well it wasn't just sadness. the alpha loach has died. i came in today and he was upside down just sitting there. i picked him up and no movement. his skin was very slimy and almost peeled off on my hand as i touched the loach. well, this is about a 50% wipeout now. i have two 3" loaches that are acting very strange. i bought some carbonate tests, but aside from that, i don't know what else to do. im scared to change the water now. i am going to run some tests.
there wasn't any positive tests that declared any ammonia present. i used ammo lock as well. taken a closer look it appears the loaches skin was peeling off. wow, this is really sad. i have had this guy a few years. his skin looks pasty and the black banding looks very patchy. i will upload a pic. any help would be appreciated.
the alkalinity or gh test resulted in color pink. this says its above 60ppm. 3 drops x20 to make the tube turn blue.
the gh test yields 2 drops bringing it to 20. 2x10.
RIP ALPHA LOACH!
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RIP ALPHA LOACH!
All your loaches are belong to me!
We are sad for you 
It seems your filter crashed then ,add carbon, clean the filter out again(ie just a rinse across the media as to just remove unused food and fresh mess, feed little if any for a few days and small (10% ) daily water changes at the same time every day within an hour or so ,relax and save what you have
.You did way more than most ever attempt to do and that makes it suck worse. I have suffered three huge crashes in my system over the years. You are not alone . I will go tell my loaches the news and we will say a fishy prayer for you. This happens to every fish keeper, thats why you can't hug them.
It seems your filter crashed then ,add carbon, clean the filter out again(ie just a rinse across the media as to just remove unused food and fresh mess, feed little if any for a few days and small (10% ) daily water changes at the same time every day within an hour or so ,relax and save what you have
.You did way more than most ever attempt to do and that makes it suck worse. I have suffered three huge crashes in my system over the years. You are not alone . I will go tell my loaches the news and we will say a fishy prayer for you. This happens to every fish keeper, thats why you can't hug them.
LO,
So sorry about your losses.
I haven't been able to follow your posts too closely, so I may be way off here.
Is there a chance that your loaches have velvet?
One of the symptoms of a bad case is peeling skin.
Here's a link:
Velvet
Again, I'm sorry you're going through this and hope it soon ends for you.
So sorry about your losses.
I haven't been able to follow your posts too closely, so I may be way off here.
Is there a chance that your loaches have velvet?
One of the symptoms of a bad case is peeling skin.
Here's a link:
Velvet
Again, I'm sorry you're going through this and hope it soon ends for you.
Smile, remember the good times.The next set of Loaches becomes that much more valuable to you .The ones that survive this will still carry on.You are a better keeper for it not now ......but in the long term . You will have to Keep your head in this tank now and return consistancy to a much smaller bio-load that is still there. It will grow again and you get to learn more personalities of newer loaches in time ...
it could be velvet. i guess i could add some parasite clear. i wish i had more information. the tank is really merky colored almost like a bacterial bloom but more greenish. this just started last night apparently. it appeared to be somewhat clear last night but for now i am only doing a 10% water change.
READ THIS. MY MEDIUM SIZED LOACHES STOMACHE IS LIKE DOUBLE THE SIZE IT NORMALLY IS. WOULD THIS BE DROPSY? I PUT FUNGUS CLEAR IN THE TANK. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
READ THIS. MY MEDIUM SIZED LOACHES STOMACHE IS LIKE DOUBLE THE SIZE IT NORMALLY IS. WOULD THIS BE DROPSY? I PUT FUNGUS CLEAR IN THE TANK. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Last edited by LoachOrgy on Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.
All your loaches are belong to me!
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tariesindanrie
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:53 pm
- Location: Berea, Kentucky- USA
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tariesindanrie
- Posts: 2311
- Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:53 pm
- Location: Berea, Kentucky- USA
yes i just saw the picture. i am going to the lfs and getting some treatment. althought it might be too late.
thanks loachmom, i think your right on. the fish that died two days ago looked just like the severely burned fish. i think double o looked like it as well but not as bad. i have a feeling a few more guys are going to die. i see the cories kinda doing a scratching thing as well. now that i notice it, i think the pleco and other fish are doing it as well. this is not good!
thanks loachmom, i think your right on. the fish that died two days ago looked just like the severely burned fish. i think double o looked like it as well but not as bad. i have a feeling a few more guys are going to die. i see the cories kinda doing a scratching thing as well. now that i notice it, i think the pleco and other fish are doing it as well. this is not good!
All your loaches are belong to me!
went to lfs and picked up some antibacterial treatment for velvet. the guy at the lfs said it sounded like velvet and to do a 1.25 dose. he also suggested i use fungal cure as well. i hope all this works. they didn't have much of a selection so i picked up something called ich-x. it treats velvet.
All your loaches are belong to me!
LO,
Very sorry for your losses.
I would not try to guess what is causing this, but a few things that may be of use:
1. If it is velvet, then you should be able to figure out how it got into your tank...something like unquarantined fish or plants within the last month. If you cannot figure out how it happened, it is not velvet.
2. If it is velvet, acriflavine is very effective. Ich drugs are more effective if they include acriflavine.
3. Belly bloating can be caused not just by dropsy, but by other things, including internal parasites... They are probably not involved, but be careful with going by one symptom only.
4. Try to diagnose it better, if you are treating a wrong disease, it will only make things worse.
5. Before you figure out what is going on, it may be helpful to install a UV. This will slow down the infection.
Best of luck!
Very sorry for your losses.
I would not try to guess what is causing this, but a few things that may be of use:
1. If it is velvet, then you should be able to figure out how it got into your tank...something like unquarantined fish or plants within the last month. If you cannot figure out how it happened, it is not velvet.
2. If it is velvet, acriflavine is very effective. Ich drugs are more effective if they include acriflavine.
3. Belly bloating can be caused not just by dropsy, but by other things, including internal parasites... They are probably not involved, but be careful with going by one symptom only.
4. Try to diagnose it better, if you are treating a wrong disease, it will only make things worse.
5. Before you figure out what is going on, it may be helpful to install a UV. This will slow down the infection.
Best of luck!
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Emma Turner
- Posts: 8901
- Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2005 5:07 pm
- Location: Peterborough, UK
- Contact:
LO, I only just got your PM, so sorry to hear the bad news.
I'm beginning to think this may be Trichodina or Chilodonella - external parasites more commonly found on pond fish, but which can affect tropicals (in particular, members of the carp family) and is most commonly seen in the summer months as water temperatures start to rise. I myself was unfortunate enough to have this affect my loach tank some years back and sadly, no matter what treatment was tried on them, I lost 22 out of the 25 clown loaches I had back then - one after the other. This followed a filter breakdown which wasn't spotted straight away. Since then, I have always run at least 2 filters on all my tanks, installed a UV steriliser and have been much more vigilant. It broke my heart at the time.
Typical symptoms are:
Frayed fins, grey/milky or opaque patches on fins/body, excess mucus.
Irritation - flashing/rubbing of the skin.
Preference for staying in highly oxygenated areas of the tank - up near filter outlets etc.
Excessively high respiration rate, swollen gills.
Listlessness and bloating.
Secondary bacterial infections can occur.
Can lead to suffocation if the gills are seriously affected.
I really hope I'm wrong with this. There are several recommended treatments if you think it sounds like it could be Trichodina/Chilodonella (a skin scrape placed under a microscope would tell you), but as I say, not all seem to be effective. The most commonly mentioned/used are effective whitespot treatments (containing formalin) or potassium permanganate dips (do not add to the entire tank). If you wish to try a different treatment, I would run some chemical filter media for a few hours to take out any meds currently in the water first.
What makes me think it could be this are the symptoms, the photos, the fact that one day the fish seem absolutely fine then the next day they drop dead.
Good luck,
Emma
I'm beginning to think this may be Trichodina or Chilodonella - external parasites more commonly found on pond fish, but which can affect tropicals (in particular, members of the carp family) and is most commonly seen in the summer months as water temperatures start to rise. I myself was unfortunate enough to have this affect my loach tank some years back and sadly, no matter what treatment was tried on them, I lost 22 out of the 25 clown loaches I had back then - one after the other. This followed a filter breakdown which wasn't spotted straight away. Since then, I have always run at least 2 filters on all my tanks, installed a UV steriliser and have been much more vigilant. It broke my heart at the time.
Typical symptoms are:
Frayed fins, grey/milky or opaque patches on fins/body, excess mucus.
Irritation - flashing/rubbing of the skin.
Preference for staying in highly oxygenated areas of the tank - up near filter outlets etc.
Excessively high respiration rate, swollen gills.
Listlessness and bloating.
Secondary bacterial infections can occur.
Can lead to suffocation if the gills are seriously affected.
I really hope I'm wrong with this. There are several recommended treatments if you think it sounds like it could be Trichodina/Chilodonella (a skin scrape placed under a microscope would tell you), but as I say, not all seem to be effective. The most commonly mentioned/used are effective whitespot treatments (containing formalin) or potassium permanganate dips (do not add to the entire tank). If you wish to try a different treatment, I would run some chemical filter media for a few hours to take out any meds currently in the water first.
What makes me think it could be this are the symptoms, the photos, the fact that one day the fish seem absolutely fine then the next day they drop dead.
Good luck,
Emma
East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
emma, that sounds like a perfect description. what can i treat this with?
wow emma, i guess this is nothing then. its sad thoug all my little buddies are dying!
the only difference is this. the picture in that post that loachmom posted shows the ammonia looking burns on the skin. this has happened to 3 fish already. the other fish now is bloated as well. this is why the above description sounds like it. i have already treated the tank for velvet with half a dose of ich-x. i remember loaches are
loach #4 is starting to show symtoms bad especially the bloated stomache. he just stopped swimming for the first time in 3 days. he came towards me and looks patchy. i am betting this one is next. this is my next biggest loach. please don't die!
wow emma, i guess this is nothing then. its sad thoug all my little buddies are dying!
the only difference is this. the picture in that post that loachmom posted shows the ammonia looking burns on the skin. this has happened to 3 fish already. the other fish now is bloated as well. this is why the above description sounds like it. i have already treated the tank for velvet with half a dose of ich-x. i remember loaches are
loach #4 is starting to show symtoms bad especially the bloated stomache. he just stopped swimming for the first time in 3 days. he came towards me and looks patchy. i am betting this one is next. this is my next biggest loach. please don't die!
All your loaches are belong to me!
I'm so sorry about this, I really feel your pain... I fear so much for my own fish, I can't imagine losing any more fish 
I'm thinking what Emma described is the cause of your problems, that sounds like a perfect descriptions. It also sounds like you will need some very heavy anti-parasitic or anti-bacterial medication. I've heard that Formalin is very powerful, but very dangerous, and should only be used as a last resort... it sounds like you may be approaching that point.
Have you tried meth blue yet?
I'm thinking what Emma described is the cause of your problems, that sounds like a perfect descriptions. It also sounds like you will need some very heavy anti-parasitic or anti-bacterial medication. I've heard that Formalin is very powerful, but very dangerous, and should only be used as a last resort... it sounds like you may be approaching that point.
Have you tried meth blue yet?
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