Can someone please help? Sick Weather Loach!!! Parasite

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Tue Nov 24, 2009 8:44 pm

looks like a tumor or cyst of some type to me.
can you get levamisole?

if so, you can try it. these kinds of issues are very difficult to diagnose without biopsy of the area. if you are seriously concerned you could try to locate a veterinarian in your area who could do that for you.

best of luck to you.
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Ardillakilla
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Post by Ardillakilla » Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:32 am

My money's on mycobacteria.

Ubiquitous in aquaria and resistant to many antibiotics. It'll just laugh at Melafix and probably consume it for food.

Image

That picture was taken two years ago and the fish is still alive today.

That "growth" grew very, very quickly.

I used 0.4 g/10 gal kanamycin and 0.4 g/10 gal TMP sulfa...for several months. Obviously, I had a hospital tank.

Afunnyone
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Post by Afunnyone » Sun Nov 29, 2009 4:28 am

Ok I will try to get on this asap I have been extermly busy lately but will get everything i need soon I found a place that offers both of those treatments. And thank you very much for that info Ardillakilla that looks very similar. I am very tired but will be on in the morning to find out more info if possible I really appreciate all the help everyone. It makes me really feel better about all of this. This growth grew extremely fast also. This is so strange...

Ardillakilla
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Post by Ardillakilla » Sun Nov 29, 2009 4:53 am

Fishyfarmacy is where I bought both products:

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/products2.html

Their Kana Pro at $14 for 20 g is the cheapest option unless you buy 250 g for $150.

I'm running low on kanamycin and will probably be placing an order soon myself.

I remember the growth grew noticeably bigger over just 1-2 days. It stopped when I began the antibiotics but it was weeks before I could tell it was shrinking. That continued until it went away completely.

You probably don't have a gram scale so if you need the volume equivalents, I can weigh it for you (they come with measuring spoons).

Another option is neomycin which is of the same aminoglycoside family but might actually be more effective. The interesting thing is that it can be a lot cheaper than kanamycin if you get the cattle version:

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... b0d0204ae5

I might actually order this instead of a more kanamycin.

Afunnyone
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Post by Afunnyone » Thu Dec 03, 2009 3:45 am

I ordered the tmp sulfa from fish pharmacy, and neomycin from valley vet. what would the proper dosage for the Neomycin be? I can't find any info on how to dose them. And that is an incredible deal :-) I might just order the kanamycin also just to have around for any future problems or if this doesn't work out somehow. I really really appreciate this :D

Ardillakilla
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Post by Ardillakilla » Sat Dec 05, 2009 9:39 am

I would start out with 1.4 times more neomycin than kanamycin. I think Fishfarmacy sends you scoops so once you get them and know their volume, I can weigh out the volumetric equivalents (I'm assuming you don't have a scale that has 0.01 gram resolution).

Afunnyone
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Post by Afunnyone » Mon Dec 07, 2009 9:52 pm

hello everyone :-)

I just recieved the neomycin today but didn't get a scoop with it so I am unsure what to do. Killa I would love you could please help me out on this my friend :-)

and the loach seems to be doing better I have been keeping a close eye i just have to make shure i hand feed every day even though it have begun to eat on its own again :-) so there is some improvement. It also seems to be a lillte smaller of a lump.


Edit: I just recieved the tmp sulfa and I got a scoop. I think it might be a quarter teaspoon.

Ardillakilla
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Post by Ardillakilla » Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:48 pm

I got my neomycin today and weighed out a few samples. I'd start with 0.57 g/5 gal. A level 1 mL (1/4 teaspoon) weighed in at 0.56 g so that's what I would dose daily following a water change. Note that I use a 5 gal hospital tank and my water changes entail draining all but the last inch of water followed by trickling in the new water slowly, then the meds are added.

I really recommend a small hospital tank if you're not already using one. It allows you to use less meds and makes the water changes easier.

Afunnyone
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Post by Afunnyone » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:15 am

Hello everyone there was a huge delay and today is the first day that I have been able to medicate the loach :-(. I have managed to get a proper hospital tank set up though. I am going to try to continue to treat with paraguard along with neomycin and tmp sulfa. Paraguard was the med that I treated the lightest with but seemed to have the most effect and I never did get to properly treat with it really. I will keep everyone informed and I am starting a log of events for the med cycling. It hasn't reacted to any of the meds in a negative way so that is good at least. Sorry for the delay. Killa how long do you wait in between water changes? Everyday? that's what the tmp sulfa suggests but I am all ears :-). and Thank You for taking the time to get those measurments for the neomycin. Finally i got a break from school for a while.

Ardillakilla
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Post by Ardillakilla » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:37 pm

Yes, I do water changes everyday and try to remove almost all the water. For me, that requires turning off the heater until the new water raises the water level above the heater. Since it's like a 90% water change, I always add the new water back in slowly by trickling it from a bucket through some airline tubing. Then I put in the daily dose of antibiotics.

I dose TMP-sulfa at 0.4 g per 5 gal. I weighed it out and 0.4 g is 2/3rds of a mL. If it did come with a 0.625 CC (1 CC=1 mL) scoop then you can just use one level scoop for every 5 gal of water.

It might take awhile to see results.

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Slither
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Post by Slither » Wed Dec 23, 2009 3:15 pm

Can I just suggest that you use sand instead of gravel? Dojos (weather loaches) love to dig around and the gravel may irritate their sensitive barbels. It's not necissary and probably NOT the cause of his condition but I bet it would make them much happier...although sand is a little tougher to deal with and clean, but well worth it to see your lil guys buried with only their head poking out. :lol:

I hope your guy gets better, I hate losing Dojos, they're such characters! How long have you had yours? I've had my biggest one for 2 years now and my two other smaller ones almost a year.
"Dog's think they are human; cats insist they are gods"

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