baby tiger shovelnose gasping 4 air

N

new2fishkeeping

Registered Member
Feb 21, 2004
4
0
0
Visit site
Hi forum members. I have a baby tiger shovelnose catfish that I purchased 5 days ago. 3 days ago he started gasping for air. I was told that he might be sufferring from nitrate poisoning and is most likely fatal. I made the mistake of not cycling the tank properly :( Is there any hope for my fish? Please let me know of a cure if there is one.

thanks in advance for any help,

new2fishkeeping
 
What are your water parameters? Thi s is important to find out what is going on here.

Did you cycle the tank before putting this cat in here?

I tried to cycle the tank with old aquarium water.



Also, I hope you know that these type fish get very large!

I have a 180 with a black arowana and I wanted to grow out the shovelnose before putting it in the big tank.



Not a very good beginner fish at all.

For sure!!
 
WATER CHANGE

Do a 50% water change ASAP, with the new water you add in being the same temp and dechlorinated.

Next we absolutely need to know the following:

What are your ammonia levels?

What are your nitrIte levels (please note that nitrIte and nitrAte are not the same thing)?

What is the size of the tank?

Tank mates?

Temperature?


I hope the water change helps out, it should if your fish are posioned by ammonia or nitrite. I hope we can identify the problem too.
 
Sounds like ammonia or nitrites to me. The water changes are URGENT, and so are the test numbers.
On a second note, when I first started buying these fish, everyone told me they get big but no one ever said how big. I had a 55g when I bought my first tiger SN and was told that would be fine. This is a fish that reaches 50" and likes room to move. They are known as a tank buster in that they will knock the end out of your tank when they get crowded. They are a beautiful fish and don't grow as fast as a lot of fish but even your 180 will be drastically too small at some point. I'm not trying to burst your bubble, I love these fish and have owned a couple in past times. I just wanted to let you know what to expect. There are several other types of Shovelnose that don't go as big and are just as much fun. I gave up on the tigers several years ago because they are just too big for a home aquarium. also they like live food and tall plants to hide in. I fed mine cichlid pellets and he did OK but when the feeders hit the water he always got real serious about hunting.
 
ShovelNose

Can't help with the problem but....

I have a TSN cat in a 125g and he has been growing 1- 1.5 inches per month!!! He's now 10.5 inches......I would consider that a fast growing fish!! "Buffet" as he is called :) Will be going into my uncles indoor pond when he becomes too large.
 
Well..

He shares a tank with a few large tinfoils and he eats their shrimp pellets. I started out giving him feeders (not a very good diet I know) Then i noticed he was eating the pellets. Now I just drop a handful of the pellets in and he goes to town! He's a beautiful fish and i've really gotten attached to him. My friends keep joking that i'll eventually give in and buy a HUGE tank for him. Lets see...go to Italy this summer...or new tank lol....CHOICES!! ERRRRRRRR
 
Last edited:
I hope the water change helps out, it should if your fish are posioned by ammonia or nitrite. I hope we can identify the problem too.
Click to expand...
Sounds to me like it is ammonia/nitrite poisoning. You could take the fish back, or do daily water changes to keep the toxins low and hope that he pulls through.
You said you did not cycle your tank properly, what did you do to cycle it? Adding water from an established aquarium will do NOTHING! The bacteria live in the filter media, gravel and on the decorations. You would need to put these things from an established tank into the new tank if you wanted an "instant" cycle. The other way is by using a product called Bio-Spira. It is essentially bacteria in a bottle. I have not used it myself, but I have heard that it works. From what I have read it is the only such product that works. I have used "cycle"myself and it did nothing.
 
I have place the little guy in a large salad bowl container with plenty of openings in the bowl for water to flow through. This bowl was placed in the 180 that is already an established tank. The little TSN got better in 4 days and is now eating:)

thank you all for the info
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom