Loaches Online Forum

Okay,
A few days I posted here about a sickly, little loach I had just brought home that I was pretty sure was dying. His little head is sunken and I was he was starving to death, refusing food. I didn't have a chance to get the Levo-stuff, so instead on advice from here picked up the Maracyn and Maracyn 2.
I didn't know which to use or if I should use both, so judging by their brochure, I started the tank on Maracyn 2 and also purchased some frozen blood worms and one of those floating little plastic cubes used for guppie breeding, I think? It's his hospitol room.
I'm into day two of the medication and he does seem a little more active, and I did actually see him eat a few bloodworms and saw poop, so I know he's eating something. At first I thought he was eating a lot because all the food I put in disappeared, until I caught the other fish bumping the cube to knock his food out and noticed everyone else in the tank is ready to burst!
My question is, how quickly should I anticipate his recovery? Should I also be using the Maracyn along with the Maracyn 2? I don't want to overmedicate.
I really appreciate everyone's response and help........I'm sure he would have died if I didn't have your help. Thanks!

You can use both Maracyns at the same time if you want, but keep an eye out for an increase in nitrites. Upon occasion when I have used them together I've had a bit of a nitrite spike and had to dose the tank with Prime at 5 times the normal dechlorination dose to neutralize it.

My little guy is improving on Maracyn 2, but very slowly, he's still very weak. Of course, I've got him contained in the acrylic floating nursury. He's pooping, but it almost appears as if he's constipated.....could this be due to infection? Or is it because he hasn't eaten in so long?
I think I'm going to start the Maracyn I in conjunction with the Maracyn 2, but do it after I do a HUGE water change. How do you determine how much Prime to add after you've added the meds? Like do you add a capful, wait 30 min and then test? Plus, how long do test kits last? I think mine are at least 3+ years old.

If a nitrite spike is going to happen it will be gradual over a day or two. If it were me, I'd get a new nitrite test kit (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a reliable inexpensive one), test each day and keep a record of the readings from day to day. If your biofilter isn't stressed by the treatment your nitrite level will always read zero.

If you do start detecting nitrite on the test kit, just follow the directions on the bottle of Prime where it tells you how much to use per gallon to detoxify nitrite in an emergency. If your tank is 10 gallons it will be a capful just once. I'd then start doing daily partial water changes right before you dose the Maracyns each day and only use enough prime to treat the water you replace (ex. 1/2 a capful if you change 5 gallons of water). You can also add a bacterial culture like BioSpira or Cycle to help suppliment your biofilter while you are treating your fish and for a short time after recovery.

P.S. As long as you are seeing some poo I wouldn't worry. When little loaches eat a meal it's very common for them to get a fat tummy which goes away as the food is digested.