Loaches Online Forum

Ok I have two clown loaches two days ago they were fine yesterday I noticed a diff fish I have had ick not a loach so I used quick cure at half dose today one of my loaches is fat and laying on its side not moving much why is this happing is it cuz of the quick cure the one loach is fine active comes to glass to meet me like always just the one that's acting wired can someone please tell me what's going on I also have heat at 88 f for the ick can someone please answer my questions the loaches are about 2 1/2 inch long and I feed small amounts three times daily water is fine everything is 0 so not sure what is up with this guy please help thanks also he has never did this before today

Sorry to hear about this. Sometimes fish die naturally of course, but assuming that's not the case here:

If you have ich then that suggests to me the water may not be fine. If fish have ich then their immune system has been overcome. I would ask why?

Everything is zero? I am dubious about this. Why would nitrate be zero for example? Is ammonia zero? What else would you have tested for?

What does the water smell like? Like you'd happily drink it (but don't). I use my sniffer. It's a good guide to water quality I've found. Now don't laugh!

Treatment, like the ich, is stressful to the fish but, obviously, you have to finish the treatment to get rid of the ich.

How's their breathing. Is there plenty of oxygen? If not add some (airstone, venturi etc.)

Assuming your tank is like mine (which I don't know yet) I would change small volumes daily (say 10-20% no more).

Feed the minimum needed (to reduce the load on the system).

Hope for the best. Good luck!

Well I'm not sure how long you've been keeping clowns, but they do sleep on their sides opposed to flat on their bellies. You could be seeing the guy taking a nap. The large abdomen could be a plethora of things, so finish the ich treatment and keep an eye on it. Give them some veggies like raw broccoli or chopped peas. They're partial to lettuce and cucumber as well, but broccoli moves the bowels quicker.