A Clown Loach with Ich.

[spunjin]

I believe that one of my Clown Loaches has ich. I thought that it started about 2 weeks ago but none of the other fish have been infected...yet. I saw the loach yesterday and it has a whole lot more spots now than last week. I want to know that when I treat the tank with Rid-Ich+ will I have to remove the driftwood and rock to keep it from being stained blue? The driftwood has java fern on it and there is anubias on the rock. Help is appreciated. Thanks.

[bluekrissyspike]

i don't know about staining the rocks or not but please be careful treating loaches with commercial ich medications as they are very sensitive to them. also do some looking into shrimp and ich treatments as many will wipe them out and make the tank unsafe to keep them in later on. it would be odd to me to see the loach having ich for 2 weeks and not spreading it to the other fish. have any been acting odd or rubbing on stuff? i would go for a more natural salt and warm water treatment because of the loaches and shrimp. also, loaches eat shrimp so if you are planning on keeping shrimp loaches are not the best idea. they also require groups of their own and grow to be up to 16" long so should be in a large tank.

[Riiz]

I would either use the "salt and heat" treatment or look into Kordon's Ich attack, its a natural cure that doesnt stain or kill anything and is invert safe aswell.

[spunjin]

How much salt per gallon is recommended would you say? Will salt hurt the White Clouds and Otos?

[bluekrissyspike]

salt won't hurt any of the fish as long as you don't add too much. your tank is 26g so i'd add between 20 and 25 teaspoons of aquarium salt. you could safely add a little more than that too if you wanted. slowly raise the temp up to 84. make sure the salt is all disolved in warm water before adding to the tank. when you do water changes be sure to replace the salt that gets taken out with the water. keep the water salted for 2 weeks. when it's time to remove the salt be sure to do it a little at a time.

[spunjin]

Thanks for the help. When I cure the loach(es) I will exchange the Clowns for a smaller variety. I just hope I can catch them.

[Rbishop]

2-3 teaspoons per gallon is the generally accepted need...keep the tank at the raised level until one full week after all visible signs of ich have left..

[bluekrissyspike]

2-3 teaspoons per gallon is the generally accepted need...keep the tank at the raised level until one full week after all visible signs of ich have left..


i agree with that but i have treated my loaches for ich twice using 1 tsp/g successfully so that is the amount that i recommended.

[Rbishop]

You were lucky! Good deal!

[DAVIDFBT]

If you like loaches, but don't have a huge tank, you can get a school of Kuhli Loaches depending on your stock. Good luck with the treatment!

[plaalye]

I've used Rid-ich with several species of loach with no problems. I don't have clowns but I do have Kubotai, striata, and several hillstream species. It didn't stain anything in my tank and I find it easier, quicker, and more effective than salt. Good luck!