Salmon Cat Fish

[Dearra]

My son has a serious problem with his catfish and is very upset.

Saturday.
He connected up a new cannister filter. Washed everything before hooking it up. Also, he has kept the original internal filter going as well.

Sunday morning
He rings me in a panic, his catfish is on the bottom of the tank breathing very fast. I suggested he test the water which he did and the Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia and ph is all okay, also advised him to do a waterchange. He did two water changes over the day and while he was doing that the catfish was swimming underneath the new water and swimming around. When he turned the new filter back on it went straight to the bottom again, and stayed there breathing heavily.
After observing it all day, he decided to turn the new filter off last night to see it that made a difference. (He is convinced the new filter is killing his fish).

Monday morning
He is going grey and still on the bottom of the tank and breathing heavily. He won't be able to do anything about it today until he comes home from work.

Can someone please help before it is too late. I am at a loss as what to do next.

Thanks
Dearra

[BigDaddyAdo]

I would not turn on the new filter again at this stage. I would keep up the water changes. Are there any other symptoms?

It may be a toxin in the water which was introduced by the filter. What did he clean the filter with?

What filter is it?


Ado

[Dearra]

He is going really grey now, nearly white and still on the bottom and breathing heavily.

The filter is a Aqua Nova and he just washed it out with water out of the tap.

He has had this fish for 4 years since it was a little baby and he is quite distressed about it.

Dearra

[Merrilyn]

Has he got some Seachem Prime? That's really good for detoxifying heavy metals. Tell him to do another waterchange and add double the recommended dose of Prime. Also add some salt (cooking salt, not table salt) at the rate of 1 tablespooon per 40 litres. After 24 hours add another tablespoon per 40 litres. These fish are naturally found in brackish water, and the addition of salt will aid with the breathing.

Next I'd add some carbon to the internal filter, to remove any toxins that the other filter may have added. Replace the carbon after 24 hours and let it run for a week before discarding it.

The filter that he added, was it new or second hand? I'm assuming it was second hand, and there may have been something in the media that has been transferred to the tank. Could be detergent or something like that. Just tap water wouldn't have removed it all, and being scaleless fish, salmon tail cats are pretty sensitive to toxins.

Good luck.

[Dearra]

Hi Merrilyn,

It was actually a new filter.

Dearra

[Dearra]

Well, it is too late now. My son just called me to tell me it had died.

Could connecting a brand new cannister to the tank do that to a fish.

Dearra

[Merrilyn]

Oh that's a shame. So sorry to hear that.

I guess there could have been something toxic in the media from the new filter, but it's a bit of a stretch, isn't it.

However, the fact remains, that the fish was fine before the new filter was hooked up, so it's either a huge coincidence, or there is actually something in the filter media that caused the problem.