catfish seems ill

Question
I have a little catfish in my freshwater tank. I see him laying on his side. I cleaned the water (1/3 out, clean water in) I replaced the filter and the tank looks sparkling clean. he seems to be getting a little better, will he come all the way back to good health? I have other fish in the tank and they are all ok. I must say it was quite awhile before I had changed the water, bad fish owner! I hope he will be ok. I thought he was dead and went to scoop him up then he took off. so I guess it's just touch and go from here? He is now no longer on his side. as I've been writing this and he swims around a tiny bit. what can I do? Thanks!

Answer
Hi Cat, sorry not to get back to you sooner.

It is going to be just a matter of time before he gets better, if he's going to, and it sounds like he is already feeling better. Medication or anything else is unnecessary since it's more than likely that he's just reacting to environmental factors. The only things you can do are test the water quality and chemistry to make sure things are right in your aquarium...after a period of neglect, even a brief one (it happens) things can get funky. For one thing, there might be a hint of ammonia or nitrites registering in your tank - and both these levels need to be 0 ppm. The pH might have dropped in your tank, since aquariums tend to get more acidic as time goes by (which water changes balance out by adding more alkalinity to the water, provided your water has some alkalinity reserve, say, above 40 ppm). Check the pH of your tap and the pH of your aquarium and compare. They should be similar if not the same.

One unfortunate thing about not changing water for a while and then suddenly changing some, is that if there was ammonia in the tank, the sudden rise in pH is going to make the ammonia more toxic. Nothing much to do about this except use an ammonia neutralizer, such as Amquel. You can also use a double dose of certain dechlorinators, such as Prime, for this use. Check the shelves of your local fish store.

My suggestion is you test the aquarium water, and see what's going on. Then for a couple of weeks or so, try doing partial water changes of 10-15% every few days. That's all I would recommend.

Watch to ensure your catfish is eating, that's always a sign of health! And if you see anything like fuzziness or cloudiness on his fins or body, it's time to act fast with a broad spectrum antibiotic, such as Maracyn...but don't medicate until you see physical signs.

I hope that helps, take care!
Nicole