Mysterious Clown Deaths

[Peachy Carnahan]

I've had a school of clown loaches in my 150g tank for 5 years now. They've always done very well, and I've never had any problems with them. However, in the past few weeks, I have started losing them in ones and twos. No signs of any parasitic conditions, nothing in the tank has been changed, no new fish or decorations have been added. I'll just come home, and see that one is dead.

The school ranges in size from 3-6" and I had a dozen of them in there. Now I'm down to 7. Last night I came home to find two of them dead. And I did notice on a few of the others that their tails were looking a bit tattered. I had never noticed this before (and I always do look closely). I can't imagine that any fish in the tank is picking them off though - I have them with mild mannered New World cichlids (psittacus, brasiliensis, etc.) and a few silver dollars.

Tank pH is 6.8, water chemistry is in check. Filtration is excessive, water changes are weekly & large. The thought that something is going on with my water supply occurred to me, but I don't THINK that is the case.

Anyone have any ideas as to what might be happening? I hate to think that I'm going to lose my entire heard.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Peachy,

Sorry to hear about the problem with your clown loaches.

You say that you water conditions are fine - so I take it you have zero ammonia and nitrIte. What level are your nitrAtes currently at? Are the test kits you are using still in date?

When you say you carry out large water changes, what sort of percentage of the volume are you changing each time? Are you ensuring that the temperature of the new water is similar to that of the tank water?

Are the clown loaches displaying any symptoms at all - rapid breathing, flashing, going off their food etc etc?

If anything was going on with your water supply, it is likely to affect some of your other fish too, unless it is something the loaches in particular are proving more sensitive to. Might be worth checking with your water company that there have been no problems and that nothing out of the ordinary has been added to the supply.

Sorry for all the questions, but the answers may help us to build up a picture of what might be going on.

Emma

[Peachy Carnahan]

Thanks, Emma. Yes, zero ammo and zero nitrite. Nitrates are very low as my weekly water changes are large (60-70%). And yes, water going in is always within a degree or two of tank water.

No symptoms other than a few of them showing frayed looking tails - this I just noticed last night. Otherwise, all are eating well. They have been a little more skittish of late. No flashing or anything like that though.

And I agree that it shouldn't be the water supply - none of my other fish in any of my 7 tanks are showing any signs of distress.

[shari2]

ragged fins can be caused by a few things:
agression
poor water quality (which I doubt is your issue)
bacterial infection which usually presents with splitting fins
Fungal infection which usually presents with rotting fins, from outer edges in.

Clowns are rather sensitive fish. Could you possibly have a bacterial nasty in your tank? Added anything new lately? Plants or fish? Decor? Snails?

Have you been sick or had anything on your hands when servicing the tank? Handled any other sick pets and then gone into the tank? Don't know how much zoonosis might be at work here, just a thought...

[Peachy Carnahan]

As I mentioned in my first post, I highly doubt it to be the result of aggression. And definitely not poor water quality. I imagine it could be a bacterial infection of some sort, but until now, the clowns showed no signs of even that. No other fish show any other signs of anything being wrong either. Perhaps it is an infection that clowns are susceptible to, but the other fish are not. I suppose I may need to put them into quarantine and administer an antibiotic.

And as I mentioned, no, I have not added anything new in a long time. Seems odd that such an infection would just pop up, but I imagine it's possible.

[mikev]

Sorry to hear this. If I were in your place, I'd :

1. Do the autopsies --- perhaps you do see something, it is possible to introduce a worm with new fish or plants. Did you see any weight loss?
2. Equip the tank with a UV, unless it is already equipped, it will cut down on infection if one is present.
3. Treat the tank with Furan2 and possibly next with Acriflavine, both do pretty good bacterial killing and are mild on the filter.

Good luck!

[NancyD]

What kinds of food do you feed? I've read of problems with spoiled frozen foods & mystery deaths. I'm sorry you are having problems.
Nancy