Loaches Online Forum

Just Recently (30 mins ago) i found my clown loach out of the tank and on my carpet! I dont know how long it has been there but all i know is that the gills were still gasping for oxygen/water. I Quickly picked up my loach (Kitty) and placed it back into the tank in hope it may spark to life considering its not dead. After 20 minutes it started to move after been harrassed by its partner Loach. Its swimming around at the momment as a dweller which was not common for my loach. Its dragging its back tail but it still moves and its dorsal fin is down (not expanded) its having great difficulties swimming against filter currents and im not sure what to do next. When i first placed it into my tank it had lost alot of its orange colour but it has slowly faded back. It doesnt look to good though. My ammonia and nitrates are low and the pH is around 7.0. The aquarium is enclosed so i have no idea on how it got out. The only possible way is through where the power cords of the filter that run out of the back of the tank. If you have any solutions to this epidemic please reply and if it will make a recovery although its soft bodied and fell a decent 1-1.5 metres. What a Survival Story?!

wait a few days to see what happens.. Being out of water is more traumatic than the fall.

ammonia and nitrite low?

how low?should be 0

Try dosing some melafix and hope for the best.

Good luck with your clown, scary situation there. I hope things work out for ya. I am a big fan of clean clean water, so stay on top of that. Keep those levels at 0 if you can with frequent water changes. Right now the last thing your clown needs is any stress from amonia or nitrites, they can creep up on ya. Best of luck.

Kris

Well i got my water tested the other day at the Aquarium shop and they told me to do a 25% water change and you should be fine and that the tank was healthy and nothing to worry about.

Yes, ammonia and nitrItes should be 0.

Sensitive fish like clowns will actually jump to escape deteriorating water. How long has your tank been set up?

Can't help you save your loach. Your best bet is to get yourself some test kits. Depending on where you live they can be very cheap. At a minimum I would recommend ph and ammonia with nitrate and nitrite being high on the list. I buy the aquarium pharmaceuticals master freshwater test kit.

If your water isn't happy it may be a good explanation for the jumping out.

Ahh thanks for your comments. I think my loach has crawled into the cord gap between filter and the outside world to hide. (although there are 100's of other places to hide) and it may just of fell out! But if it was deliberate for it to try and sucicide we will never know. I will buy a test kit for ammonia and nitrates tomorrow and to answer your question the tank has been set up since Feb 1st. So 4 months.

The loach atm is alive but very lifeless and unactive. it seems to hide a bit but spends alot of time in the open on the bottom of the tank. Its dorsal fin looks okay but its back tail is deteriating (not good) I think it will be a long time for it to recover but im just happy enough its alive!

dose some melafix or the tail will continue rotting

IF u cant find any, go to the pharmacy and get tea tree oil and calculate the amount required based on the concentration.