Loaches Online Forum

HI -
I noticed a small white spot on one of my loaches tails two days ago. It looked like ick so I treated for that - only half normal dose because they are loaches. Now that part of his tail is missing entirely and the lower 1/3 of his tail looks like it is bleeding internally, skin pale, and tail bent. I can't see where in the tank he may have hurt himself. I know this guy was stressed because I added new loaches to the tank a week ago. None seem to pick on him though.
Has anyone seen this before and is it possible to save him?

A small spot on a fin (tail fin or other) that is also at the site of an injury (half the fin missing) might actually be bacterial or fungal, not Ich. The spot might look fluffy (fungus) or not (more likely bacterial). It may fall off when the fish brushes by something, or it may stay and grow larger, infecting the fish over a larger area.

Also, fish can break the rays in their fins, and then grow a hardened white spot at the site of the break as the rays heal. This spot will usually be visible for a long time, then gradually get absorbed by the fish when the break is healed.

Fins can heal, even if they are totally missing, as long as the base of the fin, where it joins the body is not damaged.

The best thing to do is a few extra water changes. This will do several things:
If the NO3 is up the extra water changes will get it lower. High NO3 tends to encourage infections.
More water changes, especially combined with vacuuming the floor of the tank will lower the level of bacteria and fungi in the tank, so fewer of these will try to attack the fish.