3 New Kuhli Loaches

[draobmiks]

ok i got 3 new kuhli loaches(not the black ones, the yellow and black ones) yesterday they look soo cool ive been waiting for about a month to get them. i also got some dwarf sag. i hope it stays short.
anyways i have the kuhlis in the q tank but should i treat them with anything?
there are no signs of any thing. and i have heard people talking about kuhlis with ich but they die do to copper. i have never used coppersafe and dont plan on it, but what would you use if kuhli gets ich? Any ideas or suggestions?

[dorkfish]

There's no point in treating them if they don't have a disease; many medications are actually very stressfull to the fish. If you have to treat them for ich, the salt+heat method should work

[draobmiks]

how much would you say?
2 tsp per gallon?

[dorkfish]

how much would you say?
2 tsp per gallon?

1-3 is what's gennerally recomended. I suggest you read daveedka's ich article (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39759) - it gives a good description of how to go about treating ich.

[draobmiks]

ok now if they were to get ich what meds would you use? malchite green aka quik cure? or are there spec. meds for kuhli?

[dorkfish]

ok now if they were to get ich what meds would you use? malchite green aka quik cure?

Salt (aquarium salt, kosher salt and table salt will all work) and increased heat. The salt and heat is the medication.

Quick cure has formailn in it, and n the same place I read that, I read that formalin is a fish posoin.

[fish_freak]

Keep an eye on there eating I have seen quite a few posts stateing that a lot of the commercial khulii stock has had internal parasites lately. I dont know if this has been cleared up yet or not but it doesnt hurt to watch.

[Ghost_knife]

if the fish show no signs of diesease..there's no point to medicate when it's not necessary.. I just cured my ick with heat and salt. sadly I lost one fish but the others made it through

[plah831]

Quick cure has formailn in it, and n the same place I read that, I read that formalin is a fish posoin.
formalin is poisonous to anything living, including human skin, eyes, etc. it is used to "cure" and kill museum specimens. it's nasty stuff that i have to use at work, and try to avoid like the plague anywhere else! definitely steer clear of it for not only your fishies' sake, but your own.

malachite green is a commercial dye that i also believe may be carcinogenic.

salt is definitely the safest, and most effective, way to go.

but as Northstar said, don't treat for anything unless you sure you have it. there's no point in stressing your fish out anymore than is necessary.

[draobmiks]

ok thanks but loaches are sensitive to salt. so anybody recomend amount of aquarium salt to be used?

[plah831]

i've used salt with albino dojo loaches (totally scaleless, skin soft as babies) and they're thriving. recommended dose is 1-3 teaspoons of salt per gallon, i do 2 to make sure there's enough to be effective, but not so much that it might hurt anything.

read dave's article on ich treatment. it will answer many questions.

DO NOT add salt directly to the aquarium. especially with scaleless fishes, if a salt grain touches them, it will burn their skin! mix it in another container until it dissolves completely. again, read the article carefully, it is the Bible of ich treatment as far as I'm concerned.

[draobmiks]

ok great i hope they never get it.