Clown Loach Fin Problem

[Greeny]

By greeny310775 at 2012-04-23


By greeny310775 at 2012-04-23

I'm hoping it isn't the untreatable illness I have seen on the list of possible diseases. However could do with an identification of what is wrong with this little fella.

Thanks in advance

[EmilyMarie85]

That loach has skinny disease and a secondary infection has now set in, possibly fin rot.

[Greeny]

So now I have the diagnosis, what can you recommend as a treatment? Any links that would be useful to me? I hope I can treat it and if I get a treatment recommendation I'll order or buy it straight away. My mate can owe me the money.

Thanks Emily for shedding light on this issue.

[starsplitter7]

Where do you live? That will help with treatment. For skinny (generally a parasitic infection) I use levamisole. If you live in the US, PM me, and I will send you a weblink where you can buy it. It is very hard to find.

Please quarantine if you haven't already. This fish is very stressed and vulnerable, and you want to make sure the other fish aren't going to get sick.

What is the temp of the tank and what is the Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

[Greeny]

Thanks for the reply, I'm not sure what to do as I live in England and I'm not sure what product in similarity would be best for me to buy that I can get hold of quickly. Currently ammonia and nitrites are 0, however I am aware of the nitrates being at 80ppm and because the tap water has some nitrates in it, nitrate minus is added weekly to help try and get the nitrates down. I think possibly the fish are getting a little overfed. One half of the filter media got changed just over 2 weeks ago which caused a small nitrite spike that may have caused 1 of the danios to get a swim bladder problem, the old media is still in the tank and nitrites are now back down to 0. However the Loach was showing odd behaviour before this was done.

The temp of the tank is currently at 79oF. In regards to the quarantine tank I bought an unwanted fishtank off my friend for a tenner, rehomed the danios but the 2 gold fish In there I am still trying to find a suitable home for them as the tank is too small but would be perfect for a quarantine tank and that was the idea. Until I can find a home for the goldies I don't have a quarantine tank to use at the moment.

A 25 to 30% water change is done on a weekly basis with sand substrate hoovered each time.

[Greeny]

What I'm slightly confused about is the fact that it is still lively and came out of hiding for its favourite food and that of course is blood worm. It definitely isn't sluggish or without character thats for sure. Maybe it has a loss of appetite due to the fungus and finrot it has? Bloodworm isn't fed to him much and maybe the other food just didn't get it feeling like eating not even the snails! Just a mear sniff round thats all. Bloodworm however.. Nom nom nom. Perhaps I could start treating for the finrot and a recommended treatment is Esha 2000. What do you think? I'll keep feeding it bloodworm to keep its strength up.

[bookpage]

You need to call around and find something for skinny (generally a parasitic infection). Otherwise, the fish will be dead in a few weeks. The parasites do not go away. And, go ahead a treat for the fin rot.

[starsplitter7]

Do you have a Maidenhead Aquatics near you? The one in Peterborough has people who are very knowledgable in loaches. They would know where to get the proper treatments. Careful treating loaches. They are sensitive in medications.

[Greeny]

Unfortunately they arent near to me and Maidenhead aquatics are talked about frequently. However I have got the recommendation on the other forum I tried based in the UK for both Esha products, Esha 2000 and Esha Hexamite. Appaerently Esha products are easier on fish than other medications. Now its time to order and hope it will arrive quickly.