Sick clown loach?

[zach103]

ok so i got the loach the other day and it seemed very healthy and active for the first couple days but today he was in side an ornament pointed upwards. hes been in there all day. its a 30 gallon tank. the other loach in there has ick. but it is the only fish that has it as of right now

 

[mudraker]

All of your fish have ich if one does. Stop getting new fish until you have it cured.

Here is a good link to learn how to rid the tank of the horrible paracite.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f17/if-you-think-your-fish-have-ich-38796.html

 

[zach103]

i was told if their healthy they have a chance of not getting it.. its being treated now with heat and some salt.. i wasnt sure if the meds they have would kill my plants?? is that kind of behavior related to ich?

 

[mudraker]

i was told if their healthy they have a chance of not getting it

Untrue.

Healthy fish will show symtoms later than unhealthy fish and will respond to treatment better than weak or unhealthy fish. But no fish is immune to ich, as its a parasite.

i wasnt sure if the meds they have would kill my plants??

Please explain what meds you are referring to.

is that kind of behavior related to ich?

Even healthy clown loaches might display this kind of behavior. Sometimes they play dead and lay on their sides. However, it sounds like the place where you buy your fish is selling a lot of unhealthy fish to begin with.

Please read the link I posted earlier and follow the instructions carefully.

Some say loaches cannot tolerate salt treatment, but I have done it succesfuly.

 

[dollabill420]

I don't believe loaches have scales that would be why salt is not very good for em, maybe could be treated with less salt then normal and do it quicker, just an idea not fact by no means

 

[mudraker]

You are kind of on track dollabill.

Loaches do have scales, but they are embeded, so many mistake them for a scaleless fish.

Ich Attack by Kordon is supposed to be a great product to use instead of salt and works well when combined with heat (86+ degrees).

The Ich parasite is only "killable" in one of the three stages of its lifecycle.

Heat increases the life cycle, and at 86 degrees will kill a great deal of it. But rarely all. That's why it should be used in combination with salt or a commercial medication. I like the concept of the Ich Attack because it does not contain copper, which most ich medicines do.

Copper not only stains your tank, but can make it lethal to inverts such as shrimp and snails.

Also, Ich Attack is plant safe. Most other ich meds are not.

 

[dollabill420]

Yeh wasn't 100% on the scale thing, thank you for clearing it up, sounds like good advise to me also from everything I've heard of ich, heat speeds up lifecycle of ich so dies quicker and reproduces quicker to get to the lifecycle it is killed at I'm assuming (sorry for questions on your thread op)

 

[HAVAMAL]

Ich lives for 16 days, turn the heat up to 86 and use the aquarium salt, not a fan of meds and never had luck using them, use this rule of thumb IMHO cause it has always worked for me without fail for many years, whenever you add water to your tank always make sure it's warm water, I had someone teach this to me years ago and it has never failed.

 

[xwesx1978]

Kordon ich attack works great

 

[zach103]

Ill deff try the ick attack.. the kid may have not know about that brand because he said alot of the meds for ick arent good for the plants in the tank thats why i was worried... and ya im not buying fish at petsmart anymore lol

 

[zach103]

Ok so i picked up some of the ick attack.. checked ph and Nh before adding it.. nh was at about .25 so im lowering that.. but the ph was wicked high so in the process of lowering that also.. than added my ick killer so well see how all that goes. could the ph being so high being killing the plants?

 

[zach103]

ok so all the fish that had the actual spots have died.. now i have three fish left and none of them have the spots.. now i know someone said if one fish has ich they all do.. so my question is should i continue the ick attack> and then when can i put new fish in.

 

[LyndaB]

and ya im not buying fish at petsmart anymore lol

It's not necessarily where you bought the fish. Your clown loach should be in a much larger tank, at least 75 gallons. Fish can easily be stressed to the point of developing ich when in an unsuitable environment.

You want to keep up the heat treatment for a minimum of two weeks. Don't be in a rush to add new fish as, in my opinion, you should wait a month at the very least, after all signs of ich are gone, to restock. Personally, I'd wait more like 6-8 weeks.

 

[zach103]

Ok sounds good.. im gunna take a look at the sizes too. and get some fish that dont get very big.

 

[LyndaB]

It's always best to go "window shopping" at the lfs when you're not going to buy. Leave your wallet home so you can't impulse purchase!

See what they have that interests you, write down the names, go home and research PRIOR to purchase. That's the secret to a well stocked tank.

 

[zach103]

It's always best to go "window shopping" at the lfs when you're not going to buy. Leave your wallet home so you can't impulse purchase!

See what they have that interests you, write down the names, go home and research PRIOR to purchase. That's the secret to a well stocked tank.

Thats an even better idea because i impulse buy all the time.. Say i want 2 or 3 more what size should i be looking at

 

[LyndaB]

2 or 3 more what exactly?

What you need to do is research the species to see how many they require in a school. For example, most tetras really need 8 or more. Rummynose tetras do best with at least 12. I don't think platies and guppies really care.

 

[zach103]

well say i get 2 to 3 fish that can be alone and dont need groups.. > i may just do 3 tiger barbs

 

[LyndaB]

Tiger barbs require schools, the healthiest being 8 or more. This helps curb their aggression.

See, this is what I mean about researching the species you like. You may see something at the lfs that you didn't even know you were looking for. That's how I got my african featherfin.

 

[zach103]

I just dont want to overstock my tank.. now ive been doing the research and found some cool looking blue emporer tetra that says does well in groupds of 5 and grows to 2inchs. in my tank now all the fish will grow to 4inches and theres 3 of them.