Sleeping catfish!!

[BK911]

Have a tank for the kiddies that I stock with stuff I catch at the lake.
Put in a minnow trap and usually catch minnows and blue gill.
Last year i caught a shovel nose catfish!
Been hoping to catch one of those for years!!
This thing is weird.
It actually sleeps floating on top of the tank, and looks dead.
Sorry for crappy pics taken on 5 year old $20 cell phone.





It is definitely still alive, and has been doing this since I got it.
Pretty active during the day and has a VERY healthy appetite.

Is this normal?
Freaked me out the first couple of times I saw it.

[ramonesfreak]

looks abnormal. i have several catfish that spend a lot of time upside down but they are African and called Synodontis nigriventris. i am not aware of any N American catfish that sleep upside down but I could be wrong

around here it is against the law to take live fish from public waters. not criticizing you for what you are doing but just be aware that you might get a ticket/fine from the DEC if caught depending on your local laws and rules

[masraum]

Very weird.

I guess this is a different kind of catfish, but I'm pretty sure it would float too.

[ramonesfreak]

i don’t know if yours is a tiger variety but i see nothing about them sleeping upside down

https://www.aquariumsource.com/tiger-shovelnose-catfish/

mine actually swim upside down. they do not float at the top like yours

from what little i can see your fish appears to be ill and perhaps at the top where the water quality may be less toxic or more oxygenated

it’s pretty hard to get a wild caught fish to eat aquarium food.

does it eat well?

is your water quality tested?

[ramonesfreak]

oh i see you said good appetite

[BK911]

I am on well water so its the same water as the lake where he was caught.
Water gets tested every few years.
I was thinking he was sick, but he eats a LOT!
Tank has messy turtles so he gets lots of worm and minnow scraps.
Looks pregnant most of the time.
Been doing this for the year I have had him.
Very active during the day.
I catch him "sleeping" most mornings.
Tank has large filter and also half the water is changed out ~monthly.

[ramonesfreak]

by water testing, i was specifically referring to the quality of the water in the aquarium once the fish have crapped and P'd in it and left over food rots in it....nitrates/nitrites/ammonia

Its like CIS, if you dont measure the parameters....who knows whats going on

Turtles (along with worms and minnow body parts) are filthy as far as water quality in an enclosed aquarium is concerned It would not surprise me if your water quality is beyond off the charts toxic

but, I dont really know this type of catfish so, cant really say more. good luck....other than from what I read, they require a very large tank because they grow several feet long

As for changing water monthly, I am against that. My water on all 7 tanks gets changed 50% every Friday, without fail. Never monthly.

Imagine you are in a burning building filled with smoke without a mask. Thats what it feels like to be a fish in toxic water.....

[ramonesfreak]

BTW, fish that look pregnant are usually suffering from bloat or some other intestinal disease, not because they are full of food

[GH85Carrera]

My wife has an aquarium. She "lets" me help her clean it every couple of months.

She has many African ciclids, two clown loaches, and a stripped catfish. The catfish stays on the bottom most of the time and he is a cleaner and eats the scraps and crap form the other fish. She has one Plecostomus as well.

Anyway the Clown Loaches are funny fish. They will hang head down, and sleep in the plastic plants.

[Rusty Heap]

https://tenor.com/view/fish-skeleton-fish-bowl-fish-zombie-feeding-the-fish-chris-timmons-gif-13865877


"I'm not dead yet, 'hes just Pining for the Fjords......

[id10t]

Over on the forums at monsterfishkeepers.com they have a pretty good NA Natives sub-forum, might wanna post over there.....

[ramonesfreak]

The good news,

eating is a very good sign. not eating is usually the first symptom that something is wrong

and, he is alive for a year so far which means you are doing something right....

catfish, most of them, are very hardy and are slow to show signs of illness but if there was a serious issue, he would surely be showing more symptoms at this point I think

i have 7 catfish of various varieties and love them

[BK911]

Thanks guys.
It freaks me out every time I see it.
And by pregnant... Only a day or so, then normal.
Then after throwing in some worms, then normal.
Definitely a pig!

[Tobra]

Swim bladder, you need to do your water changes twice as often as you do

[BK911]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Swim bladder, you need to do your water changes twice as often as you do

Just googled.
That might be it, thanks!

[ramonesfreak]

swim bladder issues do not typically come and go in the pattern you have described

and they are typically caused by injury —-there are many causes though

But if your fish had a swim blade problem he would be floating uncontrollably all the time

this usually leads to death rather quickly…weeks

but as i said above, especially with a turtle(s), water changes once per month are not enough….though i admit i have not seen your filtration system

and even if using well water, i would recommend always using Seachem Prime when doing water changes

all my tanks have one additional filter. i over filter and always change once per week. you should at least do every other week

my tanks also have real plants which contribute to filtration…..don’t bring plants in from pond or lake or you will have dragon fly nymphs and planaria all over the place…been there done that

[BK911]

Fluval 406 in a 3/4 filled 200 gallon tank.
Looks like I am under filtered a bit.
Had this setup for years with no issues though.
Other catfish and bottom feeders all ok.
Other regular fish all ok.
Crayfish all ok.
Have another filter, will add that one to tank.
Thanks for all the help!

[ramonesfreak]

Disregard the link I first posted. The tiger shovel nose seems to be a tropical fish sold in fish stores, not caught in Tennessee

According to this, you probably have a flathead catfish, aka shovel head, et al…page 26 of the doc

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/fishing/anglersguide.pdf

Now check this out

https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/flathead-catfish-behavior/154069

In addition to Burns' insights, the observations of In-Fisherman editor Steve Hoffman add another perspective about the slothful flathead's propensity to lie on the bottom. Here's what Hoffman has observed about the *flatheads that resided in *In-Fisherman's aquarium:

"If left undisturbed, I've never seen flatheads suspend in the tank when the lights are on. If we were adding or removing other fish, or otherwise disturbing the tank, flatheads would rise up off the bottom and swim quick laps.

"When the lights were out, though, flatheads frequently swam through the middle of the tank or even just beneath the surface. I didn't spend enough time watching to gauge how much time they spent at mid-depths, but it seemed common when they were ready to feed.”

"It's also interesting that it took nearly an hour of darkness before they would rise off the bottom, but as soon as the lights were turned on, they dropped immediately to the bottom."

[ramonesfreak]

Yea filter too small

I have a fluval FX4 on my 75g. Probably perfect for your needs. Great filter

But really everything depends on how much livestock is in tank. I tend to overstock my tanks….or they do by having babies

Originally Posted by BK911

Fluval 406 in a 3/4 filled 200 gallon tank.
Looks like I am under filtered a bit.
Had this setup for years with no issues though.
Other catfish and bottom feeders all ok.
Other regular fish all ok.
Crayfish all ok.
Have another filter, will add that one to tank.
Thanks for all the help!

[ramonesfreak]

Can’t tell how big your catfish is. Are the crayfish big enough to prey on or bother the catfish if he stays in bottom? If yes, that might be part of the reason for sleeping at the top