red raised bymp on dojo loach

[celestialcc]

i woke this am to my healthy dojo loach (12 inches long) having a raised reddened bump on his skin. i do not know if this is an external or internal cause. i treated the water for bacteral issues, for parasite issues and added melafix. i have a dojo loach in a community tank with now an angelfish, 2 clown loaches, and a grommy fish (5 total). i keep a clean 55 gallon tank, and do a 50 to 75 % water change every 2 weeks, with filter changes. i rinse the filters every night to every other night. we just had our Koi (9inches long) die yesterday, so thats why i treated the whole tank thinking it was a community issue. any ideas or hep welcomed, as i have been searching all over the internet and havent seen the same bump as my loach has pictured anywhere else.

 

[celestialcc]

Here is a better picture of the bump.

 

[the loach]

It's a community issue, you are mixing tropical and temperate fish. Dojo/weather loaches (I have them myself) are not tropical and will have a shortened lifespan and health issues if kept on tropical temperatures. If it appeared overnight I'm afraid it is a malignant tumor which would require surgery (if possible..) in either case a change of biotope, what temperature are they currently at?

 

[celestialcc]

It's a community issue, you are mixing tropical and temperate fish. Dojo/weather loaches (I have them myself) are not tropical and will have a shortened lifespan and health issues if kept on tropical temperatures. If it appeared overnight I'm afraid it is a malignant tumor which would require surgery (if possible..) in either case a change of biotope, what temperature are they currently at?

I keep the tank at 74 degrees.

 

[the loach]

For how long have you had her (yes it's a she)? Is she really 12" she looks much smaller.
How big are the clown loaches? Isn't there a spot in the lump, maybe one of them has stung her?

 

[celestialcc]

So the dojo loach shouldnt be in the tank with the rest of the fish? i didnt know that, this is my sons tank and he provided the fish i dont think he knows that either so i will let him know, yes the bump popped up overnight, i keep a close eye on the tank and keep it very clean. Could the combination of fish have caused the Koi to die also yesterday? the koi was very healthy prior to yesterday, no issues at all.

 

[celestialcc]

just re measured the dojo loach she is 11.5 inches long exactly. the clown loaches are 5 inches and 3 inches

 

[the loach]

It's not so much the combination of fish but koi are also temperate and more importantly, they grow to 3' in length. It's impossible to keep them in a 55 gallon, maybe to grow them out to 3" but otherwise they'll get stunted and die early.
More bad news, both the dojo as the clown loaches are very social fish that need to be in groups. Clown loaches grow over a foot in length, but get very bulky. You can't keep them in a 55 either.
You can keep 3 or 4 dojos in a 55 but it has to be unheated, still in some homes that's still too hot. At the least they need a winter season in the low 60's.

 

[celestialcc]

i aldo didnt know that the clown loaches could sting another fish. i know about the barbs and the dangers of another larger fish (koi) attempting to eat and choke on them, so i made sure the sizes were appropriate and that didnt happen.
i have had this dojo loach going on 9 months

 

[celestialcc]

my understanding is of he wants tropical fish , he needs different fish in this tank then? he wants to keep the angel fish and the clown loaches as they are my grandsons fish. should he get a couple more clown loaches? or 1 more angel fish? ( as they need tank space to grow and live) or what fish do you recommend?