# My Upside-Down Catfish lost its color!



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

Well, I have 3 catfish, but it seem like it lost its color because when I put them under a light source, it is very apparent that they lost their skin pigmentation! I have sinking shrimp pellets and algae wafers for them and most of the time, but I do have 3 loaches, though!


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

what size is your tank and whats your water parameters?


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

I know that my tank is around 35 gallons and the temperature is about 72 degrees F! For the other parameters, I don't know what reading should I look for? In addition, what test kit should I buy?


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Do you not have a heater? Temp should be around 78.

I recommend API liquid master test kit, tests for pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

I have only one heater, but should I get more one, then? Well, the heater is on the right side of the tank, but the temp. reader is on the left side and it is telling me that it is 72.8 degrees!

BTW, my heater is on 24/7! I don't know if I should turn the thermostat up from 75 degrees or not! It's because if I turn it up to 80 degrees, then my parent would lower it!


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

:? Do you not have the heater set to the right temp? How many watts is it? 

It sounds like your fish maybe loosing its colour due to ammonia poisoning (We won't know until you pick up a tester) but just to be safe you should do a 20% water change. 

How long has your tank been set up and how often do you do water changes?


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

Well, the water got fully replaced yesterday! I have to go check the how much is the watts, but the heater only say lower or higher when it comes to turning the heater up or down!

The tank was set up for at least a year! Note that every single time, I get my water check at Petsmart, the water is in good condition!

Well, I didn't find where is the Watt Rating is listed on my Top Fin heater! Yes, I just found out that Top Fin is a brand that many people isn't proud of!

Should I get my water tested at Petsmart tomorrow, then?


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Yes, you should get your water tested, you may want to invest in a liquid test kit too. 

When you clean tanks you should really only doing like 25% water change every week. Doing a full water change kills to much beneficial bacteria in your tank!

Hahaha ohhh no! Sounds like a heater I just got with my 20 gal I bought off a local ads site. The only thing you can do it play around with it. And slowly move it higher and keep a close eye on the temperature. It probably took me a full day to get it to the temp I wanted. 

I don't really mind top fin I guess. I haven't owned to many products, I mean the filter does the job, it would just be nice if it was as quiet as advertised. :roll:


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

Oh, I thought that you have to do a once a month full water change and 10%-15% weekly water change!

What heater do you recommend me buying?


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Nope, 20-25% weekly water changes is perfect, there should be no need to ever do a 100% water change. That could be part of the reason why your catfish is loosing his colour. 100% water changes is a pretty big stress on your fish. 

Well, I like marineland, they always make good products. Your probably looking for a 50-75 watt heater. I'm leaning more towards 75 watts because I have a 50 on my 28 gallon. But when you go to buy the heater just read the box. It will say "suitable for up to 40 gallons" ect. They are not to expensive either, like 20-25 bucks.


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

What supplier(s) supply Marineland?

In addition, if I am not suppose to do a 100% water change, then how would I clean the gravel?


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Um well I get all marineland things at my lfs, Big Als. But I believe petsmart carries them sometimes? Because I've gotten a marineland filter from there.

What do you use to do water changes? Don't you have a siphon tube thinger that you suck the water out with? You vacuum the gravel with that thing.


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

Well, my dad uses a tube thingy to suck water out, but is he suppose to suck the gravel out of the tank? So, he can clean them!


----------



## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

You don't suck the gravel out, you use the gravel vacuum to suck waste up out of the gravel.


----------



## BORGUSX (May 29, 2008)

Well, I didn't see my dad vacuum the gravel, so the tube thingy woun't be able to suck the gravel the tank, right? Or is there a distance between the gravel and the vacuum that my dad should follow?


----------



## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

No the rocks are too heavy to be sucked up. You just shove the vacuum right in there and you see all the waste go up and the rocks go back down, if any get caught just gently tap it against the side of the tank or give it a shake and they will fall back out.


----------

