Help! Seriously Injured Pictus!

[clintsc27]

Maaaaan! Im am so pissed right now! I have had my pictus catfish for years, needless to say he is my buddy. Well, about 9 months ago I had bought some sharks (2 bala and 2 rainbow). Well the a#$hole at the fish store told me the rainbow sharks were not mean and they were compatible with the other fish. Well he lied his #14### off to make a sale I think. Cause later I found out through his actions and research that the rainbow sharks are extremely territorial and mean. At first it was ok, but once the raibow shark started getting big enough he started chasing my other fish around biting them and just acting really aggressive. He killed one of my bala sharks a couple months ago, by chasing him into a cave that was to small and the bala shark got stuck in it overnight and died. Then a month later he chased my other bala shark into the cave and he got stuck. But luckily I caught it in time and I was able to carefully free my bala shark, he is still alive.

Well I woke up this morning and glanced at my tank, I didnt see my catfish swimming around like he always is, and I immediately knew something was wrong so I looked in the cave and sure enough......my catfish was jammed up in it motionless! That f$%^ing shark did it again. So I fished him out and he started to swim and stuff, but he is swimming very slowly and all kinds of crazy. Like upside down, sideways, its like he doesnt have balance anymore. It appears his wiskers are damaged, he wont move them around they are just limp, and its all bloody looking around his mouth where his wiskers are attatched. Plus he doesnt appear to be flexing any of his top fins I fear they may be seriously damaged or broken.

So I separated him into a popcorn bowl with a pump. He seems to be hanging in there for the moment but im really unsure if he is gonna make it. What should I do!? Is there anything I really can do? Should I just keep him in the bowl and see if he heals up? He is swimming lazily right now but it doesnt look good. Plus Im worried about biological filtration when he is in the bowl, is there anything I can do for that instead of doing water exchanges?

I tried to include a couple of pics but it said they were to big to upload damnit.

 

[matt_storey]

send me the pics and i'll upload them matt_storey@live.co.uk


I almost fell for the "rainbow sharks are very peaceful, do well in groups" story, did a bit of research and found out just how territorial they can be - I just bought 1 lol

 

[Wills]

Pictus are tough so dont count him out just yet!

I would separate the sharks asap - even if you can put them in a bucket with the pump you have for your Pictus right now. And then take them back to the shop I reckon

I would then get the Pictus back in the main tank to avoid extra stress. Then treat the tank with Melafix and possibly Primafix as well these will help him heal up and just keep on top of your water changes And make sure no one else is attacking him.

Wills

 

[clintsc27]

@matt:
Yeah I got two rainbow sharks, but the other one has stayed relatively small and docile, and spends most of the time hiding in the water wysteria. Even he is afraid of the other rainbow shark.

Yeah I think I may separate the shark and put him in the tank if you think he would be less stressed. He is still alive swimming very lazily, sometimes he gets sideways or upsidedown and it just doesnt look to good esp that glazed look he got. Sometimes he just goes sideways or upside and just lays there at the bottom not moving its like it hurts him to swim, but he still is breathing (pretty hard). But he eventually gets back up and swims around more. I dont know Im worried about moving him i dont want to hurt him or stress him anymore.


Oh yeah also Im worried if I pute him in the tank he'll get injured more by the bala shark, the bala shark isnt mean it just has a tendancy to swim around like a #41#### madfish and jump out of the water and what not, esp if he gets spooked. And he is easily spooked.

 

[StandbySetting]

Upload the images to photobucket, once they've uploaded, go to 'my album' and then hover over the images you wish to post, a box will appear with 4 links, click the bottom one and it will copy it, paste it into your post and it will appear.

 

[clintsc27]

Yeah I might do that but thats just another website I'll have to sign up for haha. But anyways in the pics I took you cant really see the damage all that well anyway.

So I removed the mean shark, that thing was hard as hell to catch. I got the catfish back in the tank. He perked up for a minut and started swimming all crazy again, then he just layed upsidedown in the plant gasping. He is now in the corner aimlessly swimming up with his nose at the top not moving anywhere. I can see the damage better now, his face and gills are beat up and scratched. He has cuts in that area even one in his mouth and its all swollen and pink. His front fins (dorsal?) the main ones they use for balance are bruised and a little bloody looking where the fin meets his body. The two back dorsal fins are a little red-ish and bruised looking also. His tail fin where it meets the body is a little red and bloody. And his top fin looks almost like the cartiledge is cracked at the base. He is in bad shape! He cant swim good or get any stability cause the main fins are badly damaged. I think the cave did most of the damage once he got stuck and flopped around to remove himself.

 

[clintsc27]

Sigh.....well he didnt make it. #41#### it #41#### it! RIP eater of nightcrawlers and roast beef! Yeah this rainbow shark has got to go! I noticed since I had the rainbow shark separated the bala shark was way less skiddish and wasnt thumping all around and splashing last night.