Im not sure if one of my Yo Yo loaches is sick

[Shortyusa]

So i have a 55 gallon tank with 5 yo yo loaches in it and one of them seems to have something wrong with it and im a bit worried.

He is laying on the bottom of the tank kinda laying on his side and it seems like his mouth is stuck open. I would describe it as a permanent yawn i guess.

All the other loaches are doing great going all around the tank digging around and stuff but this little guy just seems off.

please help

 

[LyndaB]

What kind of substrate do you have? Is it possible he has a piece of gravel stuck in his jaw?

 

[Shortyusa]

I have basically smooth black gravel pebbles with the and average size of like 1 cm so i dont think he has something in his mouth and the gravel isn't sharp so i wouldn't think he hurt his face really. I got a pretty good look at him head on and i dont think i see anything in his mouth.

Idk i hope hes alright they have all been so active i dont know what could be going wrong with him. The water is perfect only thing thats raised is the pH but the other ones are doing just fine in the water.

 

[foster53]

Is it breathing fast(gasping)? Can you see any redness around the gill area, other than the normal color of the gills themselves? Compare the respiration rate to the other loaches. How long have they been in the tank?

 

[Shortyusa]

Yes it seems to be gasping but its gils and barbs on its face seems fine...hes just sitting at the bottom of the tank with his mouth open panting....Hes about a week old in this tank but so are the others and they are doing great...

 

[LyndaB]

what are your readings?

 

[Shortyusa]

So i just did a 25% water change and i will be checking what the water reading are in a little. But they were 0 for ammonia and nitrites and between 10-20 for nitrates and my ph is normally around 7.4-7.6ish hard to tell with the colors on the test...

But he has all of his color and and his scales seem find no spots or anything but hes just sitting there still panting with his mouth open..

will get back to you later with what the water is

 

[foster53]

If you have a spare tank I would move the fish to that tank and try treating the fish for parasites. If there is no redness at the gill area that helps rule out bacterial infection. I have had fish show the symptoms you are describing and they had gill parasites. Your water parameters seemed in line, so that would not appear to be the problem. Try treating with salt for a week or so, if that don't work you may have to resort to meds.Praziquantel or acriflavine would be a starting point, also malachite green formalin combo should work.Make sure to keep as much O2 in the water as possible.

 

[GuppyLover]

If you have a spare tank I would move the fish to that tank and try treating the fish for parasites. If there is no redness at the gill area that helps rule out bacterial infection. I have had fish show the symptoms you are describing and they had gill parasites. Your water parameters seemed in line, so that would not appear to be the problem. Try treating with salt for a week or so, if that don't work you may have to resort to meds.Praziquantel or acriflavine would be a starting point, also malachite green formalin combo should work.Make sure to keep as much O2 in the water as possible.

Yoyo loaches are scaleless so therefore you cannot treat them with Melachite Green etc. as far as I know.

 

[foster53]

Sorry I forgot one very important piece of info.If you use anything containing Malachite Green or any meds containing dye of any kind use at half the recommended dose for scaleless fish. Can't believe I forgot that Thank you for catching my error

 

[Shortyusa]

ok so i put him in my cycled 10 gallon tank to monitor him. He is still just sitting at the bottom breath rapidly...

If i decide to get some meds for him what should they be exactly...i just don't know what to get because i don't know what im trying to treat.

Also should i be running charcoal at the same time as the meds?

 

[foster53]

Try using salt as a treatment first. Lots of areation (air stone in tank). Use 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons, you can increase this after a few days if no results. I personally wouldn't go over 2 to2.5 tsp per gallon. If you decide to use meds, Praziquantel is a good one for parasites, and it is a little more gentle than some other meds. Don't use carbon in the filter when treating with meds, The carbon will remove the meds.

 

[GuppyLover]

Try using salt as a treatment first. Lots of areation (air stone in tank). Use 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons, you can increase this after a few days if no results. I personally wouldn't go over 2 to2.5 tsp per gallon. If you decide to use meds, Praziquantel is a good one for parasites, and it is a little more gentle than some other meds. Don't use carbon in the filter when treating with meds, The carbon will remove the meds.

Scaleless fish cannot tolerate salt. IMO You don't treat until you find out whats wrong.


Shortyusa, is it possible for you to get pictures or a video of him?

 

[LyndaB]

I wouldn't medicate him at all until you figure out the problem.

Pick him up in a small hand towel. Take a flashlight and look into his mouth to be sure nothing is stuck. Fish can get lockjaw and if that's the case, you'll have to help him.

 

[Shortyusa]

How would I go about helping with lock jaw?....I mean that seems to a good guess as to what it might be woth his mouth saying open....

 

[LyndaB]

If there is anything stuck in the mouth, like gravel, take something like a toothpick and try to dislodge it. Obviously, this is a delicate operation.

If his jaw is really locked, you can grasp the lower jaw, bring it forward a bit, and it may pop back into place.