Raphael Cat looks limp now...

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J

JakeH

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 17, 2009
1,961
1
66
Houston, TX
WTH is killing my cats?!!! I lost 3 Pictus Cats last week & now my Raphael has lodged himself behind the powerhead & is pumping his gills. No skin spots or visible signs of illness. This is my first Raph, but if he just wanted to get out of the light, wouldnt he be under a log or something? I dont normally use a lot of salt, but I just finished an Ick treatment last week, but I think its diluted by now (2 salt-free water swaps since then). Are Raph's unusually sensitive to salt? I like the little guy! Please help...:nilly::nilly::nilly:
 
Yes, Raph are sensitive to ick meds. why would you add ick meds with no signs of ick. What are your water parameters? Did you use the full doseage to treat the ick?
 
Ick was bad in my tank 2 weks ago. Treated & lost 3 Pictus. The Raph made it, though. He never even looked sick until now. He still doesnt LOOK sick, but he's acting weird. I havent added salt or Ick meds in 4 or 5 days, plus I did 2 water changes to get the last of the Ick "cyst" thingies out. I really thought he would be the only cat to make it... Anyhow, water parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10ppm
pH 7.4
GH 120ppm (convert to degrees?)
KH 140ppm
Temp 80.3F
Salt ?? (Java fern has bounced back, so not too high...)
 
Raise the temp and add the salt. Cat fish are really sensitive to ick meds. Might be why your 3 Pictus died. 86 degrees would be good.
 
You think it's still Ick? I was thinking it was the meds, since only the cats croaked & there's no more signs of the Ick... If I do another WC or two & put the carbon back in the filter, will he maybe bounce back?
 
I wouldn't add any salt if you haven't seen any signs of ich in there. It does sound like he's acting odd. I adore my 4 Raphaels so I know how you feel. If the need arises again there's a catifsh safe ich medicine called "Rid Ich +" (with a 'plus sign' at the end).
 
Well, again I dont see any more Ick or scratching, but thanks for the tip on the Rid Ich+. I've seen that stuff, but never tried it. Anybody got more ideas? Opinions on Carbon & water change to get rid of leftover meds in water?
 
Jeez, man. That's sad. Never use salt with raphaels.
Have you ever heard of the three-tank method? You just put all of the fish in the first tank for three days, then move them to the second for three more days, then the third, etc. The ichthiopthirius are unable to complete their reproductive cycle and die without any chemicals at all.

Oh, yeah. I'd do a big water change right away. Get him out of that painful brine.
 
Wow! Ok Knifegill, I'll knock out the water change ASAP. I read through everything I could find about Ick on the forums & never saw anything about not using salt with cats... I did read to use half doses of the meds & I did that. Any more input? I could use all the ideas you got...
 
I used salt and raised the temp and my two RTC's. And worked fine. Just keep the temp high and a lot of air in the tank.
 
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