PlanetCatfish.com

Hi,

One of my pictus in my 55 gallon tank seems to be breathing hard and fast. He is acting normal besides that. Anybody know what this could be?? All of the other fish are fine and i see no ich. I have some copper safe with me from a previous case of ich should i use this just a precaution if nothing else??

As u might guess heavy breathing most prolly has to do with the gills or water chemistry. How high is your pH?
I have no clue what copper safe is but id never use heavy medecine as a precaution when i have no clue what the sickness could be...

Dont yell, but the ph has never been tested, It has many other fish in it and all of them seem to be fine. If it was the ph wouldnt they all be acting irregularly?? Anyways i will pick a test thingy up as soon as possible. Its not a heavy medicine in fact on the box it says to put some in about every month just to ward off any possible parasites or what not. I have talked to some people at the lfs (not just employees) on different ocations about medicines and most have recommended copper safe as a ich medicine and also as a monthly treatment to prevent ich or other parasites. Well keep the help coming and thanks coal_ila.

The lfs i went to had none.(im not lieing) but the other shop in town usualy carries more of this kind of stuff anyways so i'll look there tomorrow. Now hes blown up like a balloon. And is just hanging in one corner of the tank. His stomach is really round and it isnt from over eating as i havent fed him since i noticed it bulging just to see if it really wasnt over feading so i know thats not it. What could be wrong?? He eats shrimp pellets,flakes,algae tablets,and sometimes he gets bloodworms. Iv heard fish get bloated and constapated due to some kinds of pellet foods. Could this be the problem?? Im using wardleys and the flakes are tetra min and the algae tablets are hikari tropicals.

Hmmm, sounds like it could be DROPSY...hopefully not, but to me that's what the symptoms point to. You should get your conditions tested, and whily at the LFS, maybe pick up some antibotics, it may be early enough that if it is DROPSY, that it can be cured. I've notice that with DROPSY it cops up when the conditions slide a bit in the tank, such as a spike in the nitrates.

And usually the only thing you can do at this point is to euthanize the fish....
Sorry.

A little info on this dropsy thing please?? Will all the fish in the tank have it?? Can it be spread??? Will i only need to dispose of just this one fish?? None of the others are breathing this way or are bloated like this.

I have some tiger plecos and some pimelodella gracillus at the lfs in quarantine will it be safe to add them??

It is said that dropsy is not contagious, and you only need to be careful that your affected doesn't die and become food for others, who will then pick up the infection.
I got this info from a simple google search, so don't take my word for it.

Thanks sillirus, Is there any chance that he could fight it off on his own?? Or is hopeless and should i just remove him immediately??

Normally, when the disease reaches the stage when it manifests itself, too much internal damage has been done.
Sorry, but I think the only thing you can do is to euthanize the fish.

Oedema, or 'dropsy' is a symptom rather than a disease in itself. It can have many and varied causes, from a polycystic kidney to Mycobacterium infection and everything inbetween. It's most usually caused by a systemic bacterial infection which is why there is usually little hope for an afflicted animal. True dropsy is where the eyes and scales (in a fish with scales!) protrude, and it can be difficult to tell with scaleless fish such as Pims.
The best way to avoid it occurring is to ensure that the immune response of the fish is fully functional by ensuring optimal water quality, no stress and good nutrition.

Alright thanks for all the help. I have decided to just go ahead with it. I know this will probably spark up a big contrevercy or something but what do you think is the most humane way of euthinizing him??

Overdose it with MS222 or some other fish anesthetic.
Failing which, you can put the guy in a bag in the fridge and freeze it to death.

Ok i have no idea what ms2222 is so i will just freeze him.

well i did it. Poor little guys in the freezer. HOw long should it take??

2 hours? Just until th water's frigid to the touch.

There's a related technique that may be more practical in some cases, e.g., bigger fish. Put lots of ice cubes in a bucket and ge the water as cold as you can. Dump fish in bucket. Wait for say 10-15 mins. The fish will become pretty comatose. Take out of bucket, put on chopping block, use large cleaver or butcher's knife to decapitate with one blow.

Dinyar

Woops i thaught he meant just to put it in a bag and put it in the freezer, The bag had no water in it or anything. I hope he didnt suffer too much. I was wondering about just cutting his head but this just seemed cleaner. I'll get another to replace him tomorrow.