Kuhli help

[Scoobcake]

I have a kuhli loach that has looked bloated for awhile now but now I'm noticing the bottom half of it's color is fading. The full length of it's body lower half is pale and it looks sickly. It still gets around ok but is not nearly as active as my other loach. Spends most it's time under the driftwood. Any thoughts? All other tank mates seem fine.

 

[absolutangel04]

Can you measure the water parameters? How old is the fish? Anything new in the tank? Is it swimming ok?

 

[Scoobcake]

Him and the tank are about 2 months old. Water parameters are a hair over 0ppm ammo, 0 ppm nitrites, and 5 ppm nitrates. I have high ph and hardness out of the tap. Nothing new in the tank other than some fake plants a couple weeks ago that I cleaned prior to putting in. Temp sits about 78. This is a 29 gallon tank by the way and he swims pretty well. Occasionally he kinda flops over when he is swimming but my healthy loach does that too. Think it's just the water currents pushing them over.

 

[absolutangel04]

OK. Good to know your params are good and tank is big enough. Sometimes my kuhlis have had their bellies lighten up when they were stressed. As for the chubbiness, how big is the belly? THe females do get chubbier bellies. If it seems too big for that, perhaps either bloat or a parasite?
How far back on the loach's body is the bulge?

 

[Scoobcake]

It's almost the.full length of its body. I've read that pregnant loaches can die from refusing to lay their eggs. No idea if this is the case or how to know if its pregnant.

 

[absolutangel04]

I only way I know of to see if they have eggs is that my females tend to get chubby, but nothing severe. Since it is the length of the body, I wonder if you have an egg-bound female. I am not aware of any parasite that would show itself this way. It also does not sound like bloat or swim bladder issues. Maybe somebody else will have a different guess. Unfortunately, if it is an egg-bound female, there is nothing I know of that can be done except for to wait it out and hope for the best.

 

[Scoobcake]

I looked at the kuhli closer today and yes it is from just behind the head and almost all the way to the end. The last little bit near the tail looks normal.

 

[LyndaB]

All of my black kuhli loaches have lighter bellies. Is that what you're concerned with?

 

[Scoobcake]

well I know they normally have lighter bellies but this kuhli is very fat/swollen or something. It almost looks like its skin is sagging down. And instead of the belly looking white it is almost transparent/cloudy. Kind of hard to explain. Wish I had a decent camera.

 

[JesseMessykinn]

I know what you mean by the whiteness of their belly. Mine are the same way, mine are around 4 years old id say. Dont be to alarmed but keep a eye out. Ive never had one pass away or get sick for that matter. IMO Whitish Belly should be a Problem.

 

[epiphysis]

Does the belly have a slight greenish colour? Kuhli Loach eggs are green. So it might be that.

Have the same issue with one of mine. Its been a couple of months now. Will also like to follow this thread if somebody got some info on it.

 

[absolutangel04]

Well, if the fatness starts near the head, it may not be an egg-bound female like I was thinking. But, I would not rule that out as an option just yet either. Is she still the only fish with that appearance? If the fatness is over so much of the body, a parasite comes to mind, or dropsy. It would be hard to know if a kuhli had dropsy because that pine-coning which usually identifies the disease would not appear.

 

[Scoobcake]

Yes she is still the only one. She look a little better as of late. Coloring is better and she has been much more active.