# Synodontis catfish question



## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

I have a 220 gallon mbuna tank that has been up and running since July of this year. So far, I have 18 mbunas (all around 2") and 1 lace synodontis catfish (around 5").

Tested my water today with my API master test kit: pH 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrate 40, nitrite 0 and temp 80.

I added the catfish about a month ago after I was contacted by a local hospital who's tank I used to clean saying they were going to flush him unless I took him because he was too big for their tank. He was fat and looked really healthy. The staff also said he was active during the day and night.

My question: I have only seen the catfish a couple of times. Today, he swam near the top of my tank when I had the lights on so I ran to look at him. He was white and gross looking. It looked like he had some kind of white fungus all over his body. What is this and what could be causing it? I can't get a picture because the catfish hides all day and night.

I put sinking pellets (both shrimp and veggie) in the tank after the lights have been off for a while to make sure the cichlids don't get to them. I have no clue if the catfish eats or not, but he still looked fat when I saw him today.


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## anthony126 (Aug 6, 2014)

I have had this happen to me (although not as dramatic sounding as you describe) mine looked like a white netting/cotton wool type layer over the Synodontis. I found this to be a type of Ich and was caused by stress (flared up when either moving tanks, if the Mbunas were particularly aggressive etc.) Managed to clear it up with Aquairum salts so I would recommend this as a general elixir which you could use without harming anyone else dramatically. If this doesn't work it may be worth trying a white spot treatment in combination with the salts but out can effect your filtration cycle and stain silicone etc. so I would do salts and give it 2/3 days first. Just my opinion


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks for the reply! I'll go pick some up today. Do I just follow the dosing instructions on the container?

He managed to come out again while I was looking at the tank. I shined a flashlight on him and took a few pictues and got a better look. His dorsal fin appears to have rotted off... I feel so bad for him!


































My cichlids are all happy and healthy. They look normal and have no signs of any illness. I've only lost 2 fish since starting the tank. One got picked off for being the only one of his kind in there and the other seemed to be doomed from the beginning (was skinny with pink gills).

If he pulls out of this illness, what can I do to make him more active? I'd like to see him out and about during the day. I want to buy two more synos to hang out with him, but if they aren't active, I'll get a different species.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Can't help you with the illness, but depending on what kind you have (nigrita? nigriventris? eupterus?) he may be naturally secretive and a territorial loner. If that's true I would be carful about adding other Synodontis to the tank. Not all Synos are social like multipunctata, lucipinnis and petricola.

PS PlanetCatfish says lace catfish is very commonly misidentified.


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

Yeah he's probably not really a lace but that's what he looks like the most. His dorsal fin was long and had such beautiful fins on it... Poor guy.


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## anthony126 (Aug 6, 2014)

He looks pretty bad I would try isolating him in a quarantine tank and a strong Aquairum salt solution... I would go as strong as the box recommends +50% for 24hrs then 100% water change with recommended dose. If he doesn't clear up (at least a little) within 48-72hrs then maybe time for a rethink...


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

I don't have a quarantine tank. All three of my tanks have fish in them that I can't move around or mix. Can I safely treat him in with the others?

I've been keeping a close eye on the tank while the lights have been off and he's been swimming all over the top half of the tank. My lights are on from 2pm-10pm.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

Post those photos on planetcatfish.com... His flesh almost looks "burned off". And salt in general is not good for catfish, so I don't know about overdosing him on salt either... Please let us know how it turns out for you! Good Luck!


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

To save time, I posted on planetcatfish.com for you, by linking to this topic on that forum...  This way, you can watch to see if anyone posts anything helpful for you without having to set up an account. (but I still think you may want to...) Good Luck!

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =8&t=41203


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

You are awesome, thank you! I will set up an account since I plan on owning both cichlids and catfish long term.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

OK, they have a user with over 3500 posts, marked as "expert" on their forum, going with "a really bad case of lateral line disease".

I asked some of the obvious questions for you, but you're on your own from here... Hope this helps. Please let us know how it goes, OK? It drives me crazy when you try to help someone and they don't tell you what happened...


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

Thanks again! I am waiting for my confirmation email to activate my account on their forum.

I will definitely post updates!

Today he was out and about while the lights were on. Most swam around behind the rock scaping and up near the overflows. This is the most active he's ever been.


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

Also, my heater is in the sump so that's definitely not the cause!


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

update?


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

No change. He looks the same and has gone back to never coming out of his hiding spot (still not sure where that is, my tank is huge). I've been doing the water changes and feeding as normal. I haven't added any meds/chemicals to the tank because I don't want to stress my cichlids. Water still tests the same as above and I have not added any new stock.

On a side note, I tried registering for an account several times on the catfish forum and I've never gotten an email to activate the account.... That's why I can't post there.

I'm still confused as to how the catfish got this in the first place since I've been told it's caused by water quality issues. My parameters are and have been fine, my tank was cycled properly prior to adding fish and I filter my own water with an at home RO/DI system with a TDS meter.


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## wortel87 (Apr 15, 2014)

I would treat for columnaris but i think he,s probably to far gone.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

does that system use carbon to filter the water?


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

I'm going to guess No on the Columnaris, wortel87, even though it sort of looks like it. It's highly contagious, right? and this has been going on for a _long _time, and no one else in the tank has symptoms.

Bad case of lateral line disease was the diagnosis from planetcatfish.com... seems to make more sense. That catfish basically needs antibiotics and vitamin enriched food, and probably water not filtered by carbon (if it is? I don't understand the do/ro thing...)

He's a tough bugger! I wouldn't give up on him yet...


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

Yes, my RO/DI system uses carbon in the filtration process. This is the system I use to filter my water:
http://www.aquasafecanada.com/products/ ... ystem.html


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

And if you're inquiring about the filtration in my tank, no I do not use activated carbon in my aquarium filter. I have a Marineland Tidepool model 4 aqrilic sump and that is not something I use in my media trays.


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## hisplaceresort1 (Mar 10, 2014)

OK, I would like opinions on what I'm coming up with here...
1.) the OP maintains his tank properly, checks levels, does water changes, etc. As far as anyone could tell, he's doing everything right.
2.) The catfish was fine until he moved it to this tank.
3.) The catfish developed what appears to be (to the eye of an experienced catfish keeper) a really bad case of lateral line disease.
4.) This has been going on for more than 2 months, so if it was something contagious, it would have likely spread to other fish, and has not.
5.) the ro/di system uses carbon. Carbon filtration is thought to be a contributing factor in HITH and lateral line diseases... (possibly because it depletes minerals from the water, but there seem to be a lot of opinions on that out there...)

I'm guessing for whatever reason, this catfish is not "compatible" with RO/DI water.

What do you all think? Is that a logical conclusion...?


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## DobermanOwner (Apr 24, 2014)

Sorry to revive this old post, but I'm happy to report that this catfish is still alive and kicking! He looks much better and has healed up decently. He still has scarring and his dorsal fin is just a nub, but he doesn't look like a zombie anymore. He is active during the day and eats like a pig.

Here are a few pictures of him (sorry they're blurry, he's fast!):

























I didn't treat him with anything. I just wished him luck and continued my routine tank maintenance and feeding.


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## MbunaMayhem (Nov 28, 2015)

What a turnaround! Good job!


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## The Dude315 (May 19, 2015)

Great news! He looks like a Synodontis Euruptus... I had one a few years ago... he was gorgeous with his majestic dorsal fin.. nice job sticking by him. I'm sure he will eventually heal up. That species lives for like 20 years... I was pretty crushed when mine didn't make it through a move. I love synodontis cats.


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