Loaches Online Forum

OK, i have no idea what hapend, i left to eat came back into the room and he was in the corner, at first i thought he was dead but then his giles were moving on and off. all his fines are read starting from the closses part of his bofey and dimming as they move out wared, and he has a cut (lucks more like a thin chunk missing.) cinde of on the uper part of the side of his head. i have not the slightest idea what to do, he is also the first Loache i have ever hade. had him for almost three years

Could one of the other fish have attacked this fish? What are the other fish in the tank, and how big is the tank?

If it is injuries from being attacked then you need to figure out which fish may have attacked and separate them. The Loach may have been directly attacked (bitten or rammed by another fish) or have been chased so much that he injured himself trying to get away. Either way these 2 fish should not be kept together.

Clean water will heal the wounds. Do some extra water changes so that the nitrates are under 20 ppm for sure, and under 10 ppm is even better. Do some thorough gravel vacuuming so that there is the lowest level of organic matter in the substrate.

Watch out for bloody streaks in the body of the fish, usually starting at the fins, or the injured area. This suggests bacterial infection. You could feed an antibiotic food to reduce the chance of this.
Watch out for white fluffy stuff growing at the site of the wounds. This is fungus growing in the damaged tissues. There are anti-fungal medications you can add to the water. However, keeping the water extra clean is my first choice, medications are second.

I had an algea eater, but he disappeared yesterday. How do you do rock vacuuming?

I use a device sold as a gravel vacuum. It is a large stiff plastic tube connected to a thinner, flexible vinyl tube. Put the end of the vinyl tube in a bucket (I use a 5 gallon bucket or larger) and use the large part in the tank. Get a siphon started and plunge the stiff plastic part into the gravel, let it suck out the debris for a few seconds, then lift it up and move to another spot.
The gravel usually gets sucked up into the tube part way, swirls around a bit then drops out. The debris gets sucked up and ends up in the bucket with the dirty tank water. Use this water for house plants, or plants in the garden.

Top off the tank with fresh water prepared with dechlorinator (if needed) and whatever minerals are needed for the fish you are keeping. This will vary depending on the fish species and your tap water. Make sure the new water is the same temperature as the water in the tank.

Here is an example of a gravel vacuum.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=3889