RIP ALPHA LOACH!

[mikev]

the sand was the last big thing added to the tank. it was several months ago. the tank was moved, but nothing was added to the tank. just moved. i have already disposed of the loach. i guess i should try and freeze the body if this happens again. i just didn't want to let the body sit and rot in the tank. i don't know any pros near me.

Of course, you remove the body from the tank.

Then you have two choices:

1. Preserve the body (either freeze it or put it in alcohol) and try to find a pro.

--OR--

2. Do the necropsy yourself. Most internal parasites will be seen even if you don't have a microscope.

While it does not really look like an internal parasite problem, you still want to exclude this -- because if it is, you are treating a wrong disease.

So if you have another death and the body looks bloated, it is really best to try to look inside it.

hth

[Icewall42]

I was going to suggest, as terrible as it sounds, opening up the next loach that succumbs to the bloating, if there is a next loach. Even if you can't get that under a microscope, perhaps seeing what's happening inside the fish will give you better knowledge of the disease. I hate even suggesting you do that, since I don't think I ever could to a beloved fish.

If I was anywhere near there, I'd help out, since I've been a fisherman of king salmon for many years... I know the insides of a fish pretty well. If another fish suffers this same disease, and you're willing to go in and have a look... then let me know. If the issue isn't immediately apparent, I may be able to help.

I'm hoping this doesn't happen again.

Anyhow, Tinman might be on to something. Back when I had my 100g, I didn't clean it very often because it was such a big tank. I changed it out maybe once or twice every couple weeks. When I changed the water, I always, every time, did a 50-75% water change. I'm guessing my fish either got used to that, or the tap was exceptionally good water, since I lived in Juneau, Alaska at the time, and I know the souce of the city's water was a small river (filtered, of course, else your tap might taste like moss!).

[Tinman]

Put your buddy in a zip lock bag for now and place in the freezer

[LoachOrgy]

When a filter crashes toxins build up in your fish,causing bloating and color loss and bio infections like slime coat issues etc.. Your bio-load is reduced now and your water will clear if your numerous meds don't kill the filter again. This still looks like a water quality caused issue so small frequent water changes to keep stable ph and ammonia in check and do not worry about feeding for a few days as the water will clear much faster with lower waste out put. Stay the course .Huge water changes change the ph drastically from existing conditions and cause stress to already stressed fish that could or has in the past normally taken an extreme change like that when healthy. Whatever your quality of water huge changes move it to far to fast to help.ie 10 -10% water changes over one day is way better than one 100% water change Consistency and improvement are important and changes of over 25% are not inclined to do that.You can not pull a fish from one lake and throw it in another and expect good results. If you regularly change huge amounts of water your fish are used to this cycle and are not affected as it is the ebb and flow of there normal existance with a huge weekly water change and only work for the long term when done on a regular and consistant basis. I wish we all could help you,I am sorry for your losses.

tinman, the water was perfectly clear this morning. it happened overnight already. no feeding.

most of the time i do a 25% water change biweekly. no more unless its once a month maybe. only reason i ever do a 50% is when i have something like very cloudy water from a bacterial bloom.

icewall, if another one bites the dust. i will keep the speciment. i just was in a hurry this morning going to work so didn't really have the time to think to save the fish. all this help is much appreciated. thanks so much.

this was the only loach so far that was bloated.

[LoachOrgy]

water test day one after plague of death:

tapwater: 7-11-07 first test of 3 day test sitting out in a 3 gallon bucket
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 7.3
3)kh: 40-50ppm
4)gh: 80ppm
5)nitrate: 0
6)Nitrites: 0

tank water:7-11-07
1)ammonia: couldn't be accurate the water was yellow
2)ph: 6.8
3)Kh: 30ppm
4)gh: 100ppm
5)nitrate: 10ppm
6)nitrite: 0ppm


i have hooked up my rena x3 with charcoal in it. it seems to be working really well so far. i can't see the flow. but it seems that every once in a while it spits. i will keep messing with it. i attached the valve adjustment i think that regulates the intensity of the waterflow. so far all the cherry barbs look like it is pushing them away. i placed the spraybar facing downwards like it shows in the diagram. i thought if anything i needed a bit more waterflow on the bottom of the tank.

well george is one of my loaches. he usually runs away but he is more curious than the others. this guy was loachie dancing and splashing water and just about as excited as any loach could ever be. definitely more bold than usual but more energetic than usual as well. hopefully this is a good sign.

update thursday 7-12am. all loaches and all fish seem very energetic. they look hungry and are begging for food. i will holdoff another day on the food. the tank doesn't seem as clear as it was yesterday but it still seems much better than a few days ago when all fish were dying. so far all the smaller loaches are giving me some really good happy displays of loachy dancing. some of it, like i have never seen before. at least all the loaches that are left are not as timid as the rest of them were. hopefully they will all still be happy.

if this is any indication of an overloaded filter. i have upgraded with another rena x3.

Is it a good idea to get anymore loaches when all this blows over or is there a time frame i should wait? i miss them already and want them to be happy. they seem like they are more active with the extra bit of space. but they also seem like they are searching for their friends. the cool thing is that all the cories, loaches, gae swim together. they are one big pack!

i just recieved my potassium permanganate and methylene blue medications in the mail. should i still treat the fish in a separate tank with the meth blue?

or should i wait until i see symptoms again?

[loachmom]

LO,

Today I picked up some of those Decor Stones- XL River Rocks from Walmart in the craft section. I think they may be what you bought for your tank.

Anyway, I noticed that they were kind of waxy--so I am boiling them in many changes of water. The water does have a oily film on it. And the rocks are very dull looking now. I wonder if that waxy film may be a toxin that is upsetting your tank now.

Also, some of the rocks have rust-colored streaks in them---that could mess up your water chemistry also, if yours are like that.

Hope your problems soon clear up.

[loachmom]

I just inspected all the rocks after the coating boiled off, and all of them have some rust colored streaks indicating metal content. I won't be using any of them. So I just paid $4 for some pretty stones that are no longer shiny.

I think they are just like yours, LO. The label says "Use these stones to accent floral and candle arrangements, fountains, and potted plants."

I remember you saying that yours were aquarium safe, but check for those rusty streaks just to be sure.

[LoachOrgy]

the ones that i bought say aquarium safe on the package. they did look polished though. i don't think that is the problem i think its the waste buildup and my ac crashed yet again. the rena is working now. i haven't noticed any oily film on the rocks that i purchased or in the water when i placed them in the tank. i will take a closer look tonight. so far after a few months of having them in the tank. i don't see them deteriorating and i see no rust streaks.
but who knows its worth a look.

here is that pictures of what i have..

[LoachOrgy]

the ph of the tank is almost back to normal. something threw the tank out of wack bigtime out of nowhere. i cleaned the tank extremely well and it almost doubled in cloudiness the next day. even with about 6 water changes. the water clarity didn't do anything. then all of the sudden, it just went away overnight. very strange.

this all happened before i added any new tank material. the only reason i added the pvc pipe and treasure chest is so that i could have a good look at the loaches if something was wrong. they usually don't come out of their spots. i am glad i made the change bc now all the loaches are playing much more.

my rocks don't appear to be deteriorating or anything. they still look like they did when i placed them in the tank. they still look shiny even when removed from the water. but would it take this long to actually show a change? i would think much longer. the picture was posted on march 20, 2007. so this gives you a bit of a time frame of when the rocks were placed into the tank. roughly 4 months.

if your suspicious i wouldn't even place them in the tank. however, maybe boiling them did something or released something from the rocks? i don't know. i should ask my dad, hes a geologist.

[loachmom]

LO,

Looking at your rocks in the picture, I would be suspicious of the one in the top right corner. The black and white striped one with the orange on it. That orange may be rust stripes. Definitely ask your dad!

[LoachOrgy]

tapwater: 7-12-07 2nd test in bucket
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 7.2
3)kh: 20-30ppm
4)gh: 80ppm
5)nitrate: 0
6)Nitrites: 0

tank water:7-12-07
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 7.1
3)Kh: 30ppm
4)gh: 120ppm
5)nitrate: 10ppm
6)nitrite: 0ppm

from what little i know about rocks it looks like banded marble.

[Tinman]

Bucket test these first but don't add anything to yer tank for a while yet

[linarite]

Guys,

These rocks have been polished which could distort the surface view. To get an idea of what these are break them open. That's the only way to really tell what they are in case like this. If you want some help with the ID them we could try this - break them open and then post a very detailed description of what you see. Grain size, color, any strange banding or shapes and I will see if I can give you some more info.

[chefkeith]

The gH should be nearly the same from the tap and in the tank. After all the water changes you did, there is still a 40 ppm difference? That's a red flag in my book.

[LoachOrgy]

these rocks have been in my tank for 4 months.