Redtail Catfish FinRot

Cestra04

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2021
31
11
13
26
Gonna start with the basics cos it’s what I see.
1 x 22” rtc
1x 16” rtc
4 x arrowana big enough not to be eaten by a22” rtc
1 x peacock bass big enough not to eaten as above
Pond size 500g !!!!!
Filtration 10000g per hr !!!!!!!

To me all the numbers are wrong and perfect for causing problems.
Pond is way too small for the fish in it and water turn over is too much for the quantity of water.
Is it the pump that is 10000gph
Is the filtration capable of 10000 gph through it? That filter will be almost half the size of the pond.
500g only equates to 7ft x 4ft x3 ft and that water being emptied and refilled 20 times an hour would be four arrowana living in a river.

Arrowana will lose interest first if temp drops much below 20 and you could start losing them much below that. 500g with a fast turn over like that will be good to pick up the heat from the room but works the other way if the room is cold and the water will cool faster. Depending how the pond is built and insulated it could also transmit cold through any concrete walls if used or un insulated liner adding to fluctuations.

Once you have remedied your current issues I think you may have to look at your current setup and change something.
Water parameters are fine, over filtration and overstock is needed for a smaller 500g tank with monster fish that's common knowledge, it prevents aggression and territory disputes. 10k estimated. 5k pump 3k wave maker one side 1800 wavemKer other end let's fish choose which side what current, no issue. Only fish bad are RTC from bacterial infection I need to cure now. Thanks for the criticism I guess lol.
 

celebrist

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 7, 2013
3,040
2,894
179
alaska
I guess people are wondering if your bio is sufficient as those fish have gotten bigger, my understanding is ammonia and nitrite should generally both be zero if there is enough media

I hope you get your big cats back to ship shape. Did you say the two surviving arros and the bass seem okay?
 

Cestra04

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2021
31
11
13
26
I guess people are wondering if your bio is sufficient as those fish have gotten bigger, my understanding is ammonia and nitrite should generally both be zero if there is enough media

I hope you get your big cats back to ship shape. Did you say the two surviving arros and the bass seem okay?
Yes my bioload can handle it that's why it's 10k water flow to handle the ammonia they put out. As for the cats I quarantined in a 300g with medication for fin rot with good water quality and less water temp to fight the bacteria. Unfortunately they died. As for the aros and bass perfectly healthy no issues at all
 

jjohnwm

Sausage Finger Spam Slayer
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2019
4,237
10,828
194
Manitoba, Canada
Okay...first, your bioload isn't what "handles" the ammonia, it's what produces the stuff. Biofiltration media is where the bacteria that do the handling live, and you must have enough of those bacteria...which means enough media...to take care of the ammonia that the bioload produces. The water flow really hasn't got much to do with it, except that it needs to be enough to pass the water over the active mature biomedia often enough per hour to do the job. We are talking strictly about flow rate through/over the biomedia in the filter; wavemakers don't count for this. They help with aeration and they help move solid waste into the mechanical filter, but they don't play much of a role in biofiltration.

If you have ammonia in measurable quantities with the kind of flow rate you are talking about, your bacterial colony isn't sufficient for the load; it's that simple. Is the volume of your biomedia insufficient, perhaps? Or has something caused a die-off of bacteria? If you are experiencing regular ammonia readings of 0.5, your fish are not perfectly healthy. You've lost four large fish all at once, which will reduce the ammonia production and perhaps allow your current filtration to handle what the remaining fish are putting out. But if you start adding more fish, or if your survivors simply continue to grow...you will be back in the same boat, i.e. too much ammonia produced for your filtration to convert.

Put simply: way too many fish that are way too big in way too small a tank to be properly maintained with your current methods.
 

Cestra04

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2021
31
11
13
26
Okay...first, your bioload isn't what "handles" the ammonia, it's what produces the stuff. Biofiltration media is where the bacteria that do the handling live, and you must have enough of those bacteria...which means enough media...to take care of the ammonia that the bioload produces. The water flow really hasn't got much to do with it, except that it needs to be enough to pass the water over the active mature biomedia often enough per hour to do the job. We are talking strictly about flow rate through/over the biomedia in the filter; wavemakers don't count for this. They help with aeration and they help move solid waste into the mechanical filter, but they don't play much of a role in biofiltration.

If you have ammonia in measurable quantities with the kind of flow rate you are talking about, your bacterial colony isn't sufficient for the load; it's that simple. Is the volume of your biomedia insufficient, perhaps? Or has something caused a die-off of bacteria? If you are experiencing regular ammonia readings of 0.5, your fish are not perfectly healthy. You've lost four large fish all at once, which will reduce the ammonia production and perhaps allow your current filtration to handle what the remaining fish are putting out. But if you start adding more fish, or if your survivors simply continue to grow...you will be back in the same boat, i.e. too much ammonia produced for your filtration to convert.

Put simply: way too many fish that are way too big in way too small a tank to be properly maintained with your current methods.
I get what you're saying. But I did **** my wording. Don't care anymore think what y'all want my guy from the forum who helped me setup 2 years ago told me why and gave me real criticism ?. Thanks for telling me things I guess.
 

celebrist

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 7, 2013
3,040
2,894
179
alaska
Bummer about the cats. Did you get the room heater squared away?

Would love to see pics of your setup, what dimensions is your 500? Are all your tanks in the same fish room?
 

Cestra04

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2021
31
11
13
26
Okay...first, your bioload isn't what "handles" the ammonia, it's what produces the stuff. Biofiltration media is where the bacteria that do the handling live, and you must have enough of those bacteria...which means enough media...to take care of the ammonia that the bioload produces. The water flow really hasn't got much to do with it, except that it needs to be enough to pass the water over the active mature biomedia often enough per hour to do the job. We are talking strictly about flow rate through/over the biomedia in the filter; wavemakers don't count for this. They help with aeration and they help move solid waste into the mechanical filter, but they don't play much of a role in biofiltration.

If you have ammonia in measurable quantities with the kind of flow rate you are talking about, your bacterial colony isn't sufficient for the load; it's that simple. Is the volume of your biomedia insufficient, perhaps? Or has something caused a die-off of bacteria? If you are experiencing regular ammonia readings of 0.5, your fish are not perfectly healthy. You've lost four large fish all at once, which will reduce the ammonia production and perhaps allow your current filtration to handle what the remaining fish are putting out. But if you start adding more fish, or if your survivors simply continue to grow...you will be back in the same boat, i.e. too much ammonia produced for your filtration to convert.

Put simply: way too many fish that are way too big in way too small a tank to be properly maintained with your current methods.
Not tryna be an ass either really appreciate the criticism you might even be right but I highly doubt it and to each they own opinion right? But I'll take measures to prevent this.
 

Cestra04

Black Skirt Tetra
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2021
31
11
13
26
Bummer about the cats. Did you get the room heater squared away?

Would love to see pics of your setup, what dimensions is your 500? Are all your tanks in the same fish room?
Yes heater is fine now water was changed and the parameters are good ? and I have a YouTube channel it's BNDLLC it's a 8ft by 4ft by 2ft might have the length a foot off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fishman Dave

Fishman Dave

Potamotrygon
MFK Member
Nov 14, 2015
2,105
4,301
164
53
West Yorkshire
Water parameters are fine, over filtration and overstock is needed for a smaller 500g tank with monster fish that's common knowledge, it prevents aggression and territory disputes. 10k estimated. 5k pump 3k wave maker one side 1800 wavemKer other end let's fish choose which side what current, no issue. Only fish bad are RTC from bacterial infection I need to cure now. Thanks for the criticism I guess lol.
Firstly, apologies, it may sound like critisism (it does)but many of us have been there , been through the same and have got the t shirt.
But there are things that have to be sorted or understood so as not to keep having the same issues.
500g is big, and good, it’s better than 400g and much better than 300g……… but it’s not as good as 1000g and no where near as good as 2000g. We each have what we can afford or fit or maintain, etc.
when it comes to monster fish, overstocking a small tank or pond IS NOT a common practice to keep down aggression and is definitely not “ needed” and anyone who tells you it is, no doubt has too many large fish in too cramped conditions and is trying to justify doing so to themselves. That approach should be kept for malawis, not monster fish. That will only bring more problems. Any really territorial monster fish will see 500g as all theirs so any amount of other fish won’t help. It may help stopping one getting all the bullying but they will just all live in fear instead and the only one happy is the owner ( until the problems start).
Then when it comes to filtration you need to have the right size filter for a) the stock you have and b) the pump you have.
It is common to have too much filtration, when keeping monster fish, which is not the same as too much water flow, nor is it the same as too big a turn over of water. It is possible to have too much water going through a filter and in turn to stop it being able to perform correctly. Increasing the amount of flow through a filter is not over filtration. This would be having a filter that is rated much bigger than the amount of water you plan to put through it or having a filter and pump for a much bigger pond. The problem then is just down to fish being blown around if the water movement is too much.
Having too many big fish just means that when things do go bad, they go bad fast and are harder to fix. If I remember correctly you had the fish in a 500g glass tank the last we saw, is this the pond you are now mentioning?
If not, then is it possible to split them and have half in each?
I know you mentioned breeding red tails at some point, which will mean getting the two you have (if a pair) to 3-4 ft each, and obviously that’s gonna require something upwards of 3000g to do so getting filtration and stocking right now will help them grow up healthy for your future plans.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store