Loaches Online Forum

I believe my Golden Dojo Loach has been sick for several months now. She is VERY swollen, has an ulcer on her chest, cloudy eyes, and has faint red striations on her body. I believe she has Septicemia which can be effectively treated with Maracyn 2. About two months ago (after she suddenly became even more swollen) I gave her a standard one week treatment with Maracyn 2. She did not get any better, but acted normal so I took her out of the hospital bucket and put her back in the regular tank. After another week I decided to treat her again, this time for a 2 week treatment. She seemed to get slightly better, so I put her back in the regular tank and let her be. Her ulcer was clearly healing and she was less swollen. Just a few days ago her symptoms flared up again. Her ulcer is looking worse and she is very swollen. I do not know what else to do. Her behavior has been normal this whole time. Please help me help her. I am heartbroken that she is in this condition and am willing to go to great lengths to heal her. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Ulcer:
http://i.imgur.com/YoMXk.jpg

Swollen Body:
http://i.imgur.com/FIByj.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/nb5ld.jpg

Before the illness. She is the one with the brown spot:
http://i.imgur.com/a3vRN.jpg

Not sure if I can help you. I am very sorry for your Dojo. I know how aweful it is to have a sick fish. Could you please provide more information?

What are the Ammonia,, nitrite and nitrate readings for your tank and for your tap. What is the temp of the water. Who does she live with?

I have not tested my levels, but I do 25% water changes weekly with dechlorinated water. The water temp was around 86 in the summer when she first got sick, but it is now around 72. I suspect that the high water temps during the summer had something to do with it, although it doesn't matter now. She lives with one other Dojo the same age and roughly the same size. The other one is extremely healthy and active.

I would definitely test the water. Most pet stores will do the tests for free or a small amount. Even with the water changes, your water can get off. Or the water from the tap could be messed up with something the dechlorinator doesn't fix. For a example a couple years ago a friend of mine discovered bacteria in his water when he kept getting bad water readings. The sewer pipe down the street was sending bacteria into his clean water. You could have dead plants or a dead tank inhabitant. The healthy fish is healthy and able to fight off bad conditions. Very lucky that one didn't get sick too.

I believe you are probably correct about the temp. The temp with the fish getting sick made this worse. I love dojos and I can't keep the water cool enough to keep them healthy.

I wish you luck.

Thank you for your help. I think I will give her a strong dose of antibiotics (in the hospital bucket, of course) and hopefully it will clear up. In the mean time I will get my water checked.

Switch antibiotics.
Several treatments with the first one (Minocycline) reduced the population of whatever bacteria it could. The remaining resistant bacteria have now grown and will not be affected by this one.

I would make some custom food with Kanamycin.
Look up Seachem Kanaplex for a product and information on how to add it to food. This one is also absorbed by the fish through the water, if she is not eating.

Thank you for the help! I just bought 5 grams. Let's hope it works.

Did the treatment work? I have a golden dojo loach that is experiencing the exact same problem yours was. This is the only mention of it I could find anywhere. Any light you could shed on this illness might be helpful to me.