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Loach With "Pinched Top" Near Front

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:20 am
by loachmeyers
Good Morning All,

I purchased 6 Clown Loaches for my 125 Gal... 2 of the Loaches have a piched top, one of them is real bad. I have no idea what it is... I took a picture of the worst one, but I don't know how to post the picture. Please help.

Re: Loach With "Pinched Top" Near Front

Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 7:13 am
by loachmeyers
Thanks Guys For All The Help. I realize the post wasn't very clear. At the very least someone could have showed me how to post a picture... Thanks again !!

Re: Loach With "Pinched Top" Near Front

Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 8:21 am
by Greek
Hey, just upload photo to some hosting service and give the link here. It's as easy as pie.

Re: Loach With "Pinched Top" Near Front

Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 8:10 pm
by Diana
If the Loach has a pinched top sort of right behind their head, it generally means they are underweight.
Many Clown Loaches are still wild caught, and can be exposed to internal parasites and bacterial diseases both in the wild, and during capture and transport.
The general recommendation is to treat all bottom feeding fish (Loaches, Cats...) for parasites and bacterial infection with a procedure described at this site for 'Skinny Disease'.
Alternate anti-parasite meds (Levamisole, Prazi-Pro, others) with antibiotics such as Maracyn and Maracyn Two combined. Read the label on the products for the timing.
Generally:

Anti-parasite treatment for several days, then
2 x 50% water changes, emphasizing vacuuming the floor of the tank (many parasites are found on the bottom)
Run activated carbon for 24 hours (get rid of the rest of the meds)

Anti-bacterial treatment for several days (usually 5 days), then
2 x 50% water changes, emphasizing vacuuming the floor of the tank
Run activated carbon for 24 hours (get rid of the rest of the meds)

Repeat for a total of 3 anti-parasite treatments and 2 antibiotic treatments.