# Redtail catfish wont stop swimming!!! Help



## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

redtail catfish will not stop swimming against the glass. he stays right on top of the surface and slowly swishes his tail to stay in the corner... occasionally does a circle. it has been about 3 days and he has not stopped. i tried turning the heater off(what he is next too) and all lights. i even try his favorite food... bloodworms with no reaction... please help he is my favorite.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Perhaps he has a swimbladder issue? Or there's a lack of oxygen in the tank, or toxins in there. 

Those are guesses, would need more info on the tank and animal to tell you anything more substantial. What are your water parameters, temp, tank size, filter and heater type, cleaning and how often, how much and how often is he fed and what of...how big is the fish....see where I'm going here? lol Need more info. 

I can tell you one thing though, don't go changing things around so much, that'll make it worse if he's ill. It's not good for them to have you messing with the heater and stuff. .-.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

thanks for responding.... tank is 45 gallon... tank mates are baby red belly pacu, 3 inch 4 lined cat, 8 inch dragon goby, small bumbe bee cat, 3 bala sharks, and a pleco....filter is a marineland penguin 200, 200 gallons a hour. no swim blatter problem he went to bottom one time and stayed for a few minutes. temp is 71 degrees now because heater broke and im supplying it with a 10 gallon heater. he stays right next to it and will not stop swimming against the glass in the corner with heater. could that be the problenm? he is about 3 to 4 inches. and heis fed 1 time a day but lately i havent seen him eat. it has been 4 days now


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

That tank is extremely overstocked, what are your parameters?


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

parameter? such as length and width?


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

update... i moved heater closer to corner. he wedges himself in and relaxes for a while... still worried though... why are all others not acting up...?


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

Parameters such as ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings taken with a liquid test kit....


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

they are all spot on to what they need to be. just tested 2 mins ago. also did a 25% water change


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

What were they?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Even if they're young, these fish need to be kept in a 300 gallon tank at the very minimum, and that's likely going to be too small once the fish are full grown too, if kept together. Bala sharks should never be kept in anything smaller than 125 gallons and that's considered a minimum for survival, not preferable to the fish. Those alone need the larger tanks for JUST them, go larger for the group. 
Minimum tank size for redtail catfish alone is actually around 300 gallons. They can get four feet long, some larger or a tad smaller, once full grown, so I don't know why you have these giants in such a small tank. They're also aggressive and very high energy fish, best kept with other large fish in a huuuuuge tank or pond. 

The bioload and fish size is too much in there, that's the biggest issue. 

The heater is another problem, it should be kept around 76 degrees. A few degrees does make a difference.

As for your water parameters, we need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, as well as PH and hardness. We need the numbers not you saying they're spot on. I say this because many will SAY they're spot on, but then it turns out they do not know what actually is spot on.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

ph 7.0 to 7.2 nitrite 0, ammonia 0, nitrate 0 temp is 71 degrees

UPDATE: starting to swim a little ways away from heater but still top water


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

So, hardness unknown, if you don't have the test solution you can get it online from your local water company.

Your PH is just a tad too high, the temp is too low though handleable for them(I almost forgot they have a pretty good range of temps they can handle from 68-80 degrees or so, so you should be within safe ranges for him at least, the pacu needs it no lower than 72F though), and there is far, far, far from enough space in there, even with youngsters, as again the redtails need 300 gallon tanks minimum, they grow fast and need the space to do it in, your other fish also require much larger tanks. 

Water parameters for the Redtail should be: pH 5.5 - 6.8 Temperature : 68°F - 82°F (20°C - 28°C) Water Hardness : 5-10 dGH. And obviously ammonia, nitrite and nitrate should be zero, nitrate is tolerable in small amounts...Tank size needs to be bigger. They really do best in large ponds, not tanks. =(

Bala sharks also get over a foot long, like groups, and need a huge amount of space. I suggest you downgrade on your fish, at least on the catfish, or upgrade to a very large pond.

Someone almost tricked me into getting one of those, but I did some research and said no way. They get so big! And are aggressive and very high energy.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

my buddy is bringing me a 10 gallon heater i am gonna try and get the temp up. and the pacu and balas and cat came out of a 200 tank that got cracked(KIDS) he never had a problem until this tank.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

other heater is in and temp is rising slowly i hope this is his problem
he needs to eat


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

cowboy3dc said:


> my buddy is bringing me a 10 gallon heater i am gonna try and get the temp up. and the pacu and balas and cat came out of a 200 tank that got cracked(KIDS) he never had a problem until this tank.


They need to be put back in a larger tank or you're going to be staying home doing water changes to compensate for the bioload or they will be poisoned to death. There wasn't an issue because he had room to swim in the other tank. Imagine going from living in a mansion to living in a studio apartment. You wouldn't exactly be a happy camper.

Did you test after the WC?

Don't worry about him not eating, fish can go weeks without eating and do just fine. You need to worry about the tank size much, much more.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

He only had a problem after a few weeks in this tank idk whats happening i do a water change every week
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

cowboy3dc said:


> He only had a problem after a few weeks in this tank idk whats happening i do a water change every week
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Hun, we're telling you what the problem is, you're just not listening. It's tank size. Pure and simple. You must have a larger tank, even for babies of those types of fish. Must, must, must or you will have very dead fish. They need THREE HUNDRED GALLONS...and that's JUST for the catfish. 

If you don't have that kind of room or money for it, or a very large pond, unless you want him to die you should find him a new home, same with your bala sharks since three of them would need...oh jeez, 200 gallons or so I think is right for three, one need 75 gallons as a minimum but they don't do well if not in pairs as you probably know having gotten three of them. 200 gallons is not, however, ok for the redtail catfish. 

That's because in that small tank, he's going to be cramped, and eventually stunt. Stunting happens quick for fast growing fish. Their organs continue to grow, but their bodies stop or slow...and eventually, SLOWLY, the organs are crushed by the smaller body. 

Right now, if the fish hasn't started stunting yet, the likely cause for his actions is being in a smaller tank with a bunch of other fish all requiring more space. He's crowded, he's in a tiny area, and he's not liking it.


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## RSVBiffer (Feb 3, 2014)

Do you have a nitrate filter/scrubber on this tank? If not then I suspect you have a dodgy test kit. From what you have said this tank has been heavily overstocked for a number of weeks and with a weekly 25% water change you have zero nitrates which seems impossible. It appears that you may be getting a false reading in your parameters. As others have said space is the issue here. Redtails frequently swim in this manner when they feel 'cramped' and as Sylverclaws said he will become stunted in a relatively short space of time and the results of this can be horrendous.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

Should i take fish out? Woukd that help him
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

Update a bala was eating the cats dorsal fin... I caight him and took the other 2 balas out. They are no longer with the cat. I hope that was the problem
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

cowboy3dc said:


> Should i take fish out? Woukd that help him
> _Posted via Mobile Device_





cowboy3dc said:


> Update a bala was eating the cats dorsal fin... I caight him and took the other 2 balas out. They are no longer with the cat. I hope that was the problem
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Where would you put the other fish?
We are telling you that the problem is the tank size. The balas don't help but the tank is still too small.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

A buddies tank
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Flint (Oct 22, 2013)

How many gallons?


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## Chesh (Feb 17, 2012)

cowboy3dc said:


> A buddies tank


Glad to hear you got him into a new home, where he hopefully will have the space to thrive! 
How are the others in your tank?


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

subing.


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## cowboy3dc (Feb 13, 2014)

others are doing great. my buddy loved the fish so much he baught it from me for how much i bought him from the store. he is doing better still alittle sluggish but he is stayin on bottom its a 200 gallon. he will be moved to a 350 when he gets larger and un eatable by the large oscars.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Awesome! Good for you doing that for the fish. =) It's hard to do when you're attached.


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