Loaches Online Forum

Hi there

To cut a long story short some glass was put into my tank a month ago (decorative glass, but sadly with a sharp edge, submerged so not to harm the fish) Forgetting the two weather loaches

One of them got a cut on its underside, about 2/3rds down and it doesnt seem to be healing. Its now living in a quarantine tank and i just ordered some Melafix off of ebay but I just done a google search and it had a link to this website. Hence me joining. Dont worry I love forums so will stick around after this posting. Im here now, so let this CRY FOR HELP AND ADVICE be my introduction

My name is John, and my fish that has the cut is called 'The Ood'

Hi John, welcome to Loaches.

Fish can heal very well with a little help.
A cut on the underside of a bottom dwelling fish is exposed to more than an average amount of organic waste, and may take longer to heal, and can get infected with either bacteria or fungi.

As long as the wound looks clean, no red edges, no white growths then it has not been infected. Melafix and Pimafix are good to slow the growth of bacteria and fungi so reduce the chance of these infecting the cut. (have a look around here, though, some Loach keepers have reported some problems with these medicines when used in tanks with Loaches)

Other things you can do to help:
Keep the bottom of the tank vacuumed so there is no fallen food or fish waste decomposing down there. Organic wastes like this can also interfere with some medicines.
Keep the nitrate as low as possible. Under 10 ppm if at all possible. Lower is better. There are some bacteria that seem to grow better in water with high nitrates.
Give the fish a place to hide so he feels safe, even if he is in a rather bare quarantine tank. A ceramic bridge, for example creates an arch that he might get under, yet can be sterilized after ward, and re-used in the quarantine tank for other fish. Plastic plants might help, but some have sharp edges. Some people find silk plants without wire supports that are safer.
If you have live plants then trim some and put the trimmings in the quarantine tank. They will help with water quality, as well as helping the Loach feel safer.

Fish feel less stress in dim surroundings, so keep the light off, with just room light may help (though live plants will need the light)

You might see if he will eat antibiotic food. This will also help prevent infection. High quality foods such as foods with whole fish and shellfish, and Spirulina algae are better than foods with high levels of grains or fish meal.