what is skinny disease

[808hawn]

I am new to this site, and was reading a couple of forums. I noticed something called skinny disease that caught my eye. I currently have about 7 clown loaches, and one looks skinny, not like the other 6 which look really healthy. The skinny one swims around slow, and doesn't seem to eat when I feed. I would appreciate and comments about skinny disease and how I could treat it.

Thanks, 800hawn

[chefkeith]

Being skinny is really just a symptom of something being wrong. It may be parasitic, bacterial, or the fish just may be having acclimation problems due to changes in the environment and food.

If the problem is parasitic or bacterial, then I'd recommend a prolonged medicated quarantine treatment with Praziquantel, Levamisole, and an anti-biotic like Maracyn I & II. This will take care of any internal worms and any infections. A treatment schedule, every 2 weeks, will need to be set-up so that the parasites are completely eradicated. 3 treatments, every 2 weeks, in a 6 week period should be sufficient.
Here's an article that might help some-
http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/l ... chloride-1


If the problem is with environment and feeding, you may need to quarantine the fish to bulk it up, so it will have the strength to compete for food when it is with other fish. Weakened skinny fish my have problems competing for food. Also, while the fish is in quarantine, find foods that the fish will definitely enjoy eating. You need to make sure the fish is eating well.

I have one clown that was skinny for years, but after several quarantine treatments and figuring out a new feeding method the clown has bulked up nicely. This clown will only eat unprocessed foods like bloodworms, shrimp, snails, clams. and fresh veggies. This fish learned to feed in a special pipe I built so no other fish will get it's special food.

[808hawn]

Thank you very much chefkeith, your reply is very helpful. I do appreciate the time you took to write.

I do have another question from your reply, what is Praziquantel and Levamisole, and can I get them from my local fish store? I do know what is Maracyn I & II. So do you recommend using all these products at the same time....Praziquantel, Levamisole, Maracyn I & II.

Thanks again, much Mahalo and Aloha,

808hwan

[chefkeith]

They are medications.

A product called "Prazipro" has Praziquantel in it. You might be able to find that at your local petfish store. If not, you can order it at many places Online.

Levamisole might be impossible to find locally. There are some places that sell it on the Internet though. There are a few listed here-
http://www.google.com/products?q=Levami ... tnG=Search
OR You might want to use Flubendazole instead. I don't have any experience with this medication though, but there is some information on it in the levamisole article that I gave a hot link to earlier.

I wouldn't do the treatments at the same time.
A Levamisole treatment is only 1-2 days, then followed with a few large water changes (like 2 -50% changes). Then a Prazipro treatment would be for 1 week. You can use the antibiotics during and after the treatments.

Before Quarantining the loach in question, do a few decent water changes on the main tank, about 30% each, so that the skinny loach will acclimate better to the q-tank water, when it gets those large water changes.

When setting up the q-tank use about 70% of the water from the main tank. Make sure the q-tank water is kept warm and is extra well filtered. You might want to use a well established filter from the main tank for this. It's important that toxic ammonia or nitrites aren't allowed to build up. Give the loach a secure dark hiding spot, like a cave, it ease the stress.

Try to feed the loach a little frozen bloodworm, shrimp, or clams during the treatments. Start feeding just a little at a time and try to build up the portion size a little each day and hopefully the his appetite will increase and he'll start bulking up.

Keep in mind this is a long term process. It could take the loach 2-3 months to bulk up. Even after he bulks up, relapse is possible.

You'll probably want to treat the main tank with the Prazipro and Levamisole also. The reason to separate the skinny fish from the rest is so that he won't have to compete for food for awhile.

[808hawn]

chefkeith, thanks again, I really appreciate your help with this. The info you are sharing is very helpful for me.

Aloha,
808hawn

[plaalye]

Aloha 808hawn!
I don't know anything about the situation there in Hawaii, but here in Wa. I found Levamisole at my local farmers co-op. It's used as a pig wormer. There is another, Flubendazole that is used as a sheep wormer. So if you have any pig or sheep farms nearby they may be able to help you. Jungle also makes a product, Parasite Clear, that contains prazi and metronizadole and you should find it in local fish shops. Good luck!