Help !!! My clown loach looks sick...

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chefkeith
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Post by chefkeith » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:35 pm

It's hard to tell by the pic's. Can they be enlarged?

What kind of substrate is in the tank? Hopefully not a coral substrate. Is there any other kind of rocks in the tank?

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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:38 pm

Yes the fins are definitely in once piece.

I feed them quality tropical flakes and earthworm flakes twice a day and frozen bloodworms and brine shrimps twice a week as a treat.

I thought it being diet related yeaterday after reading a few posts on the website and noticing that my plants seem to have been chewed.

so last night I put in some peas that I left in for a couple of hours. The loach ignored them but hte guppies loved them. Will try another veg tonight.
Since you still have nitrItes showing, it may be that his going to the surface is related to his discomfort with the nitrites.
How do I fix this? I did a 25% water change 3 days ago.
He's out and about a lot more than before.

It might be diet but most probably water related I'd say but am not sure how to fix this. Any ideas?

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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:43 pm

Substrate is fine gravel, rocks are river stones bought from pet shop, there is a piece of driftwood (pine) and a couple of bunches of plants (sorry don't have the name)
Christelle

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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:47 pm

Image

Sorry it not good quality but it's taken with my mobile.
Christelle

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:06 pm

Pine!

Is it 'Australian Pine' as in Ironwood/ Casuarina equisetifolia? If it is, it should not be part of the problem.

Is yours cured? Where did you get it? How long in the tank? If it is softwood pine the resins or pitch could be a problem in your tank. Maybe.

If it's not ironwood, let me know and we can look into it. Someone here may know more than I do, anyway. 8)
In the meantime, here's a link to a handy article on aquarium wood:
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/a ... wood.shtml

I can't tell from the photo, but is the fish's color paler all over than it used to be, or is it just the fins that seem to be losing color?
It is possible that this is not something you would need to worry about if it is strictly cosmetic. . .
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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:34 pm

The pine I picked up on our farm (we arei n Australia ) and has probably been there for decades so no resin would be left in it. As to the species I'm not sure about the species, will ask my husband when I go back to the farm on the weekend).

It's been there for about 3 weeks now and hasn't leached tanins. I boiled it for 5mn then soaked it for a week, boiled it again and soaked it for another week. It did sink immediately so it could be Asutralia Pine but not sure.

The black on the stripes is loosing colour too but not too much. Probably wouldn't be noticed by someone who hasn't seen the loach before. But it seems to come back and then go again over a few days. I can't tell if the orange if loosing colour or not.

Diana
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Post by Diana » Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:48 pm

I have found the test strips to be reasonably accurate, except that they tend to report irregular levels of Nitrate. They need to be read at exactly the right moment that the directions say. (How to read 5 spots at the same instant is a bit of a problem ;-) ) The discrepancy in the pH reading is odd, but if the liquid test has not expired, I would tend to believe that rather than the strips.

At this point I would continue the increased water changes.

Nitrite causes the blood to not carry oxygen very well, a problem called Brown Blood Disease. The remedy in aquariums is 1 teaspoon of salt (sodium chloride) per 20 gallons. This is such a low level that it is OK for salt sensitive fish, but it is more than enough to protect the fish. (you could even reduce that 1 tsp to half, if you wanted, as long as you keep the nitrite as low as you can with water changes)

The timing is not quite right, but your tank is probably going through a minicycle, caused by adding the new fish, and likely had an ammonia spike just before you noticed the problem. Ammonia can burn the tender tissues of the fins and gills, though it is usually less toxic at low pH (and 6 is certainly low, but 7.2 is high enough for the ammonia to be a little toxic.)
The ammonia removing bacteria have probably grown enough to handle the ammonia (they grow pretty fast) but the nitrite removing bacteria are slower growing, so you are seeing a little nitrite, and you might continue to see it for several days or a week. Keep up the water changes.
Last edited by Diana on Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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chefkeith
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Post by chefkeith » Thu Nov 08, 2007 9:55 pm

I was misleading with my questions.

Like Shari/Diana mentioned, Nitrites is the a problem, they should be 0.

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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:02 pm

Thanks Diana.
1 teaspoon of salt (sodium chloride) per 20 gallons
Can I use table salt?????? If yes does iodised or non iodised make a difference? I my calculations are right for a 2ft tank should hold 45 litres or 13 gallons, right? So i need just over half a teaspoon (hopefully US and australian teaspoons are the same size...).

I'll get onto that tonight. Hope this works. I'll be away for the weekend and hope I have good news in my tank when I come back on Monday.
Christelle

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Thu Nov 08, 2007 11:06 pm

you can use table salt, but only if it has no additives to make it 'free flowing' or such. Look at the ingredients label. If it says anything but 'salt', you probably shouldn't.
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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:12 pm

Hi everybody,
Came back this morning and my clown looks better. His black stripe are very bright black (compared to whitish before) and pigmetn seems to be coming back on the dorsl fin starting from the body going outwards.

I'll keep up with the water changes and start giving it more vegges. Hopefully that'll work.

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Tinman
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Post by Tinman » Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:35 pm

:D

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:39 am

Woot!
Good news is always good. 8)
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Frenchie-aussie
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Post by Frenchie-aussie » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:25 pm

Thanks everybody for your help!!!! :D :D :D
Christelle

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