Lima Cat Shedding question not acting normal

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Yeah the problem stared maybe five months ago and he has just slowly gotten worse. As far as the Nitrates go they are at zero or defiantly less than 5ppm. I understand your concern but that's what it reads and I have had the LFS double check all my water parameters. Ammonia and nitrites are definitely at zero. I agree that the Ph is high but all of Iowa's water is like this. We have hard water here in iowa. If you think that the Ph is a issue how can I lower it safely? I will try a salt bath with epsom salt. how Much salt per gallon and how long should he be in the bath? Also do you repeat this daily for a week or so? Thank you so much for your help! If i do have to resort to medication, what should I use? I'll make sure I take out the carbon ;)
 
Epsom salt:

our own RD. : http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...Treating-Hexamita-aka-Spironucleus-(2-Viewing

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...sing-Epsom-Salt-to-treat-bloat-in-CA-cichlids

RD. quote:" If the fish isn't eating I would agree (TBTB: the best treatment is Clout but now it is banned), otherwise the best treatment hands down is a 3% oral solution of epsom salt. (via presoaked pellets). Far safer for the fish, dirt cheap, and just as effective as clout, maybe even more so."

Others:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/whats-the-dosage-for-epsom-salt-270534.html

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=205685


Baths:


http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.html

http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2009/07/fish-baths.html

lakers12345 said:
yes I should. its a 90 gallon tank with an air pump rated for 100 gallons.
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That's not enough. First of all this offers no margin for error (placement, steady clogging of the air stone, etc.) and also a 100 gal-rated air pump alone cannot provide enough aeration for a 100 gal tank. It is assumed that a good filter=pump is used in conjunction with it. Again, oversized is always wise.

Oxygen, along with ammonia and nitrite, is #1 overlooked factor in the practice of aquarium keepers. This is an undisputed fact.
 
Thanks everyone for all the help,info, and links. I'm going to try the Epsom salt today and then meds if needed later. Also thanks for the info on tank aeration. I'll be getting more aeration asap! One more question, if indeed my catfish has internal parasites are they contagious? Wondering if I should treat all my fish in the tank to be safe?
 
We striped raph shredded slime coat for about 3 months starting in February and ending at the beginning of last month. I treated him with salt baths three times but I didn't help. I'd pretty much lost all hope for him surviving since he wasn't eating either but miraculously about a month ago he just started eating again and stopped shedding with no interference from me.
 
I keep S.American and African catfish, most of mine seem to do best with a PH of 6.5-7. My tap water is 7.5-8+ and hard as well and as result of hardness, it seems resistant to attempts to lower the PH. There are products I've used such as "PH Down" which worked o.k. but not great. I now use 'API Proper PH 6.5' or 'API Proper PH 7.0' which works well for my conditions. I also use 'Seachem Discus Buffer' which adjusts PH to 5.8 to 6.8. This discussion is admittedly not my area of expertise but generally I've found that some species of mine will stop feeding when PH is not to their individual liking, too high or low. Just suggesting as others, PH may be on the high side for that species...
 
Yeah my tap water ph is around 8.4. I really don't want to resort to using chemicals to lower it. Anyone know if driftwood will lower ph? I've read that wood will only temporary lower it, is that accurate? Also my tap water after sitting in a cup for a day will be much higher than testing right away. Is that normal?
 
lakers12345 said:
Thanks everyone for all the help,info, and links. I'm going to try the Epsom salt today and then meds if needed later. Also thanks for the info on tank aeration. I'll be getting more aeration asap! One more question, if indeed my catfish has internal parasites are they contagious? Wondering if I should treat all my fish in the tank to be safe?
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It can be. There is a way fish contract them and it is not always through foods.

The treatment is the best through food. 100x more effective. But treating the whole tank through a long-term bath may be a good idea too, IMHO.
 
divemaster99 said:
I treated him with salt baths three times but it didn't help
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IIRC you used simple table salt / aquarium salt = NaCl, not MgSO4, no? Besides, the most troublesome symptom is the OP fish's anal protrusion, which yours did not have.
 
lakers12345 said:
Yeah my tap water ph is around 8.4. I really don't want to resort to using chemicals to lower it. Anyone know if driftwood will lower ph? I've read that wood will only temporary lower it, is that accurate? Also my tap water after sitting in a cup for a day will be much higher than testing right away. Is that normal?
Click to expand...

Until I've read Yellowcat's post above, my general impression had been that messing with pH may often lead to more problems as this is a demanding, regular task requiring vigilance and constant monitoring, including that of the source / tap water. Keepers often would fail at these for human reasons and the result is a pH instability or crash / rise and then, fish die. Perhaps API makes it very simple and easy... and fool-proof (which is what someone like would need)? Keep in mind, substrate may play a big role too in pH matters.

I guess what I am trying to say: the more involved / sophisticated the keeping, the higher the chance for something to falter at some point. There is plenty of fish living in / easily adapting to hard, alkaline water.

Any acid sources like peat moss and driftwood are limited sources of acid. It is what's called an OTC "an over-time control / release". Once it is depleted, it cannot be created out of thin air.


Elaborate on your last question please, with numbers?
 
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