Weather Loach Not Moving But Alive??

[dzap79]

I recently posted about my Weather loach jumping out of the tank. I found him the next morning and put him back in the tank. Anyways it is two days later and he is looking horrible. He is not moving and breathing quite heavy. He has some red spots on his body that look like bruises. One is about half way down his body and goes all the way around him. His tail fin appear to have lost all the skin that holds it together and now looks like just little lines. I am not sure how to explain this exactly. I have started him yesterday on Melafix and also put an Air Stone in place of my Activated Carbon Filter because I think it gives more oxygen. Now he just sits there and does not move. I feel very sad for him and really do not know what to do. Should I put him out of his misery? His skin looks pretty bad overall. And I know he was out of the water for a while. Should I give it a day or two more? Also I have not seen him eat.

I know this is a horrible picture but you can at least see the red spot I am talking about.

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/S ... GE_008.jpg

[TammyLiz]

Sorry I can't tell much by that picture since it isn't very clear. I see the red spot you're talking about, but is it really that red? Thats terrible! It could be septicemia, which is really a fancy word for blood poisoning. Usually it is caused by dirty water but I could imagine it might be brought on by a day out of the tank as well. Is the spot towards the front of the fish, where his organs would be? If so its probably internal bleeding.

If the spot is just surface, IE on the skin, it would be something else, likely bacterial or fungal. If this is the case and it is getting worse you might want to treat with something.

The best thing you can do for him in either case is to provide him with very clean water to help him recover. Have you tested your water? How often do you do water changes? Have you done any water changes since the loach jumped?

HTH, I'll check back for the answers about the water changes and whether the spot looks like it is internal or external.

[dzap79]

I think the red spot is on the outside but I am not sure. I have treated him with Melafix for two days but not a whole lot has changed. I thought I did see some improvements after the first day. Below the red spot he has like this white film covering his entire body. I am going to get some Pimafix and try treating with that also.

The water levels are fine. Nothing abnormal what so ever. I keep the water very clean. Can I do water changes when I am treating with the medication?

The red spot is half way down his body so I am not sure if it is where his organs are or not. Any ideas here? DO you think I can treat with Pimafix also? My goldfish are starting to pick on him but I do not have a quarantine tank to put him in so I did my best to get him into a hiding spot of sorts so they other two fish will leave him alone. This is so horrible and I am really not sure If I should just put him out of his misery.

[TammyLiz]

Pimafix is OK to use along with Melafix.

Do you know the numbers for your water quality? Did you test? Different people have different ideas about what "fine" and "normal" are, so numbers are best.

You can do a water change while medicating, just do it before adding the medication. Or if you do a 30% water change you can add 1/3 dose afterwards if it is not time to dose again.

The organs will be mostly between the head and the vent (anus).

The decision to euthanize has to be yours, I can't give you advice on that one. Like you, I hope he makes it, but I know sometimes there isn't anything we can do.

[chefkeith]

Do you have a water bucket you can put the fish in? If not, you can probably get one for 99 cents at almost any store. Look in the cleaning supplies isle where the mops and floor cleaners are.

I've quarantined injured and sick fish in a bucket for a few weeks at a time until the fish was fully recovered. All the fish needs is a few inches of water, an airstone, and daily partial water changes. Do not feed the fish if it is not active. You need to keep the water as clean as possible. Keep adding the Melafix as directed.

[dzap79]

Thanks for the advice. I got 10 Gallon tank and tried to get an air pump but couldn't get an air pump in time before the shop closed. Anyways I started him on Pimafix today also because he had a cotton like thing on his head and also half his body is white. I think he might have a really bad fungal infection.

First thing in the morning I am going to get an air pump and a oxygen stone and then do a partial change of water from the tank he is in now into the quarantine tank. He is a hardy guy and seems to be struggling. I honestly cannot believe he is still alive. I was not sure whether to put out of his misery? His fins are completely gone in the back and top. Only ones he has left are the ones near his face on the bottom.

Any other ideas or suggestions? I really appreciate your help.

[chefkeith]

External injuries are not always fatal if properly cared for and if infections are avoided. If he makes it through the next few days, I'd say the chances are good that he recovers. The fins will eventually grow back and wounds will heal. It's a slow process though.

I have a clown loach that got mangled up a little bit by a powerhead about a year ago. The fish lived although it had an open gash and it couldn't swim correctly. I q'd it for a few months, treated it with melafix, and it fully recovered. For most of the treatment the clown just rested in a pipe.

[TammyLiz]

I agree with putting it in a bucket, especially since you are saying it is getting picked on, and since it is a temperate fish. A ten gallon tank is even better. Excellent water quality is the most important thing you can provide for any fish, but especially one with wounds and/or a skin infection.

I see you're in NYC and I have heard rumors of bad tap water quality there. Hopefully its not too bad or the extra water changes could cause extra stress. I have ammonia in my tap and have noticed the water changes are less beneficial for sick fish than I would like them to be. If your water has ammonia I wouldn't recommend the quarantine method at all and would suggest you keep him in the cycled tank and do a couple of smaller water changes over a few days.

The fins being gone is not a good sign but he may still pull through.

[dzap79]

Thanks for your responses. The ammonia level is ok. I have been monitoring the new tank very carefully. He is now in a 10 Gallon quarantine tank that is filled about 75% of the way. I am using an airstone attached to an air pump and think I will get a sponge filter to aid in biological filtration.

Today he does not really look any better then yesterday. He is still white on half his body and on his head he had a big white poofy thing that sort of went away but now looks red and has made his eye look red. From time to time he tried to get up and move but is unable to swim since he has no fins. It is just horrible to watch. I am doing daily water changes of about 50% because the water is getting cloudy. He is not eating at all and I am not sure if he is having bowel movements. I am worried about this since he has not eaten since last wednesday.

How do I know when things are not going to get better and I should put him out of his misery? I really do not want to see him suffer.

[bevans]

If he's moving now, it sounds like he might actually be doing better. You got him away from the goldies, that's a plus-I hate it when fish start nibbling on other fish that are still alive. And you've set him up a nice q-tank.

If you're worried about him eating, can you give him something like a sinking wafer that you can actually put close to him? Those are easier to clean up after as well, I think. There are other folks who know a lot more about this than I do, but I don't think food is as much of an issue as you think. What's more important is medicating him and keeping the water clean.

Since he's moving, it sounds like he's fighting back and I'd give him a while longer if he were mine.

Are your medications temperature specific? Do you have a heater in the tank?

[dzap79]

I have now fully setup the QT. At first I put a sponge filter in but the water was getting cloudy very quickly. Now I added a one of those filters that hang on the back of the tank. I removed the carbon and it has a sponge, ammonia remover and Bio Max. I think this should help with the cloudy water. I also have an airstone going for oxygenation. He is moving occasionally but not a whole lot. Mostly he just lays there. I added some more water from my main tank into this one so now it is like 75% full (out of 10 Gallons). I also gave some stress coat and some Cycle to help with the Bio Filter. I think I might be doing too much here and not letting the tank be but the cloudy water was making me uncomfortable and I am sure for the fish as well. Anyone have any others ideas or suggestions?

[chefkeith]

I wouldn't feed it unless it is actively looking for food. When my fish was recovering from the open gash it didn't eat anything for about a month. I'd only tried to feed it about 2 times per week, but it wouldn't eat. Once the wound healed up, it started eating again though.

[TammyLiz]

If you haven't already you should add mature media from your other tank to the q- tank. The cloudy water is probably a bacterial bloom from excess nutrients building up from lack of bio filter. The cycle product you are using could be making the cloudiness worse. I have heard this product doesn't really work, although I have not tried it myself I have heard a lot of failure stories about it an absolutely nothing positive. So I would stop using that if I were you, it may just be mucking up the water.

Also, do water changes with fresh water, not old water from your other tank. The point is to give him the cleanest water possible. Cleaner than the other tank.