south american red tail cat

slatetrain · Post by **slatetrain** » 21 Jan 2006, 05:35

for some reason my buddies s.a.r.t.c. will not eat every thing else in the tank is eating.right now he's all head and is really skinny.I haven't seen it eat in three weeks.I feed the tank bloodworms,sinking carnivoe tablits,alge disks,also there's feeder fish in there.Any Idea's

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 21 Jan 2006, 06:15

Try some fresh pieces of fish or raw prawns (shrimp). These sorts of cats can go for some time without food, but if it is emaciated then it could be sick as a result of disease (internal parasite) or poor conditions (not enough water changes).

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 21 Jan 2006, 10:46

To help you we will need the following information -

Tank Size
pH
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Tank Mates
Water Change Regime
Temperature
Size of RTC
Time you've had him

Thanks

slatetrain · Post by **slatetrain** » 21 Jan 2006, 21:47

ok i knew you guys were gunna ask me about the water and i know that stuff is important but i really dont know what they are.I'll have to break down and shell out thecash for testing kits.It's something i've been putting off for years.I can tell you it's a 30 gallon tank.The cat is only 3 in. max and he's with 3 polyperus(the biggest one is 5 in.,3 plecos, and a 4 in. leopard Ctenopoma.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 23 Jan 2006, 13:16

You don't NECESSARILY have to buy a test-kit. Most shops will have test-kits for their own use, and if you ask nicely (and perhaps hand over a few dollars), they will be able to test the water for you... Just make sure they tell you the test VALUES, not just "It's good" or "It's bad", because their (or my) judgement of what's good may not be what's good for your fish. Make sure they test all three of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

A complete test-kit for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is going to set you back around $40, or you can buy individual tests for each, they'll be around $10-15 each.

And even without test-kit, you can certainly tell us how often you change water & how much you change, what size your tank is (either in inches or gallons, preferrably BOTH)... A thermometer on the tank is always a good idea, and you should be able to get one from the LFS for less than $5.

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Mats