Keeping bullheads healthy

I have been keeping a few bullhead in my “mini tank” for flattys this year. The problem I have is about every other day, I will find a floater with some sort of “fungus” on its back. Sometimes they are dead, and sometimes they are on the top of the water.

Is there anything I can do about this, or is it just a part of the game? I am using a 65 gallon tank, with a large aquarium bubbler and 2 air stones with well water. Is there anything I can do to keep these healthy, or more vibrant?

I really like a good looking, healthy bullhead

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I really like a good looking, healthy bullhead

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Creepy

Good question. The most I usually do is keep a dozen in a cooler with a jet pump. Without fail, the fungus always shows up. Actually, I am not so sure it isn’t bacteria. Usually part of the tail and pectoral fins (spines) get slowly “eaten” away, which I think is more a sign of bacteria. Methylene Blue I believe is the best aquatic treatment for fungus. Not sure about bacteria. I would try treating the water, but I am a little concerned that the chemicals might be absorbed enough that when I used them for bait, other fish could “smell” it once they were close to pouncing and get turned off. I am not sure I want to risk that. Then again, perhaps with flatheads preferring live bait, they also might be picky enough to avoid diseased fish too. Why can’t they be as easy to fish for like walleye and bass! I guess catching them wouldn’t be so magical then, but I digress.

On a side note. The last batch of bullheads I had issues with my jet pump. I ended up realizing it was the dirty water. Ok, that sounds pretty like a “duh” comment, but I could never find anything clogging it when it would stop. From what I can figure with all the dirt and slime, it would throw off the impeller enough to get it stuck. That makes sense since the impeller is run by magnetism and any extra impedance or uneven resistance would throw it off enough to get stuck. I don’t think to many people here use jet pumps though, but I think they do a much better job of circulating the water than bubblers.

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I really like a good looking, healthy bullhead

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Creepy

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This is coming from a sturgeon licker

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I really like a good looking, healthy bullhead

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Creepy

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I like to give them a quick kiss, and off to be eaten by a large flathead, just like their little bullhead Mommy

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Why can’t they be as easy to fish for like walleye and bass!

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What can be easier than hooking a bullhead through the lips and tossing it behind your boat?

Throwing a spinnerbait and reeling in or even easier, tossing out a leech and moving your boat along really slow.

Before I get in trouble (again), let it be known I like all fishing, all fish and some fishermen. Heck I even get a kick out of catching the bullheads for bait!

Now back to keeping bullheads healthy.

A coulple years ago I was adding (don’t recall the name)a treatment to my tank water. It was to take the clorine out and keep the bullheads…well…bully.

I was on a fairly long skunk streak and started asking myself..what changed? I asked the question on line “Would a water treatment stop a flat from biting”. No one thought it would…then that night my treated bullhead entered into the white abiss of a big flat…never needed to ask that question agian.

I believe what your seeing is commonly refered to as “ick”. Not sure what it’s named that.
Generally we don’t see that until we have warmer weather…Brent, are you keeping your bullheads someplace cool? Also the pumps with motors attached to them will heat up the water…might want to check the temp…I like 50 degree water.
Pet stores have treatment for ick.

“Ick” I believe that is the Latin name, right

I will have to check the temp. I have it in my shop, which does stay pretty cool, but I don’t know what the water temp might be.

Thanks for the help everyone

I stand corrected…

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Body Fungus Body Fungus is just that, fungus. It will attack your fish’s skin and cause ulcers or death in extreme cases. Large amounts of organic materials such as decaying food or fish waste can cause a breakout of fungus in your aquarium. Open wounds can develop fungus. The fungi feeds by excreting digestive enzymes which if it�s on the fish, slowly digests parts of the fish. Though cured easily, if the fish doesn’t get prompt treatment it will surely die. Secondary infections are also common.
Symptoms: White or grayish patches appear on the skin or gills that look like cotton or wool.
Treatment: Either purchase a treatment from your local fish/pet store specifically for fungus or buy an all round antibacterial treatment such as Melafix.

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I don’t think it is Ick. That shows up as tiny white dots on tropical fish. Although it is a fungus, so a fungus treatment would cure it.

So Brian I shouldn’t be afraid to chemically treat my bullies then?

Not unless you plan on using some of those drugs of the ’80’s.

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I really like a good looking, healthy bullhead

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Creepy

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This is coming from a sturgeon licker

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My thoughts exactly!

Keep the water clean guys, it will help. Take the time to scrub out your tank also.. drain it and scrub it with a weak bleach solution, that will kill the bacteria.

I dont like keeping bullheads around too long, they seem to start getting lame after a few days, and lethargic after a week. I know the more air you keep in your tank, the more lively the bullheads will be. Excess air seems to speed up their metabilism and might help take care of some of the bacteria issue.

Mplspug, No trouble here. Just had to call you out on that one. I also enjoy fishing for just about anything.

Brent, Last year you saw my cheap setup. It worked great remember 5 gal pail with 1 8in bubbler and over a doz bullies. I was able to keep them in good shape for 4 weeks with only every other day water (tap) change and add dechlorinator. The key I think is to keep them as cool as you can. Dont keep em in the garage if you dont have a cooling system or insulation. The heat kills them faster than anything else.

WOW, I am surprised you could keep them that long in that. I always figured they needed more room to move then that. Well I guess I learn something every day

I’m able keep 50-60 4-7″ bullies in a 10 gallon aquarium for 3 weeks with none dying by using a Powerhead filteration unit with a Biowheel bought at any pet store. I was fortunate to use mine from my 55 gal aquarium but it removes the chlorine, ammonia, etc via charcoal. Just my two cents.

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I’m able keep 50-60 4-7″ bullies in a 10 gallon aquarium….

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Whah???? They don’t poke each other to death? Is there room for any water? All I can imagine is the tank looking like a bullhead sardine can.

Its actually got alot more space than you would think. I was going to fire up my empty 55 gallon but they do fine in the 10 gallon.

Ammonia is the #1 killer of fish and a good hang on back charcoal filter with a biowheel will remove ammonia and other unhealthy substances from the water including chlorine. Mine pumps 150 per hour so it will change out the 10 gallon tank 15 times an hour which will help since the warmer the water, the faster ammonia will build up and kill the fish. I keep my fathead minnows and leeches in mesh bags in the water too so i have bait for outings chasing “other” fish on Mille Lacs. Sure saves alot of $$ and time having to stop for bait.

50-60 bullheads, mesh bags with fatheads and leeches in the same 10 gallon aquarium.

Is there a mermaid in there too?

Half my bullheads died overnight??? I don’t understand it. These guys seem healthier than the batch before and the water was cleaner. The water temp wasn’t any warmer than the last either. No apparent infections or festering areas on these guys either. Looks like I will have to go set the guys free tonight, which gives me an excuse to toss one or two out on a line while I am down there.

I got some Ick remover (I thought you were messing with me Brian on it being called ick) and it cleared up the fungus on my bullys. It did turn the water yellow, and it made the bullhead that had fungus on them to have raw cuts and wounds on them where the fungus was. I hope this heals, but time will tell.

This is a learning experience for me. Thanks for the help everyone

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Half my bullheads died overnight??? I don’t understand it. These guys seem healthier than the batch before and the water was cleaner. The water temp wasn’t any warmer than the last either. No apparent infections or festering areas on these guys either. Looks like I will have to go set the guys free tonight, which gives me an excuse to toss one or two out on a line while I am down there.

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I bet ammonia is building in the tank due to foreign matter and waste products building up in the tank. I would recommend getting a product to remove this ammonia and other toxins as stated earlier. Good luck.

It is very possible. They were gasping a little too the night before, which I thought was odd because the pump was running, although not agitating the water as much as it normally does because I let it set under water, it was still circulating the water enough to allow the CO2 and Oxygen to exchange. In hindsight I probably should have assumed something was wrong with the water and did a complete exchange. Well, I used 3 of the bullheads yesterday and set the other 5 or so go.

mplspug, that is how fish act when there is too much ammonia in the water. It is highly toxic. It affects their O2 uptake. Bullheads are tough too, other fish would die much faster.

The bacteria that grow in filter media remove NH3 and keep your bait alive. Carbon and stuff works for a while but you need to keep replacing it. The fiber bag the carbon sits in is the real workhorse. It takes about two weeks for the bacteria to multiply and be fully affective at converting NH3 to NH4 which is much less harmful to fish.

You can make really simple filters. A simple one would be pumping water onto the top of a bucket full of lava rocks or furnace filter floss and letting the water trickle through that media and back into the tank. It adds O2 to the water also. I think an ice cream bucket would be fine for 20-50 gallons but the bigger the filter the more you can overcrowd the tank.

The hang on aquarium filters work fine but I don’t think they would fit on something with wide sides like a stock tank without some trimming. They work fine and are pretty cheap otherwise.

If you don’t have any filter you need to keep a low fish load or they will go belly up.

Bait is important, especially when gas is $3! Keep that bait alive!

Too much work. I’ll just dump them before I go home.

Seriously though, I do appreciate the diagnosis, thanks. I never have more than a dozen in the cooler at a time. Lets say the next time I bring some home and I they are acting the same. If I change out the water will that help until the waste builds up again? And wouldn’t it also be a good idea to fill the cooler with river water that might have some bacteria in it, as opposed to putting them in tap water? Lastly, it’s been a while since I kept fish. Do they have drops to remove ammonia where I could forgo any charcoal/filter set ups. To be honest, I think they are a pain enough just having to check them every day. This is also the first time it has happened. Usually they die slowly from infections, fungus and bacteria.

Pug, a filter with lots and lots of surface area for bacteria or frequent water changes are the best way to remove ammonia.