sure on the exact water quality. I will be testing it but that unfortunately won't be possible until at least next Tuesday. The tank is established and filtration is very good, so I doubt that's the problem but I do understand that testing is important.
He's very active and always swimming around the perimeter, even now. He is blind and a little slow so I thought he might just be having trouble finding the foot at first, but I saw him a couple times swim right up to the food but then ignore it and swim away. I'm not sure how long he has been doing it because I switched to sinking pellets a while back which makes it difficult to observe him feeding. He seems to be breathing a little heavy, but I hadn't really observed his gill movements before so that could be normal. Also, he is losing his color and turning a mottled black-white-grey pattern. He used to be solid black all along his back/head , with a lighter underside and some mottling on the bottom/sides. Now, he is not solid black on his back but a mottled color with some white. His fins also have some white around the edges/on the rays. I assumed this was just him aging, and it appears to be a natural coloring, but I wonder if it has something to do with him not eating.
He had a tankmate that he bullied, which I took out of his tank but it got sick. I treated the tankmate with copper and he is doing much better. I'm not sure whether the tankmate got sick before or after being removed from his tank, but he doesn't seem to have any of the same symptoms as the other fish so I don't think he has the same problem.
TLDR: My bullhead is ignoring food and turning a lighter mottled color on his back/head I'm not sure whether he's sick/what he has, or if he is just nearing the end of his lifespan.
