tomtomtom1230
Fishaholic
This is my first post on these forums so hello everybody!
I've noticed one of my catfish doing something I've never observed in all my years of fish-keeping experience.
First of all I want to clear up some details...
Water quality is pristine.
They're kept in a group of 4.
They're housed in a 17 (US gallon) tank - approx 65 litres.
Their tank-mates are all compatible.
They have lots of hiding places.
Problem: This particular peppered cory is going for air far too often to be healthy, but what's truely bothering me is that once he's gulped some air, he lets his body go limp and he floats lifelessly, sinking slowing and then about half way he'll return to life, turn around and swim back to his favorite spot under the log. None of the other catfish do it, all my fish are perfectly healthy but these actions are a little disconcerting.
Anybody experienced this before? If it matters, he has a very healthy appetite but is about half an inch smaller than the others. They are all male. For some odd reason, he has lost his whiskers on the front of his nose but no the barbels on the side of his head. The whiskers are intact where the other cories are concerned.
Thanks
Edit: When I say far too often to be healthy, I spend about half a day watching and checking back when I first got them to make sure nothing was wrong and I made a note of how often they all go up for air. All the catfish surface for air about once every 2-3 hours, unless they've been particularly active in which case it'll be once every 2 hours. This happens almost like clockwork, it's incredible! This Cory however, is going up for air 3 times in a 10 minute slot once every hour and a half (approx).
I've noticed one of my catfish doing something I've never observed in all my years of fish-keeping experience.
First of all I want to clear up some details...
Water quality is pristine.
They're kept in a group of 4.
They're housed in a 17 (US gallon) tank - approx 65 litres.
Their tank-mates are all compatible.
They have lots of hiding places.
Problem: This particular peppered cory is going for air far too often to be healthy, but what's truely bothering me is that once he's gulped some air, he lets his body go limp and he floats lifelessly, sinking slowing and then about half way he'll return to life, turn around and swim back to his favorite spot under the log. None of the other catfish do it, all my fish are perfectly healthy but these actions are a little disconcerting.
Anybody experienced this before? If it matters, he has a very healthy appetite but is about half an inch smaller than the others. They are all male. For some odd reason, he has lost his whiskers on the front of his nose but no the barbels on the side of his head. The whiskers are intact where the other cories are concerned.
Thanks
Edit: When I say far too often to be healthy, I spend about half a day watching and checking back when I first got them to make sure nothing was wrong and I made a note of how often they all go up for air. All the catfish surface for air about once every 2-3 hours, unless they've been particularly active in which case it'll be once every 2 hours. This happens almost like clockwork, it's incredible! This Cory however, is going up for air 3 times in a 10 minute slot once every hour and a half (approx).
