Red tail catfish suddenly died

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Kevinfishing321

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 1, 2020
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I have had a redtail catfish in my 50 gal tank for about 8 months now and am building a pond of it at the moment. Last night it suddenly died it skin appears to be messed up.

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Welcome to the forum, shame your first post was about a dead fish, that sucks.

There's way too much info missing really. But the fact that you had an RTC in a 50g tank for 8 months, given their appetite, growth rate and bio output, this alone speaks volumes. Your water changes, I suspect, would have had to be more or less daily to keep your water tip top. What was your w/c schedule and did you test your parameters at all? The skin situation could be attributed to ammonia burn which would fit in with an off the scale bio load.

But like kno4te kno4te said it's all guess work until we get the full picture.

Again, welcome, and sorry for your loss.
 
I tested the perimeters the day after the ph was 7 nitrates were 32ppm i do a 40% water change every weekend as well as a filter and water circulation device cleaning when i got home today my tiger oscar also in the tank which was holding them to go into my pond has developed some type of white slime i am considering moving him into a diffrent tank to treat him as the slime looks like the slime on the catfish after it passed any ideas?

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What is your ammonia reading?
And how are people getting readings as precise as 32PPM? Another guy on different thread 4 PPM. Is it possible to get that accurate?
With those fish in that size tank I would question if 40% is even close to enough.
 
I used a no3 color card the color was imbetween the 40 and 20 ppm so i thought 30 was about right ammonia is .50 doing a water change and filter cleaning right now also setting up second tank just incase. There issue if definetly what ever is on his skin idk what caused it but it was on the catfish as well the morning i woke up to him dead the osacr didnt have it this morning.
 
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Nitrates should not necessarily be the first water parameter you look to when a fish dies considering they are the least harmful outright. What are you levels of ammonia and nitrites? Red tail catfish are very hardy, robust fish, so to have one randomly die means there is definitely something wrong with your water quality. It also appears like your red tail had very bad gill curl, another sign of high ammonia.
 
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Nitrates 30 ppm ammonia .50 im convinced what ever is on the oscar is also what killed the catfish not sure what it is or how it happened could have been from bad water cant find anything about it or how to treat it online.

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are you sure i have had that happen to him before this was also on the catfish and appears to be coming from beneath the scales it is also on his eye

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