Help skin and bones
- Thread starter coreyweinkoetz
- Start date
Few questions and maybe we can help you out a little better. I know you contacted me in pm, but plenty of others on here can help out as well since I'm not always able to respond in a timely manner. First how long has the tank been up and running? What size is the tank? What are your water paramaters reading like? How long have you had this particular fish? Was it that skinny when you got it or has it progressed to this over time? I would second a treatment for internat parasites. Check out the desiese and treatment section of the site for more info on that. I'd say he looks to be on death's door. I've only been feeding my rtc about once per week and he's still growing and gaining weight. My big hybrid has only been eating about once every two weeks and is maintaining his weight. Anything he's eating isn't going anywhere so parasites could bea real concern.
Well You have obviously contacted Necro in relation to this as well and I Second his opinion however I am leaning towards Poor water conditions as the base reason for this type of situation...
Judging from the skin Color, the eating habits and the puking I am 99% sure that you have water quality issues, with the other 1% being that you have introduced a parasite (Which is possible with the live foods but unlikly as you mentioned that your RTC has always been a light eatter)
If there is one thing which is virtually ALWAYS an issue with people that have Large Cats it's their Filtration systems... They always try to match the filter to the tank instead of to the inhabitants, They have it right in Japan where they filter the fish waste and not the tank size which is why they can have a 10' gigas in a 11' tank and it shows healthy color.
Having a fish like an RTC is harder you might think, as their volume of waste grows so fast that filters can have a hard time keeping up, which can cause the filter to crash altogether and start your cycling process all over again. Add into the mix of all of that a puking RTC and your Filtration will fail almost certainly!
Judging from the skin Color, the eating habits and the puking I am 99% sure that you have water quality issues, with the other 1% being that you have introduced a parasite (Which is possible with the live foods but unlikly as you mentioned that your RTC has always been a light eatter)
If there is one thing which is virtually ALWAYS an issue with people that have Large Cats it's their Filtration systems... They always try to match the filter to the tank instead of to the inhabitants, They have it right in Japan where they filter the fish waste and not the tank size which is why they can have a 10' gigas in a 11' tank and it shows healthy color.
Having a fish like an RTC is harder you might think, as their volume of waste grows so fast that filters can have a hard time keeping up, which can cause the filter to crash altogether and start your cycling process all over again. Add into the mix of all of that a puking RTC and your Filtration will fail almost certainly!
poor thing! ive never seen a rtc that skinny!
wow. what are your water parameters? (ammonia, nitrite and nitrates?) i also would wonder about parasites. but i also agree with basslover. test your parameters, let us know and we can help a little better
btw, what is your waterchange schedule? when and how much do you change out?
btw, what is your waterchange schedule? when and how much do you change out?
I got him 8 months ago and he ate small amounts right from the get go and the first 7 months he was in a 125 by himself with a powerhead ran spongfilter and a cascade 1000 canister it got 1/3rd tank volume water changes twice a week the nitrate ran about 20 to 40 ppm with out any ammonia or nitrite and Ph is same as city supply do to the large amounts of water changes hard water around 7.4 he was thin when I got him Not skin an bones but lean more of a build like a shovel nose cat then he had puked and got skin burns I did like 5 water changes a day for about a week and a half he healed right up but he didn't really eat at all when this was going on now he's back to eating the same small amounts as always except he's really skinny sense he got the burns I changed the filter to an fx5 and added a second powerhead with sponge filter I also increased the heat by 3 degrees from 80 to 83 now I do 1/3 water changes about every 5 days and the nitrate is between 15ppm to 25ppm and the Ph is about 7.3 to 7.4 the city supply runs between 7.4 to 7.5 I have ordered some almond leaves to add to the filter to lower the Ph naturally and I was told they also have antibiotic and anti fungal properties do you think this is a good idea what should I run in the filter carbon, floss , of just bio media???
You didnt say what size tank he is in now? im sure neo and bass will need that info to help save ur rtc.
It's still the 125 intill I get my tax refund then I'm going to build an indoor pond
he has grown about 3inches in the last 8 months
it was droped off by me from a girl who had it in a 55 gal aquarium I brought the 125 off ebay the next day for him
he has grown about 3inches in the last 8 months
it was droped off by me from a girl who had it in a 55 gal aquarium I brought the 125 off ebay the next day for him
yeah I agree-looks like it may have a parasite.Theres no way it should look that unhealthy and not eat much.
Nope no parasite would let it live for 8 months like this... This is a water/Feeding issue... I have no doubt in my mind that there is something off in your water params... Perhaps a contaminante of sometype... Could be something as simple as you have a hand soap which you don't fully wash off before reaching into the tank...There is SOMETHING happening with your water....
Even one of those sprayers that make your home smell like wild flowers... or what ever... if they are to close to a tank it can throw everything off ...
Even one of those sprayers that make your home smell like wild flowers... or what ever... if they are to close to a tank it can throw everything off ...
