Ok guys,some of you warned me against it, but i had to in the end, he was kept in a 3foot tank and lad was worried he was going to be stuck with it, he was very mis informed buy local fish shop about the sizing etc, it has gill curl which i would like to know if theres anything i can do to help this? he was saying if he couldnt rehome after all lfs said NO,Even the one he brought it from, he read somewhere you can keep the in outdoor ponds in the uk,so was going to place it in a friends pond, i felt sorry as he's been very misinformed from who he thought he could trust, the local fish shop...so i had to take it, even if i only have it a while didnt want to see it die...
Rescue redtail catfish................
- Thread starter south coast nelly
- Start date
I would try pming/asking Lupin. You could also try posting in the catfish section and see if anyone there has experienced it.
Gill curl is very common in catfish that are raised in poor conditions, ie poor water quality, low oxygen, high nitrate, poor nutrition (feeder goldfish), crowded tanks, or tanks simply too small. I have seen many RTC returned to my LFS with curled gills. 99% of people who buy these majestic fish don’t comprehend what they are buying, even if they are told, they “get big”. Most these fish live horrible lives until they ultimately get “disposed” of somehow. Most LFS won’t even take them any longer. I actually work with my LFS to take these abandon RTC, TSN, Iridescent sharks, Pacus and Oscars. I take these abandon fish when the LFS calls me and I actually feed them to my RTC as a humane ending to their lives. I will say this without hesitation, a RTC realistically needs a 1000g pond at minimum.
Yes thank you guys, i wasnt sure it were a good idea releasing into a pond, second guy had a three foot with a fair few fishes...Whats my plan, i plan to keep waterchanges up and hopefully rectify the gill curl, then i shall either contact my local aqauarium and see what they think, otherwise i know a guy up north of the uk who has three or four trop ponds, it means a trip, but i thought it would fair better in my tank than a three foot,
I don't know if gill curl can be reversed. I ordered a batch of koi, and one of the large koi has gill curl, and I know it can't be fixed with them, but they can and do live normal lives IF taken care of properly.
Your best bet would be to put him in a pond at his size. Let him live his life in a pond where there is plenty of room, as opposed to a glass box.
Your best bet would be to put him in a pond at his size. Let him live his life in a pond where there is plenty of room, as opposed to a glass box.
Gill curl is only reversable at it's early stage. Once it reaches the gill plate it's not reversable. It can still live a healthy life with it but just make sure u give it TLC(scheduled wc and good water parameters) from now on. Mine has it due to also rescuing it from a friend who neglected it when it was young.
RedTailCatfish;3961427; said:
Doesn't seem too humane to me but I do feel bad when I see them at the LFS in a cramped space
There shouldn't be so many RTC and sharks being taken out of the wild I believe they should be illegal just so stupid people don't buy them and put them in a smaller tank than they deserve. or maybe a permit of some sort. Unlikely to happen but just my opinion.Anyways, to the OP: I have heard that smaller RTC can just grow out of gill curl. I have also heard that It won't kill them so just keep the water perfect and it wont do any harm. Or another option is to do the surgery to cut the curled gill off. But I would search in the catfish forum because there is A LOT of threads about it.
Thanks to all for the imput, a tropical pond i dont have, i shall contact a few i know with ponds, also the local oceanarium,but i know at present all there quanteen tanks are full...i think i may have sourced a free 6/2/2ft tank...which i would use solely for him until i can find a good home for him
View attachment 474811 heres my little guy...he is doing great .. he is barely 2 inches... and i think has gill curl .. i have never had a fish with this affliction before so i am just going by what one poster mentioned to me after seeing the tiny guys pic... i do not intend to do anything about it as far as operating etc.. he is eating good and as cute as can be..so to hear he may out grow it is very good news.. good luck with yours Nelly