The White-Whiskered Catfish Thread!

[Justepic]

Right, I understand now. The fish goes through a lot of stress through shipping and packing and Transportation. But what should I do to shorten the stress on the fish?

I am only asking in case I do this again in the future and want to know the best case scenario. Is it to just pick the best looking/ most active and healthy fish?

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I think in an ideal scenario everyone would like to buy a fish that's been thriving in a seller's tank for a while, at least 2 weeks and often longer, the longer the better actually (not a year though or some such long term for quickly growing fish as these can get stunted..).

If not thriving, then at the very least feeding, more or less but feeding. You never wanna buy a fish with no appetite or an unproven appetite as appetite is the main, first and often only solid indication of the fish's state of wellbeing.

If picking the best in a group, that's a cream de la cream luxury.

 

[vincentwugwg]

Sorry to hear. I find this strange. They are not that sensitive to just drop like a fly. I had problems with mine two, tried twice and lost both after several months or half a year but the problems came later, I attributed their deaths to an unknown pathogen in my water. I had no problems in acclimation and transitioning and settling down and starting to feed.

The video was funny but that it was swimming in full light didn't look right.

Sometimes fish experience too much stress in the rehoming and shipping and it does them in with some delay. This could have been the case here. Or a bad batch of bloodworms - these are known to spoil / rot.

Actually these fish are a very very sensitive fish... most wild caught fish dont make it out of suppliers tanks and the ones that do usually dont do that well. That is one reason not too many are imported/exported. I had a group of albinos as well as regular colored ones and now I am down to two. But these two have superfish immune systems now, since they have been thru it all.

 

[Fishman Dave]

I am really happy to see you have some new fish and happy to see you are learning as much as possible about the fish you lost. The hobby always needs new enthusiasts so don’t let this loss stop you.
Keeping fish like lancers is a tricky task anyway and made much more risky when it’s your well earned pocket money. None of us like loosing fish and having a job to pay for it never makes it any easier or any nicer. That said, I would take the time now to look at the fish you have and how to breed them. If you manage this, you can then look at exchanging these young fish at your LFS. When you start doing this you will build up a good relationship with the shop who will be much happier to start to keep hold of fish for you whilst they prove to be eating.
If you can remember the experience you have had with this fish it will help remind you to ask how long the shop have had the fish etc. Because I know myself that it is not easy when you see something you want, to leave it there and come back in a week hoping no one has bought it and to see that it’s feeding well. But, remember that it’s better to do this and have a healthy fish than lose your money and your fish.

 

[Justepic]

Yeah, I have been trying to breed a lot of my fish. I have about 15 1 inch longfin Rosy barb but lfs don't want them. I will try to sell them online. Ages ago, when I accidentally bred salvini, they could take in the babies for £1 each. The problem is, most Maidenhead Aquatics stores don't get fish from local hobbyists it seems like.

However, I have a pair of Pelvichromis Taeniatus 'nigerian red' which I have been trying to breed as I think the store will accept them for credit. I also have 2 L183 juvies growing up as well as a female bristlenose. I need to find female Chilantherina Bleheri as I only have males and I don't think anyone wants giant danio. The biggest problem I run into is that people see I am a teenager and are reluctant to buy fish from me but I will try fix that by showing my epic fish breeding skills?

 

[Fishman Dave]

Unfortunately you need another lfs. Maidenhead are ok but a) they don’t buy from customers and b) they tend to be expensive vs true shops that are owner run, and not company run. My local Maidenhead are rarely cheaper than most local shops. Eg guppies £3.50 vs £1.50 to £2 elsewhere. But occasionally they have things I can’t get elsewhere and they sometimes take larger fish off customers for free and rehome them to me for the price of the food they fed it or for free. They also have a “no monster fish” policy for their stock. Check local garden centres or similar if any have fish departments. They are often more happy to buy fish off customers, even younger ones!

 

[Justepic]

Alright, I'm ready to drop the bomb here. I got another one of these fellas.

It has been 3 weeks and he is doing wonderful. I camped out tonight watching him for an hour, crawling to the ground to not try and scare him away! I feed bbs and have seen him... engulf them in quick snaps. He also likes to chase ( and eat for for the smaller fry) his tankmates as well; he is a 10 gallon with some RCS as well Rosy barb fry. As soon as I whip my camera out, he flies away!

Well, looks like I have learnt from my mistakes
I will add pics and videos later.

 

[Justepic]

These fish have a habit of swimming upside down underneath driftwood from time to time, i saw a lot of then doing this at the shop. Unfortunately, I didn't have any good pieces so he does it underneath the grass bit. He eats bbs but now I need to know how to feed him in the community aquarium, how do you guys feed shy cats in comm tanks?

 

[fishhead0103666]

These fish have a habit of swimming upside down underneath driftwood from time to time, i saw a lot of then doing this at the shop. Unfortunately, I didn't have any good pieces so he does it underneath the grass bit. He eats bbs but now I need to know how to feed him in the community aquarium, how do you guys feed shy cats in comm tanks?

I have an idea I’ve been kicking around for a few months but I haven’t put it into action yet, maybe it’ll work for you.

I’ve heard of basically a peel and stick one way sticker that works the same as one way glass. The idea is to stick it on the tank so that you can see into the tank but the fish can’t see out. Here’s a link to what I’m talking about

Amazon.com: BDF S05 Window Film Daytime Privacy One Way Mirror Silver 5 (36in X 12ft): Home Improvement

Amazon.com: BDF S05 Window Film Daytime Privacy One Way Mirror Silver 5 (36in X 12ft): Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I have an idea I’ve been kicking around for a few months but I haven’t put it into action yet, maybe it’ll work for you.

I’ve heard of basically a peel and stick one way sticker that works the same as one way glass. The idea is to stick it on the tank so that you can see into the tank but the fish can’t see out. Here’s a link to what I’m talking about

Amazon.com: BDF S05 Window Film Daytime Privacy One Way Mirror Silver 5 (36in X 12ft): Home Improvement

Amazon.com: BDF S05 Window Film Daytime Privacy One Way Mirror Silver 5 (36in X 12ft): Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

I think it only blocks the view from the outside into the inside if the outside has more light than the inside. If not, it will not function as intended. I think.