# HELP!!!



## Settle4Nothing (Sep 29, 2003)

Please Help! I dont know what is going on w/ my catfish (megalechis thoracatum) I woke up this morning and she is at the bottom of the tank, floating as if shes standing with her head pointing straight up. Then, I looked closer to see that her stomach is VERY bloated and that there was a sac looking thing coming out of her reproductive area....has anyone ever heard or seen anything like this? I wish I had a digicam. Please help I cant lose her, that fish had a personality all to its own....thanx in advance


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

Your catfish most likely has a build up of natural gasses, in other words it is constipated, ummm not too sure about the treatment, I heard that feeding golffish a pea can help this problem, but perhaps Don H can help further.








_to desiese, paracite & injury_

heres a handy Hoplosternum thoracatum link

Oh and
:welcome:
to PFury


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## Settle4Nothing (Sep 29, 2003)

Thanks Innes...a constipated catfish...jeezThe pea idea sounds good, but she doesnt look like shes about to eat anything. Is there a way to force feed a fish? Any idea if this is fatal?


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

check out the handy links in this thread, Oh and PM DonH

heres a handy link


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## Settle4Nothing (Sep 29, 2003)

Right on....hey I really appreciate your help and concern! You guys rock


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

thanks, we try


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

My guess is that it's bloat due to kidney disease. In osmosis, the path of water goes from low solute concentration (the water) to high solute concentration (the fish). Freshwater fish rely on their kidneys to osmoregulate (basically expelling water that is entering the fish due to osmosis). Cause of kidney disease can be bacterial, parasitic or viral in nature. Other causes known to attribute to bloat are overfeeding, improper diet, poor water conditions, sharp temperature fluctuations and possible water contamination.

You can try antibiotics and add EPSOM salt at 1 tsp/5 gallons (NOT plain salt) to relieve osmotic pressure. Slowly raise the temp up to 84-86 degrees F and increase aeration.

To be honest with you though... Once you observe severe bloating, it's usually too late. Sorry, but good luck.


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## Settle4Nothing (Sep 29, 2003)

Thank u DONH!







I put her in my 10 gal hospital tank w/ the salt, and raised the temp. The swelling seems to have gone down slightly, but she has turned completely white. Like you said she may be too far into whatever she has gotten. I wonder if Im just dragging on the inevitable. No signs of eating yet either


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

I got my fingers crossed for you


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

DonH said:


> You can try antibiotics and add EPSOM salt at 1 tsp/5 gallons (NOT plain salt) to relieve osmotic pressure. Slowly raise the temp up to 84-86 degrees F and increase aeration.


Not argueing here with your approach, but some catfish families are salt intolerant.
I'm almost certain that the _Callichthyidae_ (which includes cories, hoplo cats etc: the fish in the picture appears to be a member of that group) family is quite susceptible to higher salt concentrations in the water, so that might explain why it turned completely white...



http://home.rochester.rr.com said:


> *Salt intolerant* catish include many of the commoner sorts like as the dwarf catfishes (Callichthyidae) including the popular Corydoras catfish.


Source: http://home.rochester.rr.com

Better check if this apllies to your fish (what species is it?) as first, to be 100% certain, but if so, I'd do a large water change quickly, to dilute the salt!!!


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## DonH (Jan 25, 2003)

Good observation Jonas... Many species of catfish are sensitive to salt treatment, but Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate while salt that's usually used in this context is sodium chloride. The addition of sodium will make this situation worse by making the fish retain more fluids. On the other hand, epsom salt aids in relieving internal pressure by drawing water out of the cells.

I'm not sure about catfish sensitivity to magnesium sulfate (I've done a quick search on Google and Yahoo and found nothing) but in his case where the fish is suffering from bloat, the primary concern should be to reduce internal pressure that's causing the bloat, and then treat with antibiotics to cure him.


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