Clown Loach Rescue

[maxwell1295]

I was out doing some shopping yesterday and drove past a Petco that I had never visited before. There aren't many LFS stores in my area that I haven't visited, so I just had to stop in a take a peek. With Petco, it's hit or miss.....some are good and others not so so good.

Anyway, the fish stock here didn't look too bad until I got to this one tank with 2 Clown Loaches in it. ACK! They were COVERED in Ick! I mean absolutely covered from head to tail. What was their solution? They dropped the price down to $2.99. So, not only did they not treat the fish, they lowered the price because i guess they figured the fish were "damaged goods". :x

My GF and I looked at each other and knew exactly what we had to do.....we bought them both. One of them was pretty active while the smaller of the two was lethargic, moving but not really swimming around like his buddy. We took them straight home and put them in an empty 20gal QT tank. Before putting them in, I made it a point to acclimate them a little longer than normal. I took about an hour before releasing them into the tank. Well, actually I only released one of thm because the other one died in the bag while I was floating it.

So now I have the one CL in 88* water hoping he pulls through. He was hiding last night, but swimming up near the top of the tank when I left for work this morning. I'm going to return the dead fish (with receipt) to another Petco in hopes of getting him a companion.

Am I right in thinking that it would be okay to put another CL in the QT with the Ick-infested one? I figure 2 weeks of QT at 88* ought to kill off any Ick and probably prevent the new fish from becoming infected.

 

[Guest]

I think it is wrong. I dont like the idea of treating any fish for a disease it does not have or in this case, exposing a new clown to an infected one.

 

[triazole]

this is a tricky situation. if you leave the CL alone for more than two weeks in QT alone, its going to be severely stressed from being alone, and from the high temps. if you introduce more immediately, you risk subjecting them to ick.
so, under the circumstances, i believe it'd have been better to leave them alone in the tank. from what i've learned about clowns so far, its best to buy them in a group, and pray for the best.

 

[JRagg]

Any chance you can take the dead one back and get a store credit to use in a couple of weeks? I agree it might be begging for a disaster to put a new clown in with the ich infested one. Maybe adding another after visible signs of ich are gone would work. Just an idea.

 

[severum mama]

I would leave the sick loach alone in QT until it is well. There are lots of people here that keep just one clown loach, and while I agree that it is better to keep them in groups, I don't think it will be too much of a problem to keep just one while it is in treatment. Just make sure the poor guy has a nice hiding spot and best of luck with the treatment.

 

[rkilling1]

as we all know that the high temp kills ick, i would just wait a few days/week and then add a buddy.

 

[maxwell1295]

Well, it didn't pan out the way I expected. I just got notice that the 2nd CL was dead. Oh well, I tried to help the little fellas out, but I think moving while they were sick and stressed did them in. I will still return the 2 dead fish to another Petco for a store credit.

Thanks for the replies...

 

[coldmachineUK]

Sorry to hear things didn't turn out. TBH, the fish were better off with you (someone who cared and at least tried to help) than at the store. Usually it's better leaving fish at the store if they look unwell, but in this case you had the QT there and the will to try and save them, so kudos. Sorry it didn't pan out though

 

[odessadude]

Sorry about those little guys. I always thought they are one of the best fish to watch in an aquarium. I don't know if I would trade those deceased fish back to Petco. Most of there stores in this area have severe problems of hiring people who don't even know the basics of keeping a fish.

 

[shayfish]

What a bummer. Just wanted to commend you on your effort to help them out.

 

[severum mama]

Sorry they didn't make it. I really thought it was nice that you tried.

 

[hc8719]

intentions were noble, its really terrible that petco didnt treat them, especialyl since clown loaches are expenisve and more rare to come across.

my petsmart did the same thing with a BGK, despite him having extensive fin damage, kept him in a regular tank without treatment. i bought him, and he's doing fine, fully recovered

 

[maxwell1295]

Well took the dead fish back and ended up with two more CLs that look to be in much better shape. They are resting comfortably in my other 20G QT. They've alreay begun to color up a little bit.

 

[hc8719]

did they just exchange them, or make you pay the difference for healthy loaches?

 

[maxwell1295]

They exchanged them, no questions asked.....and I didn't pay a cent.

Even though these were marked at $7.99, they just took the dead fish away and gave me 2 more CL's. They both had a little bit of Ick on them too (must be a Petco thing because ALL Petco have Ick). I have them in QT at 88*F right now and both are doing well. I'll keep them in there for another 2 weeks. One is a little more skittish at first, but he's out and about now. He not as deeply colored as the other one, but they are both really lively and eating well.

 

[hc8719]

see if you cant get some snails, that'll really boost clowns

 

[rich311k]

Good luck with them, if I ever get a large enough tank they will be the first on the stocking list.