sick loach

[namal kamalgoda]

Hi Loachaholics
I have a problem with one of my clown loaches. It is swimming around with a hunched back, fins folded in, mouth open. The poor fellow is not eating and has shrunk to half his size. And his movements are very slow. He was fine till a week ago. I rarely see it, and only makes occasional appearances. Would any one able to help me and tell me what is wrong with it and how to treat it?
Thanks

[Bitey]

Sounds like either a water quality issue or a mycobacterial infection (if it's emaciated).

Quarantine tank and quick treatment with kanamycin and erythromycin or trimethoprim sulfa is likely your only chance.

I think it'll be dead soon since it sounds like it's in dire condition and the usual outcome on this forum is death due to delayed/misinformed/incorrect treatment.

[namal kamalgoda]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply, but the poor loach died on Saturday. Unfortunately I was not at home for 2 weeks, when it was sick, and was only sporadically seen during this time by my wife. All attempts to catch it and quarantine it by my wife were fruitless. I too only saw it once and tried to catch it but goes into hiding, and I do have a rather large 1400 litre tank. Now I have to treat the main tank.
Thanks again for your help