my giraffe catfish has still got sand stuck to it, normal?

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ccebr

ccebr

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 16, 2010
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England
Hi, I added play sand to my tank 2 days ago after being bare-base for about 6 months. The catfish seems happy enough, however the sand is not falling off the body. All the other fish shed the sand within a few hours, they are cichlids and have scales. The giraffe catfish doesn't so maybe its slim coat can't be shed... I'm not sure.

Why has it still got sand stuck to it? Do you think there is a bigger problem with the fish?
 
Giraffe cat comes from muddy rivers and lake bottoms in Africa. I keep mine in pebbles and I have seen them in very small pebbles. I have never seen them kept in sand. Not a great answer, but it may shed a little light.
 
Have seen fish like pleco's and cats generate an excessive slime coat when they are irritated by poor water or have suffered an abrasion. Test your water and look your fish over. If there is no apparent problem wait and see if it passes, a week or two should be enough time for it to pass naturally.

Since you sighted new sand could be an irritant in the water (like finer particulate) that are still pestering your cat. If you just keep up your water changes and keep your mechanical filtration clean and hold tight.
 
He should be fine, and will renew his slime coat soon. I have large naked type cats of several families and some seem to get a bit sandy from time to time but only for a day or two and never all over so I think you cat will be fine in the long run. He may have thickended his slime coat as a stress response to the unusual activity during the sand addition, but sand is their prefferd substrate in the wild so he will be fine.

Cheers,
Ken.
 
Thanks everyone, a little update...

The cat seems to have returned to normal, after roughly a week. The sand still sticks to it but now falls off much quicker.
 
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