Loco Yo-Yo Loach

[t-star]

I need some help with a crazy yo-yo Loach. He keeps flashing all over the place, all the time. He is also rubbing his belly raw, you can see through his skin in one spot between his gills. He is also breathing very rapidly. It a 40 gallon tank, the h20 temp is 79, the nitrate is 20, the nitrite is is 1.0, hardness 50, alkalinity 120, ph 7.6. Can you help me? My friend gave me this tank and I don't know what to do for the Loach. If you don't know maybe you would know who I can ask? Thanks for your time:)

[Batch]

Hi,
The fact that you have a reading on nitrites indicates that your tank is not
cycled. get some Seachem prime or something like it to detoxify the
nitrites. Have you checked the ammonia levels? They and the nitrites should be zero (as far as our test kits are concerned) in a cycled tank.

Batch

[t-star]

thanks, I have no idea what I am doing, so thanks for the tip.

[helen nightingale]

can you tell us a bit more?

how often do you do water changes, and how much water do you take out each time?

are there other fish in the tank? if yes, how many and which species?

is there much water flow in the tank? yoyo loaches come from fast flowing rivers, so need a lot of current. what type of filter do you have, and do you have any extra powerheads? try dropping the water level a bit, so the water falls from the filter/powerhead outlet to splash and create ripples. this can help the yoyo breathe better

is there any sign of disease on the fish's skin? are the any white spots/dots anywhere?

have you medicated the tank? do you put salt in the water?

sorry this is a big list of questions for you. there are plenty of people here who can help, but the more information you can give, the better advice people can give you. if you can take photos, that might be helpfull too.

you said that you have no idea what you are doing, but you are already off to a head start by already having given us usefull information on the tank, like the nitrite and nitrate readings. some people wouldnt know to do the tests.

when you do water changes, do you wash out the filter sponges in tap water or old tank water? just in case you didnt realise, never wash the sponges in tap water. the good bacteria is killed by the chlorine and chloramine in tap water, so the filters wont work properly. that could be one reason why you have nitrIte in your tank.

you dont want any ammonia or nitrIte in your tank as these are irritating and toxic to the fish. it can burn their gills, and give them problems breathing, as well as irritating them

i hope he gets better soon, please ask if theres anything else you want to know about

[t-star]

I have only had this tank for about two weeks. It was given to me with most the fish already in it. There is one yo-yo, one Koi Angle, 3 Black Widow Tetras, 3 Black Molly's, 1 Cherry Barb, one Blood fin Tetra, and one Dwarf Gourami. I haven't changed the water yet. I have read that you are to change the water once a week, (10%). I just bought cycle to put in the tank. I have salts but don't know if they will be okay to add with the cycle doses. I looked for spots and do not see any. I red up on parasites and can not find any symptoms on the fish. I think the big problem was getting the tank with fish in it already, because we had to completely empty the the water out and now things must be completely out of balance. Thanks for your help. I really am trying but in all honesty had no idea the amount of time the fish would take to understand. If you need more info let me know and any more tips would be very helpful

[zmo63]

I got my first tank in exactly the same way - from a friend, with fish, and with no instructions. It gets better, I promise!

One thing I wish I'd known right away is that you're not supposed to completely clean the filter (it was gross when I got it, so I threw it out and started fresh). The filter is where the good bacteria lives, so once it's established, you want to leave it that way, and only rinse out the media once in a while instead of replacing it all.

Someone with more experience may be able to tell you better, but it sounds to me like the yoyo is flashing because of the nitrite in the tank, and possibly ammonia too, if it's present. Until those readings are 0, more frequent water changes will help. Also, pick up a bottle of Seachem Prime. It's a dechlorinator, but also neutralizes the ammonia and nitrite to make the water safer for the fish.

[t-star]

Things have gone from bad to worse! I put cycle in and now the nitrite levels have spiked. One of the molly is dead and I don't know what to do. I read that I should do a partial change of water, but will that just make thing more unstable? I added salts but now do I just wait. Thanks for all the help. I just don't want any more fish to die do to my ignorance.

[starsplitter7]

When you have a spike in Ammonia and Nitrite, you need to do water changes to reduce these issues. I change 25% of my fish water every week, more often if there is a problem. Where do you live? Do you have access to a Petsmart/Petco, if so, pick up some Seachem Prime. The Prime will slower lower the Ammonina, Nitrite, Nitrate, . . . it is a water conditioner and will help the fish slime coat. It is also cheap and you only use 1 mL per 10 gallons. The trick is to do everything slowly so you do not shock your fish.

Think of a fish tank as the fish's toilet. You want to change the water to keep the water as clean as possible.

How much salt did you add? Loaches don't like salt, but it does work well as a treatment for sick fish.

I think people are finding it is a myth not to change water and to use salt, but I am a beginner (4 years now), so there are varying opinions.

[Auntsally]

In addition to all the advice you are being given. Do you know anyone with a cycled tank who could give you some of the "soup" from their filter housing? You can put this into your own filter to hurry up the maturing of the filter material. Good luck and don't give up!

[Auntsally]

Just a thought. Can you put your location on your profile? Never know someone may live close who can help.

[plaalye]

Hey t-star, where in Mt.? I'm an ex-Missoulian!
Sounds like you killed off your good bacteria in the move. I'd do 25% water changes daily, maybe a 40% to start, with prime added to the new water. I add the prime when I refill the bucket after a change and let it sit till the next change. Test your Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite daily also to see if there's progress.
Like someone else said you could borrow some filter media or gravel(put it in a mesh bag or nylon stocking and add to the tank) from another healthy tank to help with the bacteria colony. There are products that fish stores sell to aid in cycling but I haven't used them. Feed very lightly also.
Good luck, hope you get it under control!!

[plaalye]

Another thought, there are plants like Hornwort and Wisteria that supposedly suck up nutrients at high rates. It may help to add a bunch or two. They can be found at most fish stores.