Dojo loach butt keeps floating

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Cschaefer2394

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 2, 2018
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11
Location
Northern Minnesota
I have a 90 gal aquarium setup I got used and re set up and kept the canister filter full so bacteria would live it’s been going for a phew days now ph 8.2 ammonia .10 nitrite 0 nitrate 15 one of my dojo loaches has a floaty butt other than that eats well and seems healthy looking for advice on that also my pleco has white splotches on him not sure what to think about them IMG_2187.jpgIMG_2186.jpg
 

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I think your new setup is going through an ammonia spike, aka: Mini cycle. I've seen white blotches on Plecos, which turned out to be "Ammonia Burn".
I'd cut way back on feeding for a couple of weeks. Conduct a 25% WC asap. Use "Prime" water conditioner, if possible, with each WC. Continue making a small WC every third day until your ammonia reads zero.
There's an outside chance the white discoloration is Columnaris, a bad bacterial infection. Keep an eye on the Pleco and be sure to do your research on Columnaris.
 
I think your new setup is going through an ammonia spike, aka: Mini cycle. I've seen white blotches on Plecos, which turned out to be "Ammonia Burn".

I'd cut way back on feeding for a couple of weeks. Conduct a 25% WC asap. Use "Prime" water conditioner, if possible, with each WC. Continue making a small WC every third day until your ammonia reads zero.

There's an outside chance the white discoloration is Columnaris, a bad bacterial infection. Keep an eye on the Pleco and be sure to do your research on Columnaris.



U think .10 is an ammonia spike?IMG_2184.jpg
 
im kind of leaning towards columnaris. do the patches seem to have a fuziness to them or is it just a discoloration?



Just lighter coloration. He has rocks and plants and structures to hide in that he never had before the previous owner just had the sand could it be a stress deal?
 
Ammonia should always be zero. A little bit goes a long way towards a decline in fish health.
I doubt the Pleco is experiencing a color change. It's got some type of health issue going on.
With regular water maintenence things will likely level out. If the Plecos white discoloration expands, might be a good idea to remove him from the tank.
 
Looks like your ammonia is .25 and your nitrates look to be at least 40 ppm. Did you take this water test at the end of your weekly water change? How often are you changing the water and how much? I'd say your pleco has ammonia burn. Long term exposure to even a small amount of ammonia can cause this. From my experience, plecos of the common type as you have are pretty hard fish even to somewhat poor water conditions. Either way your ammonia needs to be a steady 0 and your nitrates need to come down. This needs to be achieved with water changes..... enough to bring the levels down to 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and around 10-20 nitrates. 40 ppm nitrates would be acceptable at the end of your week before a water change but shouldn't be more than that.
 
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