sick clown - need HELP !

[steve C]

I have 3 clown loaches, all around 3 inches long. ! of them is not well but i cant understand whats happened? Hes very pale, doesnt appear to be swimming very well, fins are flat against the body, gasping for air, not eating and pretty much spends all his time on his side in a log tunnel. Hes been deteriorating for about a week or so. The other 2 clowns are fine. Water changes are weekly, ph 7.0, ammonia and nitrite are 0. nitrate is 10ppm, temp is 26 C.
Ive been treating a Neon Rainbow eith MYXAZIN (Waterlife Research) for a bacterial infection, which was unsuccessful.
Is there a chance the Loach has been poisoned by this ?
All help is much appreciated

[PASoracco]

Not familiar with Myxazin; do you have a list of the active ingredients?

I would do more frequent water changes until you get that nitrate down. Try smaller ones twice or three times a week. Also, if you recently had an issue with bacteria, do a really good gravel vac. All of the fungus and dead material that fell off the sick fish just gets in the substrate where the loaches like to dig around for food and spend most of their time living. The one clown was probably more stressed than the other two and was more susceptible to the medication or sickness in the water.

How long have you had the clowns? What are the tank mates? What size tank? What kind of filtration? etc

[Diana]

10 ppm nitrate is pretty low, but doing some extra gravel vacs may help.

Most of the symptoms are of 'something wrong' without a definite diagnosis.

Very pale- many fish will lose color when they do not feel well. Bacterial infection like Flavobacteria columnaris can grow grey or white areas, but not all over the fish (the fish would be dead at that point) If there is a problem with the water (Ammonia or pH usually) many fish, and especially Loaches, can produce more slime coat than normal, and this can make them look paler. The excess slime coat then may shed off and look sort of stringy as it trails from the fish.
doesnt appear to be swimming very well- Constipation, injury or again, just not feeling well.
fins are flat against the body- Clamped fins are also a very general sign.
gasping for air- Gill problems such as ammonia burns or nitrite causing Brown Blood Disease, but good test results pretty much rule these out. Parasites in the gills and there are some diseases that can cause breathing problems. Can you look under the gill cover and see what color the gills are, and if they are intact?
not eating and pretty much spends all his time on his side- Not feeling well, constipation, intestinal parasites.

So, yes, something in wrong, but no clear diagnosis. Continue to look for whatever might be wrong, and hope that water changes or something simple like that will help.

[steve C]

Thanks guys for your input.
The MYXAZIN was reccomended by my local aquatic shop for an internal infection of the Neon. It contains Formeldehyde 0.12%, Malachite Green 0.085%, Acriflavine Hydrochloride0.055%.
Tanks is 70ltrs and ive had the clows for about a year with zero problems. tankmates are 6 Red Wag Platys and a 6 inch Plec. They are all healthy and feeding/ behaving as normal.
All 3 Clowns are more timid than usual but the other 2 are feeding as usual. Its just the one whos not well.
I always give the gravel a good vac each week and also use Seachem Ammo Guard every other day to ensure ammonia stays at zero.
Any further ideas ?!

Thanks everyone

[steve C]

Update: just had a good look at the little fella, definately looking skinny now with a definate ridge along his back, fins still clamped, and looking really pale and sickly. Gasping rapidly.
This is the first time he's been out of his tunnel for more than a few moments, appeared to do a bit of snivveling around for food.
Any ideas anyone ?

[Diana]

Skinny Disease could be part of what is going on, internal parasites and bacterial infection can certainly cause these symptoms. Have a look around here, there are a lot of posts about Loaches in general, and especially Clown Loaches with a complex of problems that makes them lose weight and eventually die. Internal parasites are part of the issue, and bacterial infection is the other part.
There are not simply certain identified parasites, the term Skinny Disease is more of a general term.
Treatment is aimed at both parasites and bacterial infection by alternating medicines between wormers and antibiotics. No one wormer kills all the possible parasites, so in more difficult cases I have treated as follows:
Levamisol
Maracyn + Maracyn II
Prazi Pro
With water changes and activated carbon between each treatment.


If you stop using the ammo guard does ammonia show on the tests? It should not. Nitrifying bacteria should remove the ammonia as fast as it forms.