Loaches Online Forum

Hello everyone,

I am in the process of finding a new place to live at the moment. Once I do move, I will be getting decent sized tank(s) for my Botine loaches. FYI, the loach species I have are B.almorhae, B.Striata, B. Kubotai, and Y. Sidthimunki and I will probably be getting a 55 and a 33 xl or a 75 or larger for the whole group.

I have looked around on loaches.com as well as other sites and I haven't really seen an complete "how to" on quarantine procedures.

My question is, does anyone have a quarantine process that works well for them? I'm looking for such information such as:
-What courses of medicines do you use?
-How long do you quarantine for?
-What do you treat for if the fish appear healthy?
-What do you treat for if the fish obviously have CWS, parasites, etc? (I have talked to LFSs that have had trouble selling skinny/sick fish and are willing to sell them at rock bottom prices [i.e. just $1-2 a piece for large but horribly emaciated kubs] just to get them out of their stock, that way I can save some of these fish as well as my budget)
-Is there a different quarantining process for treating dither fish (rainbows, danios, rams, hatchets, etc) as opposed to loaches?
-What is a good, bare-minimum, quarantine tank system that will still be healthy for the fish but still give the best benefit from the treatment? (i.e. tank size, filtration, substrate, etc )

If there is anything else that I haven't thought of, that information would be much appreciated as well.

Thanks,
Rae

For me quaranteenig means isolating new fishes from existing stock and just observing them , medication might not be needed , possibly for a period depending on the condition of the new fishes .

There was a thread started for Quarantine Procedures a few weeks ago
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=18706

I forgot to add what meds to use.

For internal parasites-

To treat roundworm (trematode) infections-

Levamisole- this is the recommend medication, but it's nearly impossible to find these days in it's pure form.

Fenbendazole/Flubendazol/Flubenol (Panacur and Safe-guard)- This is sometimes the active ingredient in dog/cat wormers. It has been getting good results.
http://www.fishforum.com/member-submitt ... ole-19108/

Niclosamide (broad spectrum wormer, treats both round and flatworms, may be found in generic dog wormers)-
If used the fish must still have an appetite because it needs to be mixed with food.
Mix 1 gram of niclosamide with 200 grams of food. This would work with gelatin type homemade foods, like Martins recipe.
Live Bloodworms can be used also (mix 1 gram of niclosamide with 200 ml of water and soak live bloodworms in this solution for 5 minutes. )
Feed the fish this medicated food twice daily for 4-5 days.


To treat flatworm infections-

Praziquantel (Prazipro, Jungle Parasite Clear)
Niclosamide (see above)

raecarrow wrote:-How long do you quarantine for?

The last time I got a batch of small clowns, I kept them in a 40 gal tank by themselves for about half a year before putting them with my bigger clowns. I would do 1 month minimum, preferably 2 or more months with UV running to break the life cycle of any ich they may be carrying.

raecarrow wrote:-What do you treat for if the fish appear healthy?

Levamisole, perhaps.

-What do you treat for if the fish obviously have CWS, parasites, etc? (I have talked to LFSs that have had trouble selling skinny/sick fish and are willing to sell them at rock bottom prices [i.e. just $1-2 a piece for large but horribly emaciated kubs] just to get them out of their stock, that way I can save some of these fish as well as my budget)

Ten to 14 days of Maracyn 1 & 2 for moderate cases of CWS. Or several weeks of kanamycin and TMP sulfate (both 0.15 g/2.5 gal) for serious cases.

-Is there a different quarantining process for treating dither fish (rainbows, danios, rams, hatchets, etc) as opposed to loaches?

Not really.

-What is a good, bare-minimum, quarantine tank system that will still be healthy for the fish but still give the best benefit from the treatment? (i.e. tank size, filtration, substrate, etc )

I had a big canister filter and a UV sterilizer on my 40 gal tank. UV was off while medicating, of course.

I quarantine from 2 to 5 weeks and treat with both Levamisole and Flubendazol (not at the same time). How long depends on how the fish look and if they are putting on weight. If they look healthy from the start and are putting on weight I only wait 2 weeks, but if they are skinny I give them more time and also sometimes treat a second time with both Levamisole and Flubendazol.

This method has worked well for me in most cases. One problem that I have been having is that it seems that every time I buy fish from a particular LFS, they are bringing in ich. It has not been evident during quarantine and must be just on their gills, but I get an outbreak later on. Thus I am considering just automatically treating for ich while in quarantine to combat this problem.

Keith Wolcott wrote:I quarantine from 2 to 5 weeks and treat with both Levamisole and Flubendazol

I have been unable to find levamisole ANYWHERE.

I can only find a few sites and I don't know if they have any in stock.

http://www.livestockpros.com/dewormers/ ... wormer.htm

http://www.americanlivestock.com/pc-166 ... ormer.aspx

Maybe you have already tried these.

Maybe the Flubendazol is enough.

We found levamisole at the local feed store today. Only it was enough to dose several horses....

Katy wrote:We found levamisole at the local feed store today. Only it was enough to dose several horses....

When we had some bacterial-issues we bought two pills (Sera Bactopur Direct) from a local store, so we didn't have to buy the whole pack to use two pills. See if a store in your area is willing to do that.

I got enough Levamisole for a small flock of sheep a few years ago. (Smallest bottle the store had). I have no idea what the shelf life is.