My poor little RTC...

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JLad10687

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2008
108
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Pennsylvania
Is my RTC lazy or sick?

My catfish rarely ever moves and only eats sporadically. I often think he's dead just because he's always in the same spot. I once thought he was dead as he hadn't moved in two days and when I gave him a poke, he just fell off the rock he was sitting on and laid there. He didnt move until he was actually in the net.

He is about 3 or 4 inches right now. He's currently in a 60 gallon hexagon which I understand is the equivalent to about a 30 or 40 in regards to surface area however everyone is still small.

Ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are all 0. He was breathing hard on Saturday but then returned to normal Sunday and today.

He has not once come up for food, just eats off the bottom.

Now, he has even stopped eating off the bottom. On Monday he came off his rock, ran into a small plant and then gave up and went back to his rock.

I've tried water changes, different foods, hand feeding, nothing works.

I'm getting more and more concerned. I recently(Thurs or Fri) had a puffer die but I just attributed that to the PH being too low and the fact that the tank was completely freshwater and he was brackish (Didnt get a chance to set the brackish tank up for my Goby and him). Could my RTC also be suffering from something?

No fish in the tank has any ill signs other then him. He acts sick but visually is perfectly fine.

Could it be that he just doesnt have enough room in the 60 gallon and that's making him depressed? At the LFS I got him at, he was in a 10 gallon with a RTCxTSN hybrid and they were both hiding behind the filter. When the guy lifted the filter, he freaked out a little bit but then stopped moving. In fact, when the guy went to put the filter down, he wouldn't even move out of the way.

I'm thinking maybe he is just scared to compete with the other fish for food. I have a spare 10 gallon I could get set up and cycled for him to be by himself while he grows but I'm worried that it may do the opposite to him, it might just stunt his growth and make matters worse. Would it be a good idea to put him alone in a 10 gallon to see if he eats and give him a chance to grow a little bigger?
 
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JLad10687;1787401; said:
He is about 3 or 4 inches right now. He's currently in a 60 gallon hexagon which I understand is the equivalent to about a 30 or 40 in regards to surface area however everyone is still small.

That tank size is fine for a 4" RTC.

Ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites are all 0. He was breathing hard on Saturday but then returned to normal Sunday and today.

This is a concern...no tank should ever read 0.00. Is this a new tank? If the tank hasn't properly completed its nitrogen cycle, problem solved...but that opens up a whole new list of problems if the tank is stocked.

He has not once come up for food, just eats off the bottom.

Pretty common. My buddies 22" RTC never leaves the bottom...just waits for food to come to him. :D

Now, he has even stopped eating off the bottom. On Monday he came off his rock, ran into a small plant and then gave up and went back to his rock.

Sporatic feeding is usually a sign of poor water quality...especially with a RTC. Do you see any other signs, like wilting whiskers?

I'm thinking maybe he is just scared to compete with the other fish for food. I have a spare 10 gallon I could get set up and cycled for him to be by himself while he grows but I'm worried that it may do the opposite to him, it might just stunt his growth and make matters worse. Would it be a good idea to put him alone in a 10 gallon to see if he eats and give him a chance to grow a little bigger?

The only thing is you don't want to be moving him around if he is stressed, or symptomatic. I would try to straighten out the 60 first, then go to the 10 as an emergency.

Might be a good idea to get it cycled now, just to reduce stress in the situation that may require you moving him.
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Take a look at the white.

KenyanSandBoa;1787950; said:
This is a concern...no tank should ever read 0.00. Is this a new tank? If the tank hasn't properly completed its nitrogen cycle, problem solved...but that opens up a whole new list of problems if the tank is stocked.

The tank has been set up for approx 3 months previous to adding the RTC. It was already cycled and had other fish living happily in it. What could it be a sign of if it all reads 0?

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Pretty common. My buddies 22" RTC never leaves the bottom...just waits for food to come to him. :D

Thats a relief.

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Sporatic feeding is usually a sign of poor water quality...especially with a RTC. Do you see any other signs, like wilting whiskers?

No, absolutley nothing appears to be wrong with him. He looks completely healthy.

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The only thing is you don't want to be moving him around if he is stressed, or symptomatic. I would try to straighten out the 60 first, then go to the 10 as an emergency.

Might be a good idea to get it cycled now, just to reduce stress in the situation that may require you moving him.

Like I said, the tank was already cycled.
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All the other fish appear healthy, execpt that puffer that died for an unknown reason. Now though today, the dragon goby appeared to be acting strange. Normally at night he starts swimming around alot and at the top. Normally in the morning he stops and goes back to his cave. This morning he just stayed at the top completely vertical for approx 30 seconds, would do a lap or two then do it again.

Could my water possibly be contaminated? Could something have poisoned it? Would this show up on the tests? Any idea why everything is reading 0?
 
oscar n redtail cat;1787965; said:
mine did that 4 about 2 days and i got a infectishin from a garden center :( when i got my pacu :)\
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This has been going on longer then 2 days and he is still alive? I just dont get it.
 
PH is kind of low. Could this be the problem?
 
The problem finally showed itself. So I got home around 10PM last night. What else do I smell? Ammonia. I do not know why this wasnt showing before but there is definetly some ammonia in the tank and its def from me overfeeding. So I go to do a water change, as soon as I put my hand in the tank, its freezing. About 70*F. The heater came unplugged. I drain about 20%, then I realize I have no more conditioner for the water. So I have to wait until today to finish up the water change until around 6:30 when I get home from work and buy some conditioner. Lets hope my fish make it through this. My RTC and Oscar both look like this is doing a number on them. Lets hope for the best.
 
JLad10687;1789783; said:
The problem finally showed itself. So I got home around 10PM last night. What else do I smell? Ammonia. I do not know why this wasnt showing before but there is definetly some ammonia in the tank and its def from me overfeeding. So I go to do a water change, as soon as I put my hand in the tank, its freezing. About 70*F. The heater came unplugged. I drain about 20%, then I realize I have no more conditioner for the water. So I have to wait until today to finish up the water change until around 6:30 when I get home from work and buy some conditioner. Lets hope my fish make it through this. My RTC and Oscar both look like this is doing a number on them. Lets hope for the best.
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Yeah, that will do it. At least you know what to focus on now. I think as long as you gradually bring the temp up and treat with a good conditioner you should be ok.

I actually had one of my datnoid tanks drop to 65 degrees when I was away on vacation because the AC was on and my heater failed. My dats were black...I mean BLACK and I did the same thing you're doing...just a slow water change and treated with aquarium salt and they all made it.

Best of luck...make sure to update the thread on how they pull through.
 
Day1 of recovery. I went out and got a good ammonia kit, the biggest bottle of stress coat+, some test strips, and some PH neutralizer that also has aquarium salt and removes chlorine. I did about a 40% water change. I was very liberal with the stress coat.

After the water change was done, I could already see Gumby(my RTC, he looks kind of like one of those candy gummy sharks so my girlfriend and I came up with Gumby) being more active. After about 2 hours I wanted to make sure he would eat. I grabbed a thawed piece of krill and brought it down to him. He started to feel it and me with the whiskers then started to come up to eat out of my hand but then stopped so I just dropped it in. He gobbled up about 3 small pieces and then was full apparently. Then he actually swam around very briefly and then went back to his rock. So good signs. I prev set the temp at about 76*F. I am going to raise it to 80*F to see how they like it. I'll keep you guys posted with updates.
 
I would recommend 80-82ºF. I lived very close to them (in Venezuela) for many years and the water doesnt go below 78-79ºF.
 
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