Loaches Online Forum

can someone help this clown loach any advice would be great
http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewto ... =4&t=56602
posted on behalf of sweetysmum

cheers chris

It's impossible to tell what is wrong when all the information is that the fish is listless and doesn't eat; the photos are low resolution and apparently taken when the fish was healthy so they don't help with diagnosis either. Are there any other symptoms?

I wish I could offer something useful, it sounds like the owner is knowledgeable already (and having the fish for 28 years should demonstrate that well enough) and doing what needs to be done.

I hope the vet meds will help. Many recommend feeding peas when your fish is sick or constipated, you might try offering some if she will eat them.

First of all: if she has only one clown loach in the tank, she needs to get a few more like four more. Second: the temp has nothing to do with what is going on with her clown loach. Third: Is her clown loach covered in something that looks like it was sprinkled in gold dust? If so, this is known as velvet, and needs to be treated with a medication that also treats ich. Another reason for stopping eating is could have a bacterial infection or a fungus infection. There is a fungus that will make any fish stop eating and that is mouth fungus. More information would help diagnose this clown loach. Is she swimming oddly? Does she look like there was gold dust sprinkled on her? Is there any white cotton-like growth around her mouth?

I have a question: What other fish is in the tank with this clown loach?

thanks all for replys i have put links on both pages so she will see what you have posted and hopfully answer your questions

HI there, first of all i would like to say a big thank you to you Chris for helping out so much. Also to all you kind people out there offering your advice. I sent a couple of photos to my vet and he is of the opinion it is a bacterial infection she has picked up, because if it was a fungas he said it wouldn't spread over her body so quickly. I also asked at a pet shop and they suggested chemical burn, but as nothing has changed suddenly there recently, we are treating for bacterial infection. What is actually happening, she stopped eating, her breathing rate became extremely rapid, and I could see this stuff in her water, which I soon discovered was her protective coating coming away from her body and turning white. Yesterday it was white while still on her. I picked up some meds from the vet and bathed her for five hours last night, at his advice, and have to do it for five consequtive night, in a temporary hospital tank I set up for the five hours. Then I put her back into her home and will do the same again tonight. She has a placostumus for company who has been with her for a couple years. She has had lots of mates in the past, including a number of smaller clown loaches and other types of loaches, but as the loaches get bigger, they start intimidating her, as she is totally blind in one eye, which she lost many many years ago, and only has a small amount of vision in the other eye, which has become considerably worse these last couple of days. She is extremely dosile. The PH ammonia and nitrite showed okay. Today she still has the whitish on her from her protective coating, and willbe giving her her second bath this evening. She has an awesome personality.

ps, she doesn't have cotton wool around her mouth, it doesn't look like gold dust sprinkled on her. She was swimming quite oddly two days ago, kind of like floating. She often sleeps upside down when she is hanging out in her home, which is something she has started doing maybe 6-8 months ago, as well as the usual sleeping on ther side,
She is a damn awesome fish.

My biggest clown loach displayed the floating behavior also when she was sick. I gave her some peas and she slowly recovered. The peas I would give her every day, just a few, and she would be fine. The odd swimming is swim bladder disease, which can be cured. Is she hanging out at the top of the tank while doing the odd swimming?

I just went through my biggest clown loach being sick for about 3 to 4 weeks. She started being sick about a week before Christmas. I was in tears because I thought that I was going to lose her. Well she recovered as of a few days ago. I am so relieved that she is 100% better now.

I know someone that can be of great help with your clown loach, he helped me get Baby Girl, my biggest clown loach, all better. I will talk to him and see what he says about what your clown loach is going through. That is if you would like?

Dont mention it, im just trying to help, it's always upsetting to see such cool fish sick.
Good luck with the treatment and welcome to lol.
If you can you should upload the pics here(i use photobucket)

So the only symptoms are odd swimming behavior, refuses to eat, and excessive mucus production?

Could be something is irritating the skin; the burning/itching may cause the behavioral changes.

I think skin irritation is more often caused by parasites or ammonia burn than bacteria, though it is by no means impossible.

I find the easiest and most reliable way to detect water quality issues is to smell the water - if the water has a nasty smell you've likely got water quality issues. Stepping up water changes in frequency and size should take care of that. In fact, you may want to increase water changes anyway.

The most common skin parasites are velvet (Costia) and some related diseases, which looks like this, and white spot (Ichthyophthirius) is apparently also quite common, it looks like salt grains on the skin. Skin flukes (Gyrodactylus sp.) and anchor worms (Lernaea sp) are rarer, they're visible as tiny "hairs" standing out from the fish. With the exception of anchor worms these are all easily treated with medication against white spot disease, although I seem to recall that one should avoid medications containing malachite green when treating loaches.

Her water smells okay. She has had white spot when she was little so I know it's definitaley not that. When you say producing too much mucus, is that the same as their protective covering? The protective covering turns white so you see it on her and comes away. SHed does swim okay but then does the funny swinmming things as well, like now she is standing virtical. Not trying to touch the water surface though, has the tip of the tail touching pebbles and facing upwards. She has her third bath this arvo. Her ammonia level was ok. We have had lots of trouble with PH in the past but at present it is stable.

Hi loachlover77 , yes please, that would be great. Do you know how old your big one is, how big? Oh didn't know about the peas. Do I need to cook them first?
Yes I understand only too well about the tears, my big girl is a real part of the family.

Sweetysmum wrote:Hi loachlover77 , yes please, that would be great. Do you know how old your big one is, how big? Oh didn't know about the peas. Do I need to cook them first?
Yes I understand only too well about the tears, my big girl is a real part of the family.

I just feed mine raw peas, they were the fresh ones not the frozen ones. Yes I would cook them for about 2 mintues, cool them and then give them to her. She may not eat them right away, so be patient and encourage her. Maybe let her see you eating some.

My biggest clown loach is about 7 inches and she is 6 years old. How big is your clown loach? 28 years old is young but not too young and not too old either.

I will get a hold of my friend and see what he says about what is going on with your clown loach.

My big beautiful girl Sweety passed away this morning. I just want to thank everyone here that contribued to her post. I am sorry that I discovered this forum so late. Thank you everyone.

So sorry for your loss. I understand how it is to lose a beloved fish. I remember when I lost two clown loaches and they were juveniles. It was when my mom had to flea bomb the house. I covered the tank and I also put my betta that I had under the sleeping bag that I covered the tank with. When we got back from doing whatever, I uncovered the tanks and found that my two clown loaches were dead. I was very upset, because I probably had a male and female.

Your Sweety is in fishy heaven taken care of the two I have lost years ago.


RIP Sweety