Help : Clown loach vibrating

[ckk125]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but is his breathing a little rapid?

Not really, just like normal..fast if i approach him..but i would consider it normal.

Is he behaving normally otherwise or is he settled in one place twitching like this alot of the time? Eating, browsing the substrate, swimming around with the others? Is his stool (feces/poop) normal?

Normally?he feeds during dawn and dusk, as usual..doesnt swim with the rest, but same goes to the another very healthy 8 inch clown..i saw him doing the loachy dance alone though...it was 5 am and i peeked through the window.Unfortunately, i couldnt see his poop...there are 4 more large clowns and it would be very difficult to differentiate..

It almost looks involuntary, like a spasm...but I'd think if it were neurological it wouldn't stop when sleeping?

Exactly, as for now, it is night time here...and he is not vibrating at all.Just sleeping.

In some fish a twitching movement similar to this is used as a courtship ritual. Male angelfish twitch their dorsal and tail fins to catch the attention of a female, some cichlids do the same. However, this doesn't seem to be the same thing. He seems to be sitting alone in the corner, no females in sight?

Not really at the corner, at the output of the sump return pump, but there is a female clown, at 8 inches long..the very plump one. He do possess alot of tubercules as I've posted before.

Do you feed the market prawns cooked or uncooked? Uncooked fresh meat could be carrying parasite eggs...also an internal flavo bacteria infection can be indicated by aimless swimming or spasms.

It is uncooked..will cooking destroy some of it's nutrition? i've just given him both parasite and antibiotics recently with parasite treatment a week ago and the antibiotics 2 days ago. He doesnt swim aimless, knows the aquarium well and doesnt swim into the glass unless startled.

really hard to say. It's good that you're so observant. All to often subtle signs of stress that are early indicators of problems go unnoticed, allowing a disease to progress to the rampant stage where it is difficult if not too late to treat. The hard part is figuring out what those early symptoms are indicative of...

I spend hours per day observing my clowns..jobless...waiting for my examination results.

Thanks! I really appreciate everyone's effort in replying in this thread.

[shari2]

If the shivers aren't happening when he's paying attention to the female, I'd think it was unlikely to be courtship related. What anti parasite treatment did you use? (sorry, i forgot, though I remember reading your previous post )

Do you have live water fleas (daphnia/cyclops) in the tank? They can be vectors for cestodes or tapeworms if the fish eat them and they are carrying eggs.

I'd recommend cooking the prawns just in case. Many feed their fish here cooked food or frozen foods for this very reason. Unless you're sure the source of your prawns is parasite free it's not worth the risk feeding raw in a closed environment like a fish tank...or you could set up a tank that is fish free and use it to raise prawns. Without a fish host you would be breaking the life cycle of many parasites and could feed the fish the raw meat after a two week cleansing period...

[ckk125]

Im not too sure, didnt notice where the other female is..

I used azoo anti-endoparasite, for tapeworms,nematodes and cestodes. That is the only medication i can get my hands on.

live water fleas?i dont think so.

i will cook them next time.

Right now, he is fine..i on the lights and he woke up, swimming around, without the vibrating...this is very confusing.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Chen,

I've not seen anything like this before in clown loaches.

Can I ask you what temperature the tank is at?

Emma

[ckk125]

quite high...30 celcius flat..

That is the average temperature for this country.

i have 1 1800lph powerhead running with air supplied to it to reduce the temperature.

oxygen levels wouldnt be a problem..i have 1 sump and 1 overhead filter running, a wet/dry tower and the in-tank powerhead.

[ckk125]

btw, earlier today, i did a 50% water change to remove the antibiotics..

[Emma Turner]

Yes, a temperature of 30 deg C shouldn't be causing problems if there is sufficient oxygenation in the tank. Bigger fish do require a much higher O2 levels though. I would seriously think about adding more powerheads to the tank (with the outputs angled up towards the surface). The more 'churning' you see at the water's surface the better.

Emma

[ckk125]

I thought of getting another one, but im worried about the heat from the powerhead will further increase the temperature..

this is a photo of the powerhead.

[Tinman]

Chen, How many times an hour do you turn over your tank.I think you are at 3-4 times an hour or so . I am at 10-14 times an hour for less fish in a 285 gal.(1000 liter) If you are concerned about heat in your water you can blow a regular box fan on your sump were the water falls in and cool to about 5-10 degrees below ambient if you have a large enough fall area exposed where the air can get at it. I like to feed earthworms as they are live and the kind of food a fish that only eats live feeders may take too if you chop them they bleed enough to tempt a hunter to eat and this way you can not introduce parisites to your tank. I keep a fish that is at or very close to 1 meter now.these big guys need tons of 02

[ckk125]

6-7 times...i have an additional overhead filter..

the level of 02 is sufficient, imo. inclusive of the wet/dry tower( 2 feet high), it would be just nice.

it is not as easy as it sounds...here, humidity is much higher than other places, to reduce the temperature by 3 degrees will require at least 6 fans.

my large clowns wouldnt touch any earthworms...i dont know why.

[Tinman]

Aye Chen. You are right and should be good as you say with flow .I see so many suffer without adequate airation.If he is not sitting in the stream all the time he is not seeking more O2. That is to bad you have to feed wild,that is a Pandoras box on its own.

[LoachOrgy]

its hard to see from the video but mine sit there sometimes and will wiggle like that. they just hang around and do a few movements and then stop. doing it every once in a while. does your loach do this everytime it sits still at the bottom?

[ckk125]

yesterday, he basically vibrated the whole day until he sleeps and stopped. right now, it is 10am local time and he is foraging the tank together with other clowns..

[shari2]

Maybe it was just a cold? (joking...)

[ckk125]

i dont know.this is weird.

there are 2 males and 1 female...

but this 11 inch guy did flatten the 8 inch during a fight.maybe it is a territorial sign?

I'll keep an eye on him again today.