pls. Help. Giraffe catfish belly up.

[bognare]

Hi, I have a Giraffe catfish that I got when he was .5 inches, he is now about 7 in. W baby spots, I have him in a 75 gal w 2 eheim filters and an emperor 400. Tank mates 8 med discus and 10 electric green tetras,
2 wks ago I had a couple of bushy nose plecos, they died, 1 of them inside the cave cone so I got an amonia spike. Since then my gc has been belly up and belly sideways or tail up head down like vertically. He still eats very good, belly looks normal and poops like always. But it can not gain control of balance. Please help if you might now what's going on. Thanks ....

[TexSun]

Re: pls. Help. Giraffe catfish belly up.

Hmm... may be something wrong with its swim bladder.

[bognare]

It's there anything I could do to correct that? All water parameters are excellent..

[TexSun]

Re: pls. Help. Giraffe catfish belly up.

Not sure, google can be your best friend in this situation. See if others have experienced the same.

[mistahoo]

It's there anything I could do to correct that? All water parameters are excellent..

If all water parameters are excellent (I'm gonna assume you tested it), try some epsom salt or frozen peas. That always did the trick for my fish whenever they have swim bladder problems. I would add the epsom salt to a cup of some tank water and let it dissolve first and then disperse it slowly into the tank.

[bognare]

Great, I will try that next, and yes I tested the water and is all good.

[mistahoo]

If it's a bacterial infection, dose some antibiotics. I'm not quite sure which is good, but Melafix, Pimafix, Maracyn I, and Maracyn II always pops up when someone is treating bacterial infections, so you could try those if it is a bacterial infection?

I think it's just the sudden change in water parameters that's causing this, but I could be wrong.

[mistahoo]

Others have also had success by lowering the water level until they can upright themselves for a few hours and then gradually raising the water back up. I've never tried this, so I've got no input on it. It does help to cut out the lights to lower stress.

[TexSun]

Re: pls. Help. Giraffe catfish belly up.

Others have also had success by lowering the water level until they can upright themselves for a few hours and then gradually raising the water back up. I've never tried this, so I've got no input on it. It does help to cut out the lights to lower stress.

How low would you want to go?

[mistahoo]

No clue. When I had this problem before, I looked around several other forums and they all said "until the fish can upright itself". Some lowered the water level to about the height of the fish and a little lower. I've never tried this method because I didn't want to chance it with the different temp and water chemistry of new water coming into the tank when it's time to refill since sudden changes would worsen the problem.

Reason why I stuck to peas and epsom salt. Although peas and epsom salt won't really help as much as antibacterial meds if it's a bacterial infection.

[Crude]

Whats the deal with the peas?

[mistahoo]

They help with constipation. It's supposed to be a laxative for the fish just as the epsom salt.

[bognare]

I have tried Prazi pro and melafix a wk apart, but my gc is not constipated, it is pooping the same as before and it has not lost any appetite. And I don't know if lowering the temp, would be good for the discus..

[bognare]

The only thing I have not tried is the epsom salt.

[mistahoo]

I would keep up with the antibacterial if he's not constipated. If possible, separate the giraffe cat into a hospital tank. That way you can dose meds and go along with treatment without having to worry about harming its tankmates.

I've only used epsom salt as a laxative and you said he's pooping like normal and his belly isn't bloated. Is he just playing around? I've had fish that'll swim upside down, sideways, all sorts of ways and then swim normally when I get close.