Loaches Online Forum

Is one of the syptoms a fish trying a to chase it's own tail ond can only turn left?

What's the best treatment in the UK?

That sounds more like spinning, which could be a nervous system disorder. Which fish is doing this?

For whitespot, Waterlife's Protozin is considered the best treatment over here.

Emma

One of the clowns, all the others are fine, if you look really closely at the fish there are some white dots on the tail but they are really small.

It was doing a bit of upside-down swimming too, doesn't get spooked anywhere near as easily as normal

Amonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 5

Is the affected fish breathing heavier than normal? Increased gill movements (when the fish is resting, not to be confused with when they are excited) would indicate a problem. How big are the spots? Are they up to 1mm in diameter (like salt or sugar grains), or very small like a spinkling of fine powder? What temperature is your aquarium water?

Emma

Breahting looked, ok, water is at @ 81deg, spots look more like power.

Got some protizin, asked the man at the shop about half doses and he said to give them the full amount, leaflet inside says half dose

It should say on the bottle under "Calculate Capacity:"

Half dose should also be used in new aquaria, when fry are present or when scale-less species are kept (Loaches).

Although when a condition has seemed a little stubborn I have added a touch more but never a full dose with loaches. I have found that with stobborn white spot when loaches are present Myxazin works equally as well if not better as the full dosage can be used with Myxazin.

Adam,

I really hope that you get this before you treat your tank.

Protozin must be used at HALF DOSE where 'scaleless' fish such as clown loaches are present.

However, it is fairly degradeable, and you can half dose every 12 hours, as opposed to every 24 hours. This spreads the dosage a bit, and seems to give very good results. Don't put a full dose in in one go though. Also, remove any activated carbon from the filter if you haven't already done so.

The fine powder dots sounds more like velvet, but Protozin wil treat both velvet and whitespot.

Emma

I'd read on here before that ich should be done at half dose, so added half and could add more later if it should be full does

Carbon came out first, only thing I'm worries about there is that it was zeo-carb, which removes ammonia so might get a spike which I'll keep an eye on.

The spots are very small like the velvet but the covering is very sparse, say 20ish spots on a 4" fish.

The one that was circling earlier was also swimming on the sand sideways and rubbing on the bogwood if that help with the diagnosis.

adampetherick wrote: The one that was circling earlier was also swimming on the sand sideways and rubbing on the bogwood if that help with the diagnosis.

Rubbing is fully consistent with ich. Ich in the gills would irritate the fish to cause it to behave like this.

Hate to say it, but here is one reason not to rush with clowns until the tank matures, as Emma insisted: the easiest way to kill the parasites would have been to install a UV. But with the new tank, it is just too dangerous.

Given that it is a new tank, do check water parameters periodically as you treat, it is not common, but ich meds may knock out the biofilter too.

good luck

Yes, I have to agree that the clowns were added far too early. Anyway, it is done now, so the most important thing is to make them better. Note what time you added the half dose of Protozin, and add another half dose 12 hours later. Do this half dose twice a day, spread 12 hours apart for 3 days, and then again on day 6. It is very important to make sure you increase the aeration in the tank (you can lower the water level by an inch or so, so that the water from the filter outlet splashes down and breaks up the water's surface).

Good luck,

Emma

I think it's possible that you've got a fish with neurological problems as well as anything else that might be going on, which isn't great The big problem with that is that there isn't an awful lot that you can do.

Good luck with treating the ich/velvet, anyway...

Agreed about adding them too early sorry

No way of adding UV on this tank unfortunatly, on nights again so can't add more till i get home in the morning so will be about 16hrs after the first dose.

Would a 1/4 dose @ about 11 be ok, as the girlfriend should still be up about then?

First 1/2 dose was added @ 3pm today

Most of them are ok now, they are still flashing a bit and swimming on their side on sand.

I've been treating at 1/2 (15ml in a 450l tank) doses every 12hrs since Sunday, there are still a couple of white spots on a couple, but a lot less

Lefty is doing better, he can get round the tank now but is looking a bit skinny, could he have caugt whitespot and skinny at the same time? the others all look a decent size. When I first got him he had bright/raised bits coming back from the eyes, like to LOL logo above where the orange bit is but brighter rather than darker

Also put in about 2-3 Tablespoons worth of aquarium salt, temp is at 82 degrees