Dying Loaches

[funkymunkey29]

Here I go again. My clown loaches have ick and have had it for about 3 weeks now. The first treatment I did a water change and sucked the gravel and used whole doses of jungle ick guard 2. For approx a week and a half. When that didn't seem to be helping I put my carbon in and cycled it for a day did another water change and started using mardel maricide at half dose because I read on here that some people had good luck with it but it never said what dose they were using so I've been using half. Yesterday someone told me to gradually put the heat up to 90 that it kills the ick well it may due that but it also help kill some of my loaches. The healthier looking ones. I'm trying to find out if anyone has used this med a full dose. Mardel is the brand name it is called maricide. Sorry to BULLY who was just trying to help I'm just getting frustrated. My tank is 55 gallons I now have 16 clown loaches cause I lost 2 during the night. my ph is at 7.4 I have no ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, 0 ppm nitrate. I have 4 corys and 2 plecos in with the loaches also. I was trying to get my loaches big enough to put into my 224 gallon but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. My mistake was I bought one lonely clown loach he is approx. 7 inches all my rest are about 2 1/2 to 3. I put him in quarinteen for a week and when he showed no signs of anything I put him in with the rest. Also for decor there is 2 big caves and lots of plants. I do water changes about once every 2 weeks. So any advice would be helpful with what I could be doing different now. Not new treatments. I have been doing once a week water changes since the ick. Thanks

[Ashleigh]

This is a difficult case. I had a stuborn case, it only went away after weeks and weeks of treatment and I did lose a few loaches. Do you know what the active ingerdient is in the med... is it called 'Maracide'? If so, I have only used this in half doses, and I have heard reports on it damaging biological filters.....

Can you maybe describe the spots on the loaches like Diane asked in your other post; are they uniformly distributed? They has been an 'illness' if thats what you would call it, that people on the forum have found, and treated as Ich as thats how it appears, the old difference is that the spots are very uniform all over the body. All fish from what I have remembered have died.

Action now that I would take, is step up the water changes, say 10% per day/everyother day, replacing what meds are removed each time. This way you are removing as much as the free swimming stage of the parasite, also vac part of the gravel each day, again trying to remove as much of the free swimming stage as possible. This combined with the meds should start to help.


Ashleigh

[funkymunkey29]

The active ingredients is malachite green and chitosan. I'm not sure what you mean by uniformed. The bad ones have it everywhere like I took the salt shaker to them and the better ones have a few spots one their bodies.

[Ashleigh]

Have a look at the link below, there is a pic, the spots are very uniform over the entire body.

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... hlight=ich

Im not to sure about chitosan, I have never used it. Products in the UK that I have used with malachite green as the active ingredient says to use half doses with sensitive fish, not to sure about wanting to up the dose, usless you have no other choice. Try the water changes and gravel vac every day/other day. I found this to be key when I was treating my lot.


Ashleigh

[funkymunkey29]

No the spots are not like that. They are scattered all over. Thanks for the pic it was a big help.

[chefkeith]

Malachite Green is more toxic to the fish at high temperatures.

[funkymunkey29]

What is a good temp then I lowered it back to 86

[chefkeith]

That's just what it said in this chart-
http://www.feamane.org/pages/fish_meds.html

I've never used Maracide before, so I don't know much about it. I do have an unopened bottle of it, so I'm curios if it does work.

[funkymunkey29]

big help you are...LOL But I will definately post it if it works right now I'm going to stick with half doses and more water changes.

[funkymunkey29]

I use a children's med dropper to give my fish meds. Any advice on how to get malachite green off the kitchen ceiling???? LOL

[Ashleigh]

I think it stains.... although I did manage to spill methylblue all over my parents kitchen units-I couldn't get it off, my mum did though, Il ask and see what she used

Good luck with the treatment

Ashleigh

[plaalye]

I just finished treating a tank(for 2 weeks) with Kordon Rid-ich+, full dosage. The tank has Kubotai, striata, and neons. No problems and I think I have finally cured this tank. I have treated it with salt/heat before but the ich returned again after a few weeks. It doesn't turn everything green and didn't harm my bio-filter as far as I can tell. Haven't used it with clowns though. Good luck with your battle!

[Sand]

though this is an old post, i found it upon searching, so i will post what worked for me. Feb 2013
75 % water change and gravel vac
78 degrees Farenheight, FULL strength Quick Cure (which is Zinc Free Malachite Green, Formalin) for two solid weeks.
every third day i'd do a 50 % water change with gravel vac and NOT medicate that night to give the fish a break.
I STARTED the 1st three days with half dose & 82 degrees temp, they only looked worse not better & two of my clown loaches died, so that's when I lowered the temp to 78 and did full strength Quick Cure. They rest of the fish lived. They did NOT appear stressed by Quick Cure at it's full strength dose.

The fish who were okay with Full strength Quick Cure were

1 Clown Loach
1 Synodontis
2 small Emerald Green Corydoras
5 Bushy nosed Plecos (Ancistrus )
4 white cloud minnows
2 small goldfish
4 guppies

The one who died during treatment
my Olive Nerite snail

Last night I cleaned the filter and did another 50% water change and gravel vac.
Today I read to treat for at least 3 days after you no longer see the spots. So today I added Quick cure again, I'll skip tomorrow and add again tuesday.

What a nightmare, as an adult I've not had Ich in my tank until this, I had no idea it could be this bad, last this long, and that it could kill Clown Loaches so quickly.
I remember having it in my tank when I was a kid once, but it was gone in a few days with a medication.

Thank goodness for Python Vacuums!!!!!

[Arden]

I keep my loach tank at or above 80. And for loaches the best "medicine" is aquarium salt.

[Diana]

Look at the dates of these posts. Several years ago. Perhaps a change of environment could help in general, but it is way past helping those issues.