PlanetCatfish.com

I'm French Canadian so sorry about how it may sound.
I'v had an ammonia problem last week in my pacu and shovelnose tank, did water changes and stop feeding and this problem is solved.
But! my shovelnose has some kind of ulcer or wound on the bottom of is upper lip since, i'd like to put it under anesthetic so i could look at it closer and treat it, its a very very nervous fish and i'm afraid of its potentially «stingny» reactions.

Ho and what can i feed it beside shrimps and goldfish witch i don't really like to give him.

what can i feed it beside shrimps and goldfish witch i don't really like to give him.

You can try sinking, meaty pellets (such as Hikari Massivore Delight).

In my opinion, anesthetizing a large fish will be more stressful than it's worth when treating an ulcer. More than likely, it's just a wound that will heal with time, or possibly with the addition of 1 tablespoon of salt/5 gallons and/or melafix. It the ulcer doesn't heal or grows worse while in treatment, then further examination might be good, but you don't need to do that now.

If you go the anesthesia route, then clove oil is what is generally used when operating on goldfish and should work for a catfish, too. You should be able to find directions on koi/goldfish webites. It's lethal at the wrong concentration, so I can't really recommend it for anyone but a trained veterinarian, however. You could also net him, take a small biopsy, and then look at it under a microscope.

I think just treating it as a wound/minor infection is your best bet, however. Clean water and something that's mildly antibacterial such as a low salt concentration or melafix will probably be enough. A heavier antibiotic will be the next course of action, but I highly doubt that it would be necessary. Predatory fish get wounds all the time (if the prey struggles, for example) and they are very capable of healing on their own.

Good luck!!

I hold fish like your Shovel Nose gently wrapped in a towel soaked in aquarium water. Too dangerous to try to knock them out with drugs.
I have used this method on large wild Discus a number of times without harming them.