Clown Loach pale tail wasting away and bump on head

[Luke*]

Hello, I'm hoping someone here can help me. I've got 12 clown loaches in my 4ft community tank with tetras. Everything is fine including all the other fish and water parameters are ideal. There is one clown loach though that has its tail going white and seems to be rotting away, and on it's head it has what seems to be a elevated line running along it. I've seen some clowns in shops before that seem to have this condition, I do not know if it is related to the tail but I assume it is. Any suggestions on how to treat this guy? Isolate it? I'm hoping it's a common thing if I've seen them in shops like this. The head goes thin and bony looking, that's what looks like is protuding. This line is in line with its head, so runs laterally.
Thanks for your time.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Luke*, and welcome to Loaches Online.

It would seem that you have two issues in your tank. From the description of the affected Clown Loach, it would seem that your fish has Chronic Wasting Syndrome (a.k.a. 'skinny disease') along with an additional problem affecting the tail fin, like fin rot. Without a photograph it is difficult to be 100% though.

You say the water parameters are fine. What specifically are the latest test results you have for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, pH, hardness? Has the tank been set up for some time? How often do you carry out maintenance/water changes and what/how much do you do? Are the loaches receiving a varied diet?

If your Clown does have Chronic Wasting Syndrome, you'll need to get hold of some Levamisole hydrochloride. Over here in the UK we have very tight restrictions on medications, so this is something we have to get from a vetinary surgeon. Not sure whether you have such tight restrictions in NZ? Vets can order it in liquid form under the trade name 'Levasole'. If you do a search on this forum, you should be able to bring up threads re: dosage rates etc.

Emma

[libingboy]

how long does it normally take for the line to disappear, assuming the loach was properly dewormed? i had to use closantel instead of levamisole hydrochloride a while ago, and while ive seen positive response from some of my loaches (slowly plumping up, loss of the line), there's 1 or 2 still showing the line. Does it normally take more than a month?

[Luke*]

Thanks Emma, I'm glad it sounds common and enough and that there's a treatment out there. Luckily I can source some Levamisole, this is a wormer right? I don't know about the hydrochloride part tho, is just a liquid right?

The tank gets weekly 40% water changes, total capacity is 300L or 75G. There's a lot of tetras, plecos, otos, and 11 other clown loaches that are all fine so I know the parameters are all good. The water hardness is 0 and inject CO2. pH 6.6

lol NZ's medications are pathetic, very hard to source anything even through your vet. Most are small you see and don't have much to do with fish health, however where there's a will there's a way, and I know Levamisole in once place can be bought off the shelf from a vet's.

[Luke*]

Heyas, just wondering how long you treat for? The drug i'm thinking of is as Levamisole and kills intestinal worms so is quite hard on the stomach lining of other fish, hope i don't have to leave in too long as i have tetras and other fish in there too.