Red Tail Cat Ill

[k17sty]

4inch long red tail cat before anyone says anyhting about the size blah blah yes i am aware of his needs


Right he is a really unhappy fish. swimming near the surface for long periods then lying still for other long periods. he has very sunken gills and rapid breathing. also clamped fins and some sort of furry growths on his lower fins and some marks on his head. . . like burn marks that have been coated or started to heal. He wont eat and when he does he is swimming about like its not comfortable then sptting it back out. I used methyl blue which didnt do anything so changed back to using melafix. . this seems to have settled him slightly and i managed to get him to eat some chicken. This has been going on for a week and a half now. anyone any ideas or suggestions? My local fish shops have no other advice.

Last time he got like ths was in his old tank when he was very small it was an ammonia spike, some melafix sorted him out in about a week. this time water stats are normal.

 

[WILDER]

Water stats would be good in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
He sounds in a very bad way can you issolate him, sounds bacterial, is it red on the head can you describe in more detail.
Are the gills red and inflamed or just sunken in.
Can you get a pic up.

 

[k17sty]

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10
ph 6.8 (always this)

gills are normal just really sunken, nope its not red its like a coating on some areas.

will try get pics. . . . . . .

 

[WILDER]

What colour is the coating.
Are the gills pale with excess mucas on them.
Any darting around and flicking and rubbing.

 

[k17sty]

seem him flick and rub only once after i managed to get him to eat. no mucas, completely normal just sunken.

pictures of the poor sould he is extremely tatty now. you can see the fluffy bit on his bottom fin and the sunked gill.

 

[WILDER]

Hes not a well fish at all his eyes say it aswell.
Looks like it could be parasites and bacterial.
Does he look thin to you.

Can you issolate him.

 

[smithrc]

From the pics that RTC looks a lot bigger than 4"...

I'd say its malnourished... what are you feeding it? how often?
Since its Ill again - I'd take everyones advice and try to re-home the poor thing.

 

[k17sty]

cant move him my other tanks have been taken over, he is in with two birchirs so i might try and move them.

yes he has lost weight, he isnt eating right at all. he seems alsomst uninterested in food at the moment. which is so not a normal rt.

the only other thing i have been thibking about is possible metal poisoning. tank has a new metal lid but iv checked and its all coated and doesnt have any rust etc exposed.

 

[WILDER]

What do you feed the fish.
Is his anus anlarged or red and inflamed.
http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-mai...l-poisoning.htm

 

[pica_nuttalli]

you also haven't said what size tank or what tankmates are in there with him (besides the birchirs).

 

[k17sty]

From the pics that RTC looks a lot bigger than 4"...

I'd say its malnourished... what are you feeding it? how often?
Since its Ill again - I'd take everyones advice and try to re-home the poor thing.

I just took a picture for you, and sorry he is nearly 5 . . .

as i already said he has only eaten once in the last week and a half. Even then it was a small amount of prawn. He usually gets fed 2-3 times a week, prawn, mussel, blood worm, chicken (only rarely tho).

everyones advice???


the tank is 30x12x18. no other tank mates besides the aforementioned birchirs.



no anal redness or swelling

 

[WILDER]

What colour is his poo.
So he's lost weight through not eating.


Don't think there anything to lose at the moment, I would get going on a bacterial med, but he could have parasites on top.

Is there pink in the white mucas on him, look for pierce marks.

 

[smithrc]

blimey - thats decieving - he looked bigger

something is not right and I'd says its nutrition related - something is wrong internally (as wilders has suggested)
Its un likely that a fish will stare itself but try other foods - we have to vary what our plecs get or they get fussy and wont eat it.

I've never had to but have you tried garlic? its known to help fish want to eat - you'd have to have a search for how to use it (crushed and rubbed on his food I guess)
I'd also try something different - and on a controversial note possibly some umm... "live food"

 

[k17sty]

im assuming the weight loss is through lack of food and the amount of swimming he has been doing recently.

no pink on top i have nticed a small pink circle right inder his mouth with a small brown spot in the middle, i cant get a picture of it tho.

 

[WILDER]

Whats your location.
He's in a mess there looks like to me there more than one problem going off with him.
To be honest he might not make it.