# What is wrong with my Pictus?



## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Last night I added Pimafix to my tank because I noticed that my Pictus had fungus on his sides (it wasn't there 2 days before), everything seemed fine. All of the fish were ok and the Pictus was swimming around like usual. This morning I was watching him and out of no where he started twitching sort of. Then he had what I would describe as a seizure and ended up on his side. He was still breathing so I used the end of the net to turn him over so he was upright. He immediately started swimming around again like he was before. I'm not sure what to do because all of the other fish seem fine. Is there any explanation for this or anything I can do?


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I've also noticed that even with the Pimafix in the tank, there is now a few more spots of fungus, but these are on his fins. I am really not sure what is wrong with him other than the fungal infection. I am suprised at how bad it got in just a few days. The skirt tetra that had it before only had one spot but the Pictus seems to have multiple spots all over now. There is also fungus on the cory eggs that I decided to leave in the tank this time :/ I will keep treating the water and hope for the best, but what is the explanation for his "seizure"?


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

What are your water parameters? specifically, ph,ammonia, nitrates, nitrites? What temp do you keep the tank? If he did not have any odd seizures before you started treating the water, I would not continue with that medication, on the off chance that he is having a reaction to it. There are plenty of other fungus meds out there. Are you sure it is a fungus?


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

At the moment, the water is at 73.5, although I did just get a heater that I can use if needed. Sadly, I am still waiting on things to test my water because I have no money. I should have it by next week though. Sorry I am not able to find these things out :/ And I am fairly sure it is fungus because I recently had a tetra with fungus and I can see it on my cory eggs. I looked up pictures of ich and compared but the spots on my Pictus don't seem to look like salt as ich is described. They seem bigger and maybe an off white color unless that is just the color of the fish showing through.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

okay, the water is waaay too cold. That needs to be fixed asap.No wonder you're having fungus/ich problems! If the eggs are no longer viable due to fungus, get rid of them. Any dead matter in the tank can mess up the water parameters pretty quickly.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Ya that is the coldest its been this week...I'll add the heater tonight so it doesn't do that again. What temperature should it be? If I stop treating for the fungus, how else can I get rid of it (whatever it is)?


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

What you are describing could be a true fungus, which is dcidedly fuzzy looking, or "body fungus" which is actually columnaris. I treat columaris with a combination of Maracyn by Mardel, and Maracyn 2 also by Mardel. These meds work together; maracyn focuses on gram positive bacterial infections, while maracyn 2 treats gram negative. If you believe it is a true fungus, there are several products out there, but I use maracide,(by mardel again) and I usually treat a fungus with an antibiotic as well as an antifungul, to prevent secondary infections. Mardel products come with a neat little insert that has a fish disease identification chart, and detailed info about treating infections, fungus and parasites. It would be good to read and keep for reference.


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Temp should be 78-80 during treatments. No less than 76 at any time.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Ok, thank you so much. I know I am learning from all of this, but I feel like I am learning too slow sometimes. My poor fish, they would probably hate me if they could :/


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Everyone has to learn this stuff--at least you care enough to try! And when you get the heater in, remember to increase temp slowly, over a period of a day or two, not an hour or two...don't want to add more stress!


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## Guest (Feb 3, 2013)

Learning things slowly is better than learning them fast and forgetting everything. I learn slowly and I retain more information that way.

I hope that your pictus gets better soon. You are doing an awesome job.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I read the book that came with it. It said to leave it on the setting it was already on for the first day I believe. So, that's what I will do. I will stop adding the Pimafix and remove the eggs tomorrow. I will also be getting a water testing kit this week hopefully and the things I need to treat ich. If only the Pictus is having the problems, would it still be ok to treat the whole tank incase the other fish just aren't showing it and also because the Pictus is hard to catch?


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

I would treat the whole tank. Ich has a free swimming stage that infests the whole tank, even when you can't see it. And it wont reproduce in warmer water, so get the temp up to keep it from spreading. 80would not be too high. I take mine up to 82. If it says to leave the heat on the setting it is on the first day, they are assuming your temp is at least normal, 76-79, but yours isn't. hope that works!


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I was talking to my dad about that actually and ended up changing the setting because of that. And as far as learning things from my mistakes, is it really fair to be using living creatures to learn these things from? I feel bad for them. But then my dad said that it was better that I learn from each little mistake and maybe lose a few fish, than losing an entire tank because I didn't know anything to start with.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I've noticed something else with the Pictus. Before I noticed the fungus or whatever it is, he used to spend alot of time in the cave. Since yesterday, everytime I come to check on him he is swimming near the top. It doesn't look like he's trying to get air because he never really touches the top, but he does this all day long. I also haven't seen him eat in a while. So he just swims back and forth across the top all day long. Is there any reason for this?

I am going to keep treating the tank for fungus because some of the bigger spots that were on the Pictus now seem to be smaller. Also, some of the smaller ones are gone. He has also been more active today than he has in a few days. He looks like hes swimming better and stronger than he was before. Hopefully it really is fungus and Im not just seeing things.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

kirrie....your dad is a very smart man...he was absolutely right about losing just a few fish rather than an entire tank...think about all of the horrible diseases that there are now treatments , or even cures for...these came about by using animals and humans to learn how to treat them....it may sound cruel , but there really is no other way to do it...
with the fish , you would have to read so many books and articles to actually figure out what might be wrong with yours....

one of the things i have found over the years is that when we start treating the problem may start getting worse before it starts getting better...that is why you will often see where treatment will span several days to several weeks....
the best of luck to you and i hope things continue to improve..


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

He looked great this morning, he was energetic and the spots were almost gone. I don't know what happened because I was gone all day, but now that I back he seems to be worse than before. Some of the spots have now turned into little patches and he randomly stops swimming and sinks to the bottom or wherever he lands. He is still breathing and all of the other fish appear to be fine. I know that everytime I check on him, he is swimming at the top of the tank, he never stops. It makes me think that he is tired but then he's moving again a few minutes later. I'm not sure what to do because now that he's stopped moving and I can get a better look, I'm almost positive it's fungus.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

On second thought, I think I am going to return him :/ I have until Wednesday to take him back to PetSmart. All of my fish from Petco are fine but the one I got from PetSmart is pretty much on his death bed. I'll never get fish from there again. Since he is the only sick fish, he was probably sick when I got him, and when I went to PetSmart today to get more filter cartridges, the other Pictus Catfish were gone. They were probably really sick too. By the time I left my dads tonight, he hadn't moved in about 15 to 20 minutes. He was laying on the bottom of the tank on his side. He is trying less and less to swim. I have also decided that once I take him back, I am not getting another Pictus. I got lucky that he wasn't aggressive with my other fish and I don't want to take that chance again. Not sure what I will replace him with though...probably nothing for now. Will PetSmart take him back if he dies before Wednesday?


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

Call petsmart and explain that he was sick from the moment you got him, and find out what their return policy is. If he dies, put him in a ziplock bag in the refridgerator until you can take him back.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Ok, well I think "if" he dies is out of the question now, unless he miraculously got better again. I told my dad exactly what to do if he dies before Wednesday. And I will probably have my mom or dad call because I prefer not talking to people on the phone XD On the bright side, I just got a bunch of money for my birthday today so I can get more of the things I should always have with me. My dad thinks I'm crazy because I plan on spending all of it on the tank, but I'm ok with that because I'm not really interested in anything else at the moment.


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## graceful.04 (Oct 30, 2012)

Well on a brighter note, happy birthday!!


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Thank you  I talked to my dad earlier and he said that the Pictus looks better again o_o He tells me that he is swimming at the top again and the spots are smaller again. I know he's not crazy because I saw the same thing happen on both Saturday and Sunday. He seems to be healthy and getting better in the morning but by night he's dieing again. I really don't understand how it can change that much within a day. All I know is this fish is giving me whiplash! I'm thinking I still want to return him because he's obviously sick and it's stressing me out, and also because he's probably only nice to my other fish now because he's not that big yet. I was not ready for this haha.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2013)

Taking care of a sick fish can take a toll on you. I had to take care of Baby Girl, my biggest clown loach, for three weeks, because she was basically pretty far gone. She had three diseases and I took care of them one at a time. Hang in there, you will get this pictus better.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm not really sure of what he even has though :/ I also don't understand how his health can change so much in one day. He's gone from energetic and getting better to dieing on the bottom of the tank in one day 3 times now. I am also worried about what he will be like with my other fish once he's bigger. So I'm thinking it would be better to take him back now before I get too attached. Although, I already named him Whiskers so it's a little late for that haha.


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## graceful.04 (Oct 30, 2012)

They do get pretty big, so depending on how large your tank is, you may want to return him. I was curious about getting a Pictus for my new 20 gallon extra high, but they really do get too big for that tank at least.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2013)

When I would change the water in my 55 gallon tank, Baby Girl would get better then go back to being sick. Your pictus is fighting to live, means you have a fighter. Baby Girl was pretty far gone and I thought that I would lose her, but after three weeks of treating her for the three diseases that she had, she got better and has not gotten sick again so far. Baby Girl fought to get better and I fought with her. Your pictus is doing the same thing, fighting to stay alive, and it is best if you fight with it. What would happen to Whiskers if you returned him? He may be neglected and die, or go to someone else who doesn't know how to take care of him. You are the best chance that Whiskers has to surviving. Keep fighting with him to help him feel better.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

That is a good point. There is no telling what would happen to him. But what will happen to him once he's too big for my tank? I only have a 29 gallon. He'll end up killing all of my other fish and be unhappy in the size of tank I have. The only reason he is in my tank now is because of some bad advice from someone at PetSmart. (Really not liking PetSmart at the moment. I'm still ok with Petco though) Sure he fits in my tank and gets along with my fish now, but that probably won't last. By then it will be too late to take him back and I don't know anyone who would take him for me. I don't want to just give up on him because he's sick, I just don't know what I will do with him in the future if he makes it. :/


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## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

I would not hesitate to return him: 1) wrong size fish for your tank. 2) chronically sick since he arrived, which puts other fish in danger of getting sick. 3) wrong fish for your fish, which puts them in danger of being lunch. But that is just my opinion, and this is a very personal decision. It is possible that he will recover, be a nice community tankmate, and you might be ready to get a bigger tank when he outgrows the one he's in, but I wouldn't bet much money on it.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Ya, that is exactly what I am thinking. There is no way I am getting a bigger tank for a while so I am going to have to return him :/ I'll probably then add more plants and once everything has settled down I may add maybe some other type of schooling fish. Nothing too big though obviously. It was nice to have the Pictus before he got sick though. They're pretty cool.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

Whiskers died while I was at school today :/ I'll be taking him back to PetSmart tomorrow to see what they will do.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2013)

I am so sorry you lost Whiskers. I am not sure what Petsmart will do but when I lost a betta within the time frame of being able to return the betta if anything happened, they let me get another one at the same price. Maybe they will let you get some fish for the price you paid for Whiskers.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I'm not really ready for more fish yet. And I won't buy fish there ever again. Maybe they will let me get other things I need instead.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2013)

That is a possibility.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

That would be nice. Although it was only 11$.


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## Trout (Mar 16, 2011)

11 dollars is still enough to get a nice plant or two, or a couple snails, or supplies. Your imagination and the stock are the only limitations. 

Ottocinculus cats are nice, too, because they're peaceful shoal fish that clean for you here and there.


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## Kirrie (Jan 18, 2013)

I'll probably just go with more plants for now


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