skinny kubotai loach

[majolo]

I bought 3 kubotai loaches at Petsmart to increase my shoal to 6, since they are supposedly very social. The loaches they had were all painfully skinny, but I hoped I could nurse them back to health. I put them in a quarantine tank for 2 weeks. First I treated for internal parasites with Gel-Tek Ultra Cure PX, which contains metronidazole and praziquantel. (I've read that loaches often come with parasites, and some loach keepers treat pre-emptively.) I was a little confused with the dosing: you don't feed the fish anything but the gel-tek for 3 days, but it's drops, so I couldn't really see if they were even trying to eat it :? And since they were already starving, I didn't have the heart to withhold food the whole time, so on the third day, I soaked some frozen bloodworms in the gel-tek and fed those to them.

Throughout the quarantine, they were pretty lethargic and didn't eat very much (offered Hikari sinking wafers, algae and regular, shrimp pellets, and bloodworms as a weekly treat. They may have also eaten a few pond snails that were in QT). But I convinced myself they were getting a little better, and moved them into the main tank yesterday. Then it was obvious by comparison with my other kubotais that these guys were still way skinny. Here's one of the new loaches:

Note the "groove" along the top of the body, doesn't look good to me.
For comparison, one of my old loaches (old picture, but you can see the difference clearly:

The new loaches continue to seems very lethargic and don't eat readily.

Well, sorry for the long post, but does anyone have any advice?

 

[plecoperson]

I'd review the Gel-Tek directions. I've never used it, but I know it's supposed to be a gel. Maybe you have the medication you add to the gel?

I would try Levamisole for them.

 

[majolo]

Yeah, it's a thick liquid, so you could call it a gel, but although the drops stay together, they are really hard to see in the water... I've read of some others who tried soaking food in it too, with inconclusive results.

Thanks for the levamisole tip, I have read some impressive testimonials about it. Being in a rural area, I should have no trouble getting a hold of some, and I found an article at Loaches Online about dosing.

 

[LandGhoti]

Maybe you should keep the three new ones in QT for a bit longer; otherwise they may not be strong enough to get to any of the food before the others eat it. The struggle to get to food might be stressing them out more than if they are the only fish in the tank. I haven't had to deal with this, so I can't offer any medicine advice. But if I did, I would keep them separated for awhile longer.

Your loachie pic makes me sad. I hope they will eventually thrive for you.

 

[majolo]

Ok, I got the Levamisole at a local vet's. I'm keeping the loaches in the main tank and treating the whole tank as suggested in this article (the move to the main tank had already stressed them a lot, and chasing them down in a planted tank with bunches of driftwood would have been worse). Using the dosage calculator in the link above, dosing 1/8 teaspoon of powdered Levamisole HCl in 55 gal tank. Will keep you posted. Thanks again.

 

[majolo]

Update:
Immediately after dosing, one of the new loaches started writhing wildly, so it was sure doing something. After a minute, the loach settled down. I left the lights off for the day per the instructions. I unfortunately had to go run some errands for the day, so couldn't monitor it for a while. After 12 hours, one of the new loaches was found dead, no physical signs. All other tank inhabitants look fine (including bamboo & ghost shrimp, I wasn't sure if shrimp might be affected). The remaining new loaches seem more active, but I may be just seeing what I'm looking for. I'm off to do a 50% PWC and thorough gravel (and driftwood) cleaning. Further updates as needed.

 

[LandGhoti]

Sorry for the loss of the one.

 

[majolo]

Sorry for the loss of the one.

Thanks.

Update: Well, one of the new loaches has perked up considerably and is feeding regularly. He still has the skinny look, but I'm definitely hopeful for him. The other remaining new loach is looking not too good. No energy, lying on the gravel, and I don't see him eat. I'm planning to use another dose of Levamisole tomorrow, which will be 5 days since the first dose if I counted right. Fingers crossed, maybe he'll improve.

 

[plecoperson]

We're rooting for you over here-I hope they both make it through.

GO LOACHIES!!!

 

[majolo]

Well, the poor guy didn't improve after the second dose. He doesn't seem able to feed even when I target feed him with other fish absent. He just barely has the energy to move at all, so I'm afraid it may be time for euthanasia... I've got some clove oil ready.

 

[LandGhoti]

I'm sorry.