Loaches Online Forum

Hello,
I have been following a lot of threads here, just haven’t posted one yet. Yesterday I noticed my African Highfin Catfish has two whitish patches on its body. No other fish is showing any signs of stress at this time. I am 80% sure that it is a fungus. I know I have sky high Nitrate. The temp was at 80 till last night. I lowered it a bit.

The tank is a 90 gallon w/ Fluval 405 &205 + UGF. It has been up and running for 8 years or so. No problems.

Inhabitants:
6 Clown Loaches (one is about 8”, 4 are about 3.5”, and one is 2”)
1 African Highfin Catfish
1 Bristelnose Pleco
1 Clown Pleco
4 golden barbs
1 spotted leaf fish
1 Stripped Ralphia Catfish (8”)
1 Red Minor long fined Tetra
1 hatchet fish
3 angle fish

Plants:
Needle leaf Java Fern
Anubius plants

Décor:
Large driftwood
Fake log and root.

What can I do to treat the tank without hurting my clowns? I do not have a quarantine tank at this time. Let me know if there is any other missing info that you need.

Get yourself a cheap quarantine tank (around here, 10g tanks can be had very cheaply), and isolate your featherfin (assuming that your African Highfin Catfish is a Synodontis Euptera, aka featherfin catfish) for treatment.

Then you you can treat him properly without fear of hurting the loaches.

Also, start doing regular water changes to bring the nitrates down in your 90g. I've found that a 10 gallon water change every few days is quite effective with my currently overpopulated 90. Speaking of which, your tank is also overpopulated, you may wish to consider another tank for some of your fish (I've already ordered one, so please don't think I'm being hypocritical).

Thanks for the reply....

I just took down my 30 gallon Hex and the wife wants to put it into the garage. I will use that as a Hospital tank. What is a good medication to use on my featherfin? Also do I have enough time to start the tank and cycle it before my catfish is to far gone?

I really don't know which medication will work, as I don't know what illness your fish has (pictures might be helpful). I suspect that it's either a bacterial or fungal infection. There are a number of good medications on the market that treat those issues. Keep in mind, your catfish is a scaleless fish, and you'll probably need to reduce the dosage accordingly. Check with the folks at your local fish store, if they are trustworthy (some stores are, some aren't - we have one of each in our area).

Don't worry about cycling the hospital tank. A bare tank is best for a quarantine tank (no gravel or decorations). You can control water quality with water changes, which are often necessary when medicating. A single fish in a 30 gallon tank isn't much of a bio-load anyway.

Don't hesitate to treat your fish, the sooner you can start the medication, the better. I've seen fish go downhill quite rapidly when infected.