Clown Loach with Ich

[Talvari]

After a week of having ich in my tank, there are no more signs of it in the tank. Im still treating for another several days, though, just to be on the safe side.

I am sad to report that I did lose one of my clown loaches. He passed yesterday later on... he had been covered in ich and was getting weaker and weaker. When I found him breathing rapidly and barely able to move, i gently re positioned him in the tank so he was away from my tiger barbs and all the other fish, partially hiding by some of the plants. It seemed to calm him some; he stopped breathing as quickly and some of his color returned. He died late last night.

I had him and his buddy for a year now. When I got them, they were only about two and a half inches long. They were skinny, pale, and did not move very much. I had rescued them from a friend of mine who had them in a 20 gallon tank over run with mollies with no place to hid. He was just going to flush them.

Within weeks of having them, they were plumper, there color was amazing, they were clicking away, and they were active. They grew to be just shy of five inches in the time that I had them, and were almost twice as thick.

Needless to say.. I was a little attached. I almost cried when I picked up his poor lifeless body from his sanctuary amongst the plants. I don't understand how people can be so cruel and callous when it comes to their fish, or any animal.

I feel bad for my other clown. Not only is he "alone" in the tank (doesnt seem to bother him too badly, though... he has been schooling with my tiger barbs. 'One of the things just doesnt belong here...') but now he is breathing rapidly, too. I did a large wc yesterday, hoping that it might have just been ammonia or something, or maybe too much salt (even though Ive been under dosing the tank).. but alas, he is still doing it.

Any insight on the loach? Ive heard it could be ich in the gills, or just stress.. He does not have spots anywhere else on his body, and his color is fantastic. Hes active and hes eating... I just dont know!

 

[LyndaB]

Needless to say.. I was a little attached. I almost cried when I picked up his poor lifeless body from his sanctuary amongst the plants. I don't understand how people can be so cruel and callous when it comes to their fish, or any animal.

You're not alone......... I'm sorry for your loss.

Remind me again, what size is this tank? Have they been in this tank since you got them a year ago?

Have you recently moved? Change in water at all?

 

[Talvari]

Its a fifty five gallon tank. We lost power a few weeks back and despite my best efforts at keeping the temperature in the tank... well we live in an apartment and its usually quite chilly in here. The temp dropped almost five full degrees, plus we didnt have a working filter. I've had them in this tank for a year. Nothing really changed.

I do pwc's every two weeks, about a 1/4 at a time. The tank usually stays around 76-78 degrees, depending on what time of the year (obviously its gonna be warmer in the summer). I feed Omega one tropical fish food flakes daily, do bloodworms/brine shrimp three times a week (ive got a knife in there) and then I do fresh veggies once a week (mostly for my pleco).

 

[LyndaB]

If I were you, I'd raise the water changes to 50% weekly. For the next week or so, I'd do one every other day just to see if your water might be the culprit.

Do you really dig down into the gravel when you do your w/c? Some people think surface cleaning is enough.

What are your params?

 

[Bubble_B0y]

clown loaches are notorious for getting ick!
they are probably the worst offenders in the entire hobby!

They stress very easily!

From experience, a few tips....
1) keep them in groups of 4 or more!
2) keep the temperature warm (above 80F)
3) have lots of caves and hiding places -they like a well decorated tank i

 

[Talvari]

I've been trying to do a 10% water change every other day or so because of the ich, but with work and having my two year old under foot, its probably been more like a 15-20% change every three or four days, instead. I work at petsmart in the pet care department and have to scrub and siphon each tank once a week... I know how gross the gravel can get so I definately hit the bottom of the tank every time I siphon. ( I have a python, too... Best investment. Ever.)

I've got a master freshwarter test kit, too. I prefer the chemicals over the strips for the most part... they seem to be more accurate. Ammonia was sitting around .5, as was the Nitrates. Nitrites weren't showing up at all. Ph is usually around 6.8. I just pulled out the rest of the anacharis in my tank, too, because my Tiger Barbs annhiahilated it... the bottom stems were rotting and there were no leaves left on the top. That might be reason the ammonia was elevated, too.

I wont get any more clown loaches for this tank... If my friend hadnt threatened to flush them, I wouldn't have any in the first place. I know they get big and I know they like to be in groups. 55 gallons just isnt enough and I am not sure when we will be able to afford a house, and then a larger tank. I've got two rock caves and a root system that the loaches and the pleco love to hide in.

I feed them Omega One fish food daily, plus bloodworms and brine shrimp two or three times a week (mostly for the knife. He'll eat the flakes, but he's not really a big fan). I also do blanched veggies once a week for my pleco. I've got a 60-gallon rated filter for a 55 gallon tank. The carbon has been out for about 10 days now because of the ich meds, though I still run the filter. I also have two air stones running.

 

[LyndaB]

My husband and I do 50% water changes on 4 tanks each weekend. It takes less than an hour to do water readings on all 4 and then do the water change. Put your kid down for a nap for 20 minutes so you can do the 50% the tank needs.

 

[Talvari]

I dont understand why it would need a 50% water change weekly.... I had barely any ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites. Testing this morning, and everything is at 0. I vac' out the entire bottom of the tank and in the time it takes for the water to run clear, I've usually only taken out about a quarter of the water. Particularly without having any filter media in, I'd be afraid of stripping out too much good bacteria and stressing them out even more.

My second clown loach died. Upon examining his poor little body, I could see that he had spots on his tail, fins, some on his body, and whats worse, some tucked up under his gill slits. Poor thing.

Everything else is fine... my tiger barbs have been super active, the males fighting and rubbing against the girls. My knife is out and about, day and night. Hes eating like a pig and has already grown some in the few months Ive had him. My gourami has fantastic colors. Even my pleco is active and has good colortation.

 

[LyndaB]

Replacing the water also replaces minerals and other nutrients in the water column, which the fish need. Don't think of it as just necessary to change out dirty water.

 

[roundar]

Loach are prone to ich it seems, mostly inbreeding. Personally I feel bad for most clown loach that are in a 75g or less. It's popular to say they can live in a 75g, but I disagree. They can get to the size of a small cat. Can you imagine forcing a cat to spend it's entire life in a 2x4 box?

 

[Talvari]

I know.... I did not initially plan on having clown loaches in my tank. I was set with my barbs and my gourami... But a friend of mine had two in a 20 gallon tank that was over run with mollies. He was going to flush them down the toilet if I didn't tank them... So against better judgement, I did. They weren't doing so well when I first picked them up... Pale, scared, thin, and only about two inches long.

I had them for a year, they grew to be just shy of five inches. They were active, beautifully colored, and schooled with my tiger barbs... Despite my initial misgivings, I was attached to the little buggers.

People kept telling me to get more of them.. but no way in a 55 gallon. I was planning on upgrading my semi-aggressives' to a 120 once we get out of our apartment (we aren't technically allowed to have 'large' aquariums, but no one checks).

 

[steez]

I dont understand why it would need a 50% water change weekly.... I had barely any ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites. Testing this morning, and everything is at 0. I vac' out the entire bottom of the tank and in the time it takes for the water to run clear, I've usually only taken out about a quarter of the water. Particularly without having any filter media in, I'd be afraid of stripping out too much good bacteria and stressing them out even more.

Good bacteria doesn't reside in the water. It's on surfaces and mostly on your filter media.

Water changes are always a good thing, not only do you need fresh water for minerals and to keep the ph safe, but fish also release hormones in the water. If the hormones build up, that is what typically causes fish to "stunt". People often use the phrase "grow to the size of the tank", but in reality, the fish is getting stunted. Bad water conditions and hormones. This will usually lead to a fish not living very long, maybe 4-5 years instead of 10.