The Catfish Plague

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hurricane_redbone

hurricane_redbone

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 5, 2007
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Joboland
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I dont know what it is but I have 2 catfish which are sooo cool. But I cant get the buggers to eat for the life of me.

Of them is a Juruense in my 310 gal which sits and stairs at the wall all day and night... i dont think its eaten in almost a month now... so im gettin worried. the other is a small girrafe cat that was eating fine at first but for the last 2 weeks has suddenly lost its appetite completely. It doesnt move very much and it doesnt eat.

ANYBODY how can i make this guys eat more? i dont want them to die!
 
How long have you had them for? Generally when they get to a certain size they need to eat less and less frequently, also internal parasites has been suggested as a cause of fasting before. I find that at least once per year my large catfish will fast for a month or so.
 
My ID shark seems to fast at times to. He has gone for months at a time. It can be quite alarming. I have no idea why they do this. I was told to raise the temp to 80 for a few days. Then lower to normal temp. This stimulates healing. Sick fish in the wild swim to warmer water. Aquarium salt will provide enzymes. I added a little more than the required salt at water change time. Parasites could also be the cause. Just keep doing everything as you would before. Keep your chin up. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
 
what have you tried feeding it i would try earth worms or shrimp or mabye krill most cats won't pass those up

also the juruense love strong current if you don't have any current inthe water mabye add some the fish will swim more and mabye it will wan't to eat more
 
ive got all of this done already! theres plenty of current...

the juruense is like 13-14 inches... and he hasnt eaten in months!
the only time he even bothers to come out of his corner is if theirs feeders in the tank but i dun think he actually eats them much...

then again his stringy things on his tail have like doubled in length sijnce i got him... he wudnt be growing if he wasnt eating right???

if has a parasite how can i treat it?
I have a 55 gal thats empty that i cud put him in temporarily to keep a closer watch... u think this is a good idea?
 
Feeders may be the root of your problem they are loaded with parasites ( internally) If you dont quarrentine them b4 feeding they can wreak havoc to a cat fish in no time .Try to get some anti parisidic food and garlic xtreme soak the parisidic food in the garlic extreme and make a kinda thick paste out of it take a shrimp and butterfly it .Stick the paste in to the middle and close the shrimp uo to make a pouch out of it to keep the food inside of the shrimp .Try and get your fish to eat it .I they do your well on your way to recovery.Good luck!!
 
I'm getting tired of saying this as I sound like the PH police but............


Whats your current PH ????


I've been running into a lot of PH issues lately and a low PH is responsible for many peoples problems, including some of my own. I recently checked a tank with NO REAL PROBLEMS and those fish were practically living in battery acid :confused: A week later and a little crushed coral and they act totally different.

Just something to check.......





bob
 
ph is 7.5 ish...
im sure ur right about it being a parasite... but then again he doesnt seem to get thin... hes still plump... hes just so damn lazy he doesnt really use any of the food he once ingested or somethin :P

but i cant make him eat anything... ive tried putting food on a stick for him and waving it infront of his nose... soon im gonna take him out n put him in the 55 gal so i can really target him with meds or watever...
then i can raise the temp like a bizatch and if necesary ill funel anti parasitic foods down his throat :P
 
If it is fat and seems to be growing then all is okay. Most people have an unrealistic estimate of how much fish eat and how often. Just make sure the lack of feeding isnt due to poor water quality and then relax. One feed a week is ample and there is no need to make it a large feed.
 
as mentioned before it hasnt eaten in months...
 
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