Problem With Clown Loach, Pics Posted

[Blazemore]

For about a month I've been having a problem with a white color spots on one of my clown loaches. Its been spreading to one side of his body to the other. The clown far as behavior has been fine, except for the size. Its about a 2 inch smaller and weight is also down than the rest (avg 5-8 inches for the other loaches)

Tank is a 55gal thats been setup for over 3 years. Parameters: PH 7.0-7.2, temp 79-80F, nitrites/nitrates 0, all from jungle test strips other than a digital temp prob. Right now there 6 clowns and 7 giant danios in the tank. A 25% water changed once a week and a gravel vacuum when build-up starts to show. Food is flakes giving twice a day, nothing in the tank has changed except for a powerhead. None of the other clowns / danios have this problem. But I did loose two danios about a week ago for some unknown reason?

I've tried Jungle Fungus Treatment (twice), Jungle Parasite Treatment (once), and Melafix (twice). None seem to have any effect.

pics:

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

you should try to rise the temp. to 84-86 degrees for about 2 weeks.........

 

[Blazemore]

You think I need to add anymore treatment while temp is raised?

 

[joannde]

Forgive me, but I read the posts in the forum to help me learn. Edgar - what do you think the problem with the loach is ?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Its been spreading to one side of his body to the other.

Can you elaborate? Is it dissapearing and then coming back on the other side? Does it look like it's spreading farther, including the other side of the fish?

To me it just looks like a sore that maybe isn't going away. Maybe he is scratching himself on something. You say you do gravel vacs when you see buildup. How often is that? With clown locahes being bottom dwellers there is more waste/nitrate accumulation down there by the gravel.

 

[Blazemore]

Can you elaborate? Is it dissapearing and then coming back on the other side? Does it look like it's spreading farther, including the other side of the fish?

The second pic from the top shows what started first, just a white none fuzzy spot. Then maybe two weeks later the other side (pic one from top) started to show. The spot in pic one was small but now its going in the direction of the head to the tail. The spots stay and seems to be growing over time, but not real quick. None of the other clowns have this problem, nor do they scratch themselves on rocks, plants, etc.

From what I have seen, there has been no open wound. I avg a gravel vac every 2 months.

Edgar - what do you think the problem with the loach is ?

X2

 

[Ky'smommy]

every two months for a gravel vac thats not good?
all the food they miss is on the bottom decaying and going bad. thats not good and unheathly.
i gravel vac everytime i change the water. which is at least once a week.
people say the test strips arent good and give false readings maybe you should get some liquid tests or go to your local petstore and check your water parimeters to see if they come out the same just to be on the safe side.
i dont like the idea of not gravel vaccuming. And maybe find out your ammonia.

 

[Zagz]

I wouldn't turn up the heat myself. I would do more water changes and keep a close eye on the parameters. A lot of ailments fish have are a result of water conditions. If you are doing gravel vacs once every 2 months, IMO that isn't often enough. Are you doing water changes more often or once every 2 months as well?

 

[MattAquaBio]

Yeah you should definatly gravel vac more often, at LEAST once every two weeks IMO. Anyway, i agree with zags.
Good luck.

 

[Blazemore]

Are you doing water changes more often or once every 2 months as well?

Yes I do 25% waterchanges once a week with filter changes / media once a month. After water changes I used Marineland Bio-Coat.

Ok I'll start doing water changes once every two weeks and see if that helps. Is there any better way to gravel vac other than using a Python siphoning hose? Just looking for a way not to waste so much water.

 

[Cinder]

That mark looks exactly like what one of my Clowns had when I brought him home. I didn't notice it on him at the store and have watched it closely over the last month to see what happened with it. Mine actually had the identical marks in length and in the same place on either side of it's "neck" area. Over the last month the marks have almost completely gone away. The one thing I noticed with him was that he was skinnier than my other Clowns and now has added much needed weight to him. As he has put on weight the marks have slowly disappeared. (Hope I'm not rambling too much.) My thought is that is was weight related (undernourished) in my Clown.
You said you feed flakes only. Clowns need algae wafers and even sinking shrimp pellets in their diet. They should be fed twice a day with the wafers. I break one apart into four pieces and drop them in four different spots around the tank each morning and night. (I do have other bottom feeders that also love the wafers and pellets.) That gives the Clowns something to search for and plenty to eat without over feeding.
It's great to see that you have them in a good sized group. You probably are aware that your tank is much too small for six Clown loaches. You really need to upgrade to a 120 gln. or larger tank for them or they will be stunted. I know they grow very slowly but they will be stunted in a 55 gln. tank. (I have had three in a 55 gln. for two months but have my almost 120 gln. sitting in the living room ready to set up.) Something to work toward, sooner than later.

 

[Zagz]

I need to clarify, I recommed weekly gravel vacs and water changes. I use a python excluisvely.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

heres some helpful info from http://www.pethabitat.com/ Fungal Infections :: It is very unlikely that you would have a true fungal infection in your aquarium, but if you do the treatment is mycopur.

The fungus most commonly occurring in aquaria is Saprolegnia. This fungus causes cotton-like coatings on skin and fin.s Those coatings consist of the fungus's filaments. Fungi penetrate deeper tissues and thus harm the fish.

Fungi quite easily infect fish that are already weakened. Except for open sores, weakening is caused by too low water temperatures, stress, occasional fights, and poor hygienic conditions.

In order to prevent spawn fungus, add four drops of sera mycopur per 25 litres (5.3 gallons) of water once a week.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

Parasitic Infections:There are many different types of parasitic infections. The most common is Ich. Ich is evident by the sign of small "salt like" grain usually on the fins of the fish. In more advanced infestations, the parasites can cover the whole body of the fish. Ich usually first shows when the fish is taken home from the pet shop. It is usually the sudden change in water temperature, that activates the Ich. At Pet Habitat, we try to prevent Ich from happening by putting a "Bag Buddy", in the water that goes home with the fish. This Bag Buddy has the medication to treat Ich. If Ich does show up, don't panic, if treated early, Ich will not usually harm the fish. To treat for Ich, we recommend using Costapur from Sera. One drop per gallon daily will usually clear up the infection within a couple of days. If it persists continue treatment. If you have scaleless fish, such as Plecostomus, or Loaches, use half dosage until cured.
http://www.pethabitat.com/

 

[Blazemore]

Cinder
I've had the clown for around 3 years before this all started. When the marks started to show up the weight started to drop. During feeding times the clown eats fine but doesn't seem to gain wieght, odd. Seems we have/had the same problem but different happenings.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

Bacterial Infection: Bacterial Infections come in vast variety of forms. Because of this we recommend using Baktopur, for the initial treatment. Baktopur treats the most common problems affecting tropical fish. Common bacterial infections include, Cotton fungus, Fin and Mouth Rot, Swim Bladder Infections, Bloat, Pop Eye, Open Sores.

Before treating with Baktopur, a partial water change of 20% should be done. This will the lower the bacterial levels in the water. Use Aqutan for conditioning the new water for the aquarium.
http://www.pethabitat.com/

 

[Blazemore]

I need to clarify, I recommed weekly gravel vacs and water changes. I use a python excluisvely.

Do you vac only in the open spots or the whole tank? Trying to fig out what needs to be done in spots where wood, rocks, plants etc are placed. I try to just go around the edges of these (where their placed in the gravel) and open spots.

 

[Cinder]

Blazemore: I am very interested in finding out how things go for you and your Clown. It really does seem to be we had the same issue even though it was from different scenarios. (Your picture is exactly what mine had.) I am very curious about the skinniness of both Clowns having this "mark" on them and now that mine is getting fatter/healthier the mark has almost completely disappeared. I am keeping a close eye on him though - just in case. Please keep me posted on your guy. I'm hoping it was completely malnourishment related and everything will be fine now.
I vacuum around plants and large objects but move small rocks and driftwood every once in a while. I do a pretty complete top of the gravel vacuum with every water change.
I also do a very deep, to-the-bottom-of-the-tank gravel cleaning starting at one side of the tank and doing about 1/8th of the area and then two water changes later I start where I left off and do another 1/8th (you get the picture). Once I've worked my way across the entire tank I wait around a month or so and then start over again.

 

[HannahJ]

I'm positive that's not ich. Still, I don't have much to add beyond that. I might hazard that it is a nutritional problem; you could try adding frozen bloodworms and sinking bottom feeder wafers (Hikari has some good ones) to their diet and see if it helps. Even if it doesn't, they'll appreciate it. This in combination with more frequent water changes could very well eliminate the prblem. If you do medicate, just remember to be really careful about what you medicate with. Clown loaches need at least half dose meds for most of them, and some meds shouldn't be used at all (copper and dye meds, I believe, for starters).

Hope that helped. Keep us updated!