Skinny disease/knifeback treatment Australia

[strange&charm]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post.

I'm very sad because my clown loaches are dying...my biggest loach, Strange, died this morning and I need to know if they have skinny disease or 'knifeback'.

I started out with 4 loaches - two about three inches long and two less than an inch. I hadn't seen one of the little guys for a few days (they often like to hide in the ornaments) and then found him dead. I had the water tested, and my ammonia level was up, possible because the fishes' body had been in there for a day or two and contributed to the waste.

I did a 50% water change, and then 20% daily after that for about 4 days. Then the other little guy died too! I noticed that his body was curved in a really unnatural way...very sad to see.

I kept doing water changes, making sure there was no ammonia or nitrate readings. I also went and got three more loaches from the fish store (I know they love to be with other loaches and didn't want them to be lonely). Then I noticed Strange, our biggest loach, was looking really thin and starting to lie on the bottom of the tank with his body on the same unnatural curve as the other small ones had when they died.

I tried to feed him some bloodworms - he ate a few out of my hand last night, and started to look much better! I even got him to eat a few for breakfast this morning because he looked so thin. He started swimming around and looking much better. I went back a few hours later, only to find him curved very badly - as I was watching, his body gave a terrible spasm, and he stopped breathing. I am so sad for him!! :'((((

From what I understand, I think they had skinny disease. Is there anyone who can confirm that this is the case? I am really worried about the other clown loaches . There are four of them now - 2 are about 2 inches, 1 is 1.5 and the other is less than 1. They all seem fine at the moment, but I've heard skinny disease is really contagious, and I don't want any more to die.

I live in Australia - what would be the most effective treatment I can get quickly to stop any of the others getting sick? I did a double treatment of levamisole about two weeks ago when some guppies got sick - i suspected parasites.

I have a 70 litre tank, with a few other fish as well. I know I'll have to get a bigger tank when the loaches grow. Is this tank too small for these size loaches?

6 x guppys
2 x platys
1 x molly
2 x bristlenose
2 x kuhli loach
4 x clown loach (2 are about 2 inches, 1 is 1.5 and the other is less than 1)

There's also a bit of ground cover (looks like grass - not sure about the name) and a broad leaved plant.

PH level is about 7.1, Ammonia and nitrites are zero. Temperature is 77 degrees, and there is a very small amount of aquarium salt in the water column.

Any advice or help you could give me would be greatly appreciated...I am so sad they are dying

[Diana]

Skinny disease is more of a combination of symptoms that suggest a problem but do not actually diagnose the disease organism.

Fish that are wild caught are exposed to a lot more disease and parasite organisms than fish that are bred in hatcheries. Bottom dwelling fish (Loaches, Cats, a few others) are especially prone to picking up internal parasites.

When a fish is under stress from any cause their immune system is not functioning well, so other disease organisms can attack.

Skinny disease is when a fish is under attack from any of several diseases or parasites, often a bacterial disease and internal parasites ('worms').
The fish eats, but does not gain weight. This especially shows in what you might think of as the neck area, above and behind the eyes, above the gills. The fish can get somewhat hollow in that area. This is where the term 'knife; disease comes from.

Treatment is aimed at killing both the internal parasites and any possible bacterial infection. Since we do not know which organisms are causing the problem, the choice of medicines is somewhat arbitrary.
Levamisole is often the first choice. It is active against a wide range of internal parasites and acts to boost the immune system.
Follow that treatment with antibiotics. Antibiotics also are available that kill a wide range of fish diseases. Many fish diseases are Gram negative, but enough are Gram positive that it is worth treating for both.

Most medicines include a few days or a week of treatment followed by a big water change to remove the medicine, then a possible re-treatment schedule.
Alternate between worming meds and antibiotics, using the timing on the package.

The reason to keep repeating is that some internal parasites have a life cycle that includes and egg or other phase that cannot be killed. So treat for a few days, then give the fish a break, then repeat the wormer.

A possible schedule:
Wormer 3 days
Water change, activated carbon 24 hours.
Antibioics 5 days.
Water change, activated carbon 24 hours.
Wormer 3 days
Water change, activated carbon 24 hours.
Antibioics 5 days.
Water change, activated carbon 24 hours.
Wormer 3 days
Water change, activated carbon 24 hours.