Red Tailed Shark Behavior, is this normal?

[Bluetech]

This shark has somewhat odd behavior since I've had him, or maybe its normal I don't know never owned one before, they do interesting things. Anyway past couple nights I have seen him doing this (in the video I linked) Wondering if this is normal or ok? Water levels are fine also, checked the last night.

Let me know what you guys think, I'm a little concerned.

 

[Andy Sager]

If he's in the water flow, it's not too unusual. If it's not in the water flow, look closely for external parasites especially if he starts scratching against things.

 

[Bluetech]

Well he doesn't appear to have parasites, but now hes been hiding out in the cave which is odd for him.

 

[Andy Sager]

Well he doesn't appear to have parasites, but now hes been hiding out in the cave which is odd for him.

Actually, hiding is a normal position for RT sharks. They are usually night dwellers so they hide when the light is on and come out more searching for food once the lights are off. With that being the case, it's only a problem if the shark starts breathing heavily when in it's hiding spot. That can be a sign of internal issues if you found nothing on the outside. Observe the fish from a distance so that you get a real view of it's " natural" behavior and not one that is being influenced by your presence.

 

[Bluetech]

Update, so today I caught him out and about and noticed his mouth looks kinda white, does it look like a fungal infection or is this how their mouth is? Never noticed it being white before, could be the inside of his mouth I'm look at but not sure. I have a short clip I'm going to upload to accompany this also

 

[Bluetech]

Just skim ahead to the 40 second mark, trying to edit it out, but hes hiding till then

 

[Andy Sager]

The picture looks worse than the video so were they both taken on the same day?
Either way tho, yes that looks like an infection. The only question is is it getting better or getting worse.

 

[Bluetech]

What would you use for this type of infection? Yes same day, was trying to get a good angle on it. The pic is with his mouth open

 

[Andy Sager]

What would you use for this type of infection? Yes same day, was trying to get a good angle on it. The pic is with his mouth open

What is your water's pH and GH? Those will determine the best meds to use.

 

[Bluetech]

PH is probably around 7 the water here is sorta hard for the most part

 

[Andy Sager]

PH is probably around 7 the water here is sorta hard for the most part

Can't do "probablys". Test it and report back please.

 

[Bluetech]

Can't do "probablys". Test it and report back please.

It uses a color coded system for the test, green shade looks to be 7.0 or close to it

 

[Andy Sager]

It uses a color coded system for the test, green shade looks to be 7.0 or close to it

Okay. Since the white area just looks white, you will need to place the shark in a separate " hospital" tank and treat the fish with Kanamycin (Use Seachem Kanaplex if you can't find plain Kanamycin.) If you see no results after a full treatment schedule of Kanamycin, there's an unexplainable synergy when Kanamycin is mixed with Nitrofurazone ( because Kanamycin works better in high Ph and Nitrofurazone works better in low pH.) so it makes for a more broad spectrum antibiotic against gram + and gram- bacteria whether the fish is eating or not and the pH appears to not affect effectiveness.
That would be my first moves. If the white area in the mouth becomes fuzzy ( like cotton), that would be fungus ( which occurs on an existing wound) and so the best treatment for that would be Fritz Expel-F ( Expel-F ). Follow the directions from the linked page and discontinue the Kanamycin or Kanamycin/ nitrofurazone mix. Expel-F will not be affected by the other meds.

That's what I would do.
Hope it helps.

 

[Bluetech]

Okay. Since the white area just looks white, you will need to place the shark in a separate " hospital" tank and treat the fish with Kanamycin (Use Seachem Kanaplex if you can't find plain Kanamycin.) If you see no results after a full treatment schedule of Kanamycin, there's an unexplainable synergy when Kanamycin is mixed with Nitrofurazone ( because Kanamycin works better in high Ph and Nitrofurazone works better in low pH.) so it makes for a more broad spectrum antibiotic against gram + and gram- bacteria whether the fish is eating or not and the pH appears to not affect effectiveness.
That would be my first moves. If the white area in the mouth becomes fuzzy ( like cotton), that would be fungus ( which occurs on an existing wound) and so the best treatment for that would be Fritz Expel-F ( Expel-F ). Follow the directions from the linked page and discontinue the Kanamycin or Kanamycin/ nitrofurazone mix. Expel-F will not be affected by the other meds.

That's what I would do.
Hope it helps.

I don't think I can get my hands on the first one right away but I believe (according to their website) I can get kanaplex from a local pet store, but I have to wait till the morning. Thank you for your help, I'll get that in the morning and give it a go, hopefully it will help him out.

 

[Andy Sager]

Keep us posted.

 

[Bluetech]

So the update today is, he's looking good, had a 2nd dose in the tank today, and tonight hes out and about like he used to be, top fin fully up which to my knowledge means he is happy/content at the moment. On an annoying note the bag that held the bio balls broke when I took out the carbon ($!#$) So I bought a new one to put in, never had to do this before hopefully it doesn't effect the water much. Not going to do this for a couple days still, I want make sure all is well and stable.

 

[Andy Sager]

It sounds like you treated your main tank. If so, keep in mind that while Kanaplex reportedly does not kill the biological filter, according to Seachem, it will suppress growth of the filter bed so you may need to treat the tank as a newly cycled aquarium or add more nitrifying microbes when you have completed the medicating and the fish is healed. You may want to read trough this from Seachem: https://forum.seachem.com/forum/general-discussion/2351-septicemia-kanaplex This is why I suggested in post #13 treating the fish in a " hospital tank" and not the main tank.