Electric Catfish Not Eating
- Thread starter Rougarou
- Start date
Nice thread. Interesting. Such asymptomatic cases are pretty hard to crack.
1. What has been its diet? I wonder about malnutrition, e.g. thiaminase and the ensuing B1 deficit that leads to appetite loss and lethargy.
2. I note that there are next to zero big ecats ever shown or shared by peers, even over 1ft. From years of reading and talking to ecat owners, it seems that sooner or later they develop a deadly problem, perhaps with their biological battery, which cannot be cured and they die from it. This is guessing for the lack of better clues.
3. I hope the sudden bursts you describe are not battery related. Could be indeed parasite related but these usually lead to pangs, trembling, body contortion, not sudden desire to swim wildly.
1. What has been its diet? I wonder about malnutrition, e.g. thiaminase and the ensuing B1 deficit that leads to appetite loss and lethargy.
2. I note that there are next to zero big ecats ever shown or shared by peers, even over 1ft. From years of reading and talking to ecat owners, it seems that sooner or later they develop a deadly problem, perhaps with their biological battery, which cannot be cured and they die from it. This is guessing for the lack of better clues.
3. I hope the sudden bursts you describe are not battery related. Could be indeed parasite related but these usually lead to pangs, trembling, body contortion, not sudden desire to swim wildly.
Thanks for the response. I have been considering that this may be the result of some kind of chronic pain, or an internal problem. A problem with it's electrical system could certainly be the case. I have never heard this, and is interesting information.
To answer the first question, I have tried to keep her diet varied as much as possible. This includes alternating weekly feedings of cut fish(usually Silversides), shrimp(soaked before feeding in order to remove any excess salt), and earth worms(night crawlers and baby night crawlers), and the occasional treat of beef heart . I've tried to feed commercial pellets, but the fish ignores these. I feed every other day.
The fish, when sitting still, has taken to curling into a "U" shape, as opposed to laying straight. Experience has taught me this generally isn't a good sign. However the lack of any other distress(no trembling, no heavy breathing, no cloudy eyes, etc.) is strange. It still seems rather alert and inquisitive. If I walk up to the tank, she'll swim forward. If I out food, or my hand in the tank, she'll take a look, and the whiskers go forward.
One thing that has occurred to me, I have a piece of PVC pipe(it was new off the shelf pipe, never used for anything) in the tank for the cat to hang out in. Is it possible it could be leeching out something chemically that's poisoning the fish? It's been in there for a long time,
I'd not blame the pipe.
One thing that stands out is the diet. Silversides and shrimp are loaded in thiaminase and hence your fish could be merely ill from a deficit of vitamin B1, which is what the enzyme thiaminase destroys. You can administer B1 through feed or through bath and see if it makes a difference.
One thing that stands out is the diet. Silversides and shrimp are loaded in thiaminase and hence your fish could be merely ill from a deficit of vitamin B1, which is what the enzyme thiaminase destroys. You can administer B1 through feed or through bath and see if it makes a difference.
Whatever you do, try to avoid becoming one of those aquarists who are trained by their fish, rather than training the fish. Most cats, including my long-ago E.cat, are easy to switch from live to frozen to prepared foods, often simply by fasting for a couple days. Flavouring and scenting the pellets by pre-soaking in the meltwater from frozen brine shrimp is often helpful to get them going as well.
If a little more effort isn't a problem, then try making your own gel foods by combining ingredients, preferably finely ground or pureed, with just enough gelatin to create a jiggly solid mass; this lets you feed just about any food to just about any fish, because it's very simple to incorporate into the mix the type of food that the fish has already convinced you it needs to stay alive.
This is also a great way to save money by buying pellets near their best-before dates, which are often marked down, since once blended into the gel they are usually stored frozen and thus last much longer.
The diet you offer doesn't really sound all that varied; a couple different items alternated from one meal to the next? I'd try to have a dozen or more commercial pellets on hand at any one time, plus a few frozen foods and my home-brewed gels. And I'd be sure to feed a meal of straight pellets often enough to keep the fish ready and willing to eat it; that way you can keep a ready supply of a nutritious, long-shelf-life diet on hand in case there is some sort of supply interruption in future.
These comments all revolve around feeding the fish properly; I can't guess what other problems might be present. The curled resting posture sounds worrisome.
If a little more effort isn't a problem, then try making your own gel foods by combining ingredients, preferably finely ground or pureed, with just enough gelatin to create a jiggly solid mass; this lets you feed just about any food to just about any fish, because it's very simple to incorporate into the mix the type of food that the fish has already convinced you it needs to stay alive.
This is also a great way to save money by buying pellets near their best-before dates, which are often marked down, since once blended into the gel they are usually stored frozen and thus last much longer.The diet you offer doesn't really sound all that varied; a couple different items alternated from one meal to the next? I'd try to have a dozen or more commercial pellets on hand at any one time, plus a few frozen foods and my home-brewed gels. And I'd be sure to feed a meal of straight pellets often enough to keep the fish ready and willing to eat it; that way you can keep a ready supply of a nutritious, long-shelf-life diet on hand in case there is some sort of supply interruption in future.
These comments all revolve around feeding the fish properly; I can't guess what other problems might be present. The curled resting posture sounds worrisome.
