View Full Version : sick clown loach
niedz
02-15-2011, 10:14 AM
hi i moved a couple months ago and my tanks water got stirred up, i think that is how my clown loach got sick.
i have tried multiple medications and he has improved a little bit, acting sort of like he used to. but he will not eat, at all!!!! he looks emaciated, skin and bones. i think this may be the end for him, sadly, we have had him for maybe 5 years.
what can i do to get this fish to start eating, or should i just give up hope?
dan
fishorama
02-15-2011, 10:46 AM
What all did you treat with? What are your water params? Sounds like maybe a bacteria infection. Have you tried frozen bloodworms?
niedz
02-15-2011, 10:53 AM
my water tested ok. not spot on, but good enough (in my opinion). nothing is way out of line.
i suspect a bacterial infection as well, which is why i just finished a 5 day dose of maracyn-2.
i treated with maroxy, coppersafe, maracyn-2, and 2 "natural" medicines from API, leaf extracts of some sort. made the room smell like indian food (which i really liked!!!)
i have not tried any different food to try to get him to eat, i never fed him anything special ever so i just thought when his appetite came back he would start eating again. plus i am currently having a snail outbreak so i figured he could feast on those little buggers if he was hungry!!
his eyes were cloudy initially in addition to his other symptons, but that cleared up. his gill were also very red, they got a little better but are still reddish.
Sparkxx
02-15-2011, 11:00 AM
maybe this is it? taken from website.
"Another common affliction of clown loaches is "skinny disease". It is also caused by an intestinal parasite. A simple way to diagnose this ailment is watching the clown's eating habits. If the clown loaches in your aquarium are eating healthy amounts of nutritious food, but are still losing weight then they may have "skinny disease". Again, there are both medicines you can buy and a few natural ways to try to deal with the problem."
my guess is he is eating but has an intestinal parasite (as shown above)
just my theory
niedz
02-15-2011, 11:06 AM
hmm interesting. but i am fairly certain he is not eating, if he was we would not have a tank full of pond snails! we initially got this loach bc we had a bunch of snails. the next day we had him ALL of the snails were gone!!!!
BUT i am not counting this skinny disease out, how do i treat for it?
Sparkxx
02-15-2011, 11:11 AM
just read that 11 day treatment of maracyn 1 worked for some, but maracyn 1+2 works for severe cases (11 days also)
this is what I read on a loach forum
niedz
02-15-2011, 11:12 AM
hmm maybe i will continue the maracyn2 treatment then. i guess it is okay to continue treating beyond 5 days?
Sparkxx
02-15-2011, 11:13 AM
my guess is yes :)
fishorama
02-15-2011, 11:29 AM
Geez, that's a lot of meds! It's probably not "skinny disease" showing up after 5 years. I'd do lots of water changes at this point to get your params better than "good enough" & get rid of any remaining meds. It may be he's too far gone to recover but ANY ammonia or nitrites will make it harder for him, those alone could account for red gills, cloudy eyes & not eating. What foods besides snails have you tried? Are you careful to remove the uneaten food?
niedz
02-15-2011, 11:38 AM
i did not use all those medicines all at once!
i have been changing the water, and used ammo-lock to account for any ammonia present.
i dont overfeed, my cory catfish does a good job of vacuuming the bottom of excess food!
i guess ill keep trying to change the water, i just was hesitant about over changing the water and removing the medicine ive been putting in.
fishorama
02-15-2011, 11:51 AM
How are the other fish, red gills? So many different meds one after another is very hard on fish especially "scaleless" ones. You could try adding more surface movement to increase the oxygen level. If you use an HOB you can lower the water level a couple inches to make a splashy return. I think you should get out all the meds including the "natural" ones with daily WCs. I'm sorry your loach is suffering
niedz
02-15-2011, 12:58 PM
all of the other fish are completely normal! happily swimming about as always!
i know what you mean by an HOB, my filter im guessing, but what does it stand for? (im a newb to this forum)
have not used any medicines other than maracyn2 since my last water change a couple days ago. it was about a 25% water change.
fishorama
02-15-2011, 1:34 PM
HOB= hang on back (of the tank) filter
I'd strongly suggest daily or every other day water changes to get rid of residual meds & get your params ok.
sounds good ill start that. plus its cheaper than buying medicine!
started doing the water changes today. hopefully this helps the little guy.
fishorama
02-16-2011, 5:27 PM
Good luck! My fingers are crossed for him