Sucking catfish cold water

FishDad

Superstar Fish
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
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Cleveland
#21
Do you have a water test kit? If you test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate any of those could affect its health. Again... what is the temp? How big is the tank? How are the other fish? What are the exact chems you add to the tank? If you want people here to help you get to the bottom of this and prevent future aquatic fatalities you must answer those questions.
 

Jan 26, 2013
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#22
I don't have a water testing kit I go to a nearby fish shop and test water there for free and everything is normal but nitrates are a little high but they said it isn't enough to kill the fish
Tank is 385 cm by 350cm by 250 cm
Every time I clean the tank I add one capful of this fish care liquid to kill bacteria, protect fins and make it livable in tap water.
 

FishDad

Superstar Fish
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
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Cleveland
#23
Well you don't really want to kill bacteria. What is the brand? You need to get your own test kit. The api master kit is preferred. "Normal" means nothing, its an exact science. Usually people at pet stores are careless and uneducated. Plus your water params can change on your way to the store so you'll never get accurate readings.
 

Jan 26, 2013
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#24
I got aqua plus to get chlorine I mean out of the water sorry.
I have watched them do the work and understood what was happening so they are not lazy they even explained everything for me.
 

FishDad

Superstar Fish
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
38
Cleveland
#25
I got aqua plus to get chlorine I mean out of the water sorry.
I have watched them do the work and understood what was happening so they are not lazy they even explained everything for me.
Here are some problems with store tests... I'm not a gambling man but I would put money one the fact that they are using test strips which are famously inaccurate. Anyone here will tell you the same. Also when I first started in the hobby I found that my ammonia levels would drop dramatically en route to the lfs. I don't know the chemestry of why that happened but I was able to prove it time after time. Further water quality is something that needs to be addressed right away. Again when I started I would drive ten miles for some one to tell me my water has high ammonia, then by the time I got home a fish would be floating. Where as if I could have done a water change right then and there it may have made a difference.

Also you said earlier you "clean" the tank... what exactly do you do? This may answer some questions as to the stability of your tank.
 

Jan 26, 2013
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#26
When I clean the tank I take out the fish plants and ornaments and stir up the degree stuck in the substrate then I siphon it out as the degree is spreading I siphon till the tank has aprox one third water left.

Then I add ph hardness and water conditioner, and aqua plus 1 capful for your queries I into the first bucket and pour it in the tank. The other buckets have normal tap water. I also scrub the ornaments, rocks and tank clean of algae wash the filter sponge too. Then I replace everything back fish last.
 

FishDad

Superstar Fish
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
38
Cleveland
#28
Ok a couple of things... As far as cleaning the tank you've got it all wrong. All you need to do are simple, regular water changes. By removing the fish and everytting else you are stressing them out and also probably inhibiting the cycle of you tank (which I bet is the source of your troubles). Just siphon out about 50% of the water whilst trying to get the food and waste in the substrate. As far as the decor, just clean those things on an as needed bases and one at a time, so as to not disturb the tank to much by doing everything at once.

I'm not familiar with any of those additives but my advice is to throw them out, starting with that PH stuff. Its useless for the fish you are keeping. Go to your lfs and get a bottle of Seachems Prime for like 10 bucks. All you do is add a few drops per water change and thats it. It will replace all that stuff you got.
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
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Illinois
#29
i totally agree with fishdad. i have 4 tanks and it takes me about 2 hours to clean all of them every few weeks. thats water changes and cleaning the glass and filters. i do tend to see people over complicate things and people who are new being taken for a ride with an lfs selling tons of stuff that is really not needed such as many of those chemicals. and if that be the case don't get down on urself. it's happened to many people who are not experienced. i would be a horrible big box pet store employee cause i know what is needed and i'd probably be fired for not pushing products. but alot see an easy sale with people new to the hobby and will try to capitalise on it sadly.

So just keep everything in the tank and if u have a gravel vac just siphon the stuff out of the gravel untill u are down to about 50%. then replace the water and u are good to go. if u do not have a gravel vac i would suggest u buy one that is suited to the size of tank that u have, or build a diy gravel vac. i took a section of garden hose and attached it to the neck of an old fingernail polish remover bottle of my moms and cut the bottom out. thats my gravel vac. i just have to regulate how fast the water comes out with my thumb or i suck out all of my gravel lol.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
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Yelm, WA
#30
Could you please remeasure your tank - the measurements you gave in cm makes that tank huge (unless I am misunderstanding something) 350cm is 138 inches - thats almost 12 feet long!
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
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0
Yelm, WA
#32
Lol & thanks! I thought there was something "fishy" with those measurements. Unless I'm figuring something wrong a tank that size would hold about 8800 gallons!
 

Jan 26, 2013
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#34
My bad it was meant to be millimeters sorry. I got mixed up :p
Yeah and I did that first time I had the tank didn't use the chemical and the fish went belly up in about 2 weeks so I know the aqua plus is doing its job well, it also saved a few of my fish from bacteria and acid my bro threw a battery into my tank because he was pissed lol.
 

Jan 26, 2013
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#35
When did I say I had sand tiger sharks I don't recall saying that all I have is one Chinese algae eater which is now dead and buried. That was my last bottom feeder fish in all my aquariums. Apart from goldfish :p
The ph conditioner and hardness were meant for my tank because my ph levels were low and the hardness of the tank was wrong which I thought was the reason my fish kept dying in the past.

I also noticed one of my zebra danios is not moving too well. It lays at the bottom of the substrate not belly up it looks like its asleep. Is this normal?
 

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FishDad

Superstar Fish
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
38
Cleveland
#36
No, your tank is over crowded as discussed on your other thread.

BTW the sand tiger thing was a joke when you gave us measurements for a HUGE tank.

Did you test the water when you noticed the danio?
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#37
pH and water hardness probably have little to do with fish deaths - fish will accommodate to those conditions - What they don't like is the constant changes when you add chemicals. The real problem that needs to be addressed is the ammonia produced by that many fish in that small tank.
 

Mar 11, 2013
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Wisconsin
#40
I have the exact same thing happening with mine right now as well. That is golden chinese algae eater if I'm not mistaken. Mine stated this about a week ago but seems to be healthy still. This isn't typically a cold water fish though it should have tropical temperatures. How has your fish been until now?