Loaches Online Forum

I bought 3 Dhali (Ringed) loaches yesterday, They are tiny.

One has completely disappearred, I'm sure he'll come out at feeding time. One behaves quite normally and the other swims under the filter outflow facing upwards at the top of the water constantly.

I am a bit concerned about the last of these, is this normal behaviour.

Also one of the loaches has a single small white speck on him, is this ich?

Finally does anyone know any general information on these loaches, there is almost nothing on the net.

Thanks,

I think this is the species you are talking about.
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2927
Sometimes the common names can be confusing so you need to look at the pics to be sure.
However, even if it another schistura species, the care would be similar.
I have two of these that I have had for about 4-5 years. They are generally peaceful and will bury themselves when frightened so that may be the problem with the fish you can't find. The one swimming into the filter outflow is doing what these fish will often do, particularly when put in a new tank. Since this is a fish of swiftly flowing streams, it is enjoys good current flow.
As far as the white speck, it could in fact, be ich. Its hard for me to say without seeing it. Try to get a good look at it and see if it sticks out from the body. If it is, and you have to treat for it, remember that these fish, like all loaches, are sensitive to medications. You should be careful what you use. And, regardless what you use, a good rule of thumb is to treat at half strength.

Thanks,

Those pictures look exactly the same as mine. I'll try get a photo of the spot next time I see the fish in question. It is the most normal behaving one that has the spot, he is also the one with the biggest appetite (even stealing from the Tigers which are at least 20 times the size in volume).

I imagine he is OK for now, butI'll keep an eye on him.

Here are some pics, I tried to show the white spot in the second two.

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http://www.loachtank.org//albums/userpi ... 00785b.jpg I see the spot in this picture on his side. Not ich.

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2925

Keep your water super clean it will die out.

It is not harmful. Im not even convinced its uncomfortable. I have seen fish affected by it just oblivious to it and not scratching or anything... unless its on/near the face... then they notice. He looks fairly mellow, your loach... so I wouldnt worry.

Here is one of your pics:



How can you say with total conviction that this spot is absolutely not ich angelfish? The spot at the base of the dorsal is probably not. The spot on the side however...I think it would be unwise at this point to give such a blanket assurance only to possibly find the spots mulitplying over the next several days.

I would keep a close eye on both this fish and your others at this point. From the size of the spot on this pic IF it IS ick it's near ready to burst. Within hours/days there will be many many more parasites seeking hosts. Just watch carefully and have some ick medication available in case the worst should happen.

I hate to be wrong but after longer observation, and noticing some white flecks in pic #1, Im going to go with 50/50 Ick/unidentified white organism (see thread)

Not ich....It is not harmful. Im not even convinced its uncomfortable. I have seen fish affected by it just oblivious to it and not scratching or anything... unless its on/near the face... then they notice. He looks fairly mellow, your loach... so I wouldnt worry.

I am fairly certain that you realize that I know you don't speak the 'word of god'. What you may not realize is that when you are asked for an 'opinion' and offer a blanket assurance that a spot on a fish is definitely NOT dangerous you can be setting someone up for a problem. And to say that you are 'not even convinced' of how said spot feels for the fish is ridiculous.

Let's do what good doctors do and get a history before attempting definitive diagnosis and dismissing it as nothing.

What size is the tank? What are the water parameters--temp, pH, nitrate, nitrite? Have you seen any flashing--fish seeming to try to scratch the spot? Other fish in the tank besides the loaches? etc. etc. Any info you can give would help to give a better picture of what may be going on in the tank. It is hard to diagnose fish illness via the internet when you can't actually see the behavior of the fish...

Thank you Nurse.

Martin.

Not yet. But I did pass the exam and get into school. Not too sure how helpful that will be with loaches, however.

I never doubted it.

Martin.

thanks,

20G, 6 tiger barbs, 6 serpae tetras and 3 dahli (probably) loaches

Water is good, no ammonia, no nitrite and oddly never been any nitrate either.

I'll just leave them be for a few days and see if it disappears, it hasn't bothered him.

crisps wrote:thanks,

20G, 6 tiger barbs, 6 serpae tetras and 3 dahli (probably) loaches

Water is good, no ammonia, no nitrite and oddly never been any nitrate either.

are you sure your test kit is working? no nitrate at all is pretty unusual...

I would be cautious if the "spot" falls off. That's the way ich reproduces. It falls into the gravel and before you know it you have a tank full of little parasites looking for a host.

I have 4 test kits, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate plus a 5 in one that I bought mainly to get PH. The 5 in one also does nitrate and nitrite and confirms the results from the seperates.

The seperate ammonia kit did detect ammonia when the tank was cycled a few months ago, so I assume it is working fine.

BTW, I am getting some brown algae. Much of it is on the back glass which I can jst wipe off. Do loaches eat brown algae, or is it reasonable to get an SAE (I didn't really want to increase the number of fish any further).

Thanks,