Loaches Online Forum

Hi all!
I hope someone can help. One of my two Clown loach has strange bumpy swellings around belly area with one just behind front left fin which is getting bigger by the day like a balloon. It is breathing rapidly and its bottom is also slightly swollen. I have had both for 5 years, never had any before so unsure of the diseases thay can have or what it looks like on scaleless fish. I thought it might be dropsy at first, seen that a few times with other scaly fish I have had over the years. But the balloon like swelling has got me stumped! Could it be internal bacterial infection? I have treated for this incase but not getting any better. Water tests ok and all other fish ok.

Hi Seraphangel,

How is your loach doing? Could you provide us with a few more details such as water parameters (ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, pH), what size is the tank, how often do you carry out maintenance and how much water do you change, other fish in the tank, and how long ago you introuduced any new fish. Also what type of filtration are you using, do you have good water movement, and what temp do you maintain the tank at?

Also, what treatment have you tried?

Emma

Hi Emma,
Thanks for your reply. My poor little Loach isn't doing very well, he looks ready to pop any minute, the large balloon like swelling is even bigger, it looks full of water, don't think it will take much more.
My Tank size is 36"x18 1/2"x12" starting to think this is a little small now. Ph is around 6.5, no Amonia reading as yet, no Nitrate reading as yet, Nitrite 0.25ppm could be due to part water change & filters cleaned 4 days ago, Temp 24/25c, use Internal & External filter, 10" airstone, plenty water movement, clean external filter once a month & internal filter once a week, 1/3 water change every 3 - 4 weeks, no new fish introduced for around 3 years. Other fish - 6 Platy, 3 Molly, 2 Bristlenose catfish, 1 Pleco & 1 other Clown loach. The treatment I used was Interpet No9 Anti Internal Bacteria.

Seraphangel

Hi again,

Sorry to hear that your loach isn't doing so well.

There are a few issues with your tank where clown loaches are concerned, such as the small dimensions, the frequency of water changes (not enough - you need to be changing less volume more frequently, say 25% once or twice a week), the temperature (needs to be higher at around 26-28 deg C), and the water parameters. The nitrIte will no doubt be causing the fish to feel most uncomfortable, and I do doubt that the nitrAtes are zero, given the size of tank, number of fish, and the length of time you leave it between water changes. These things will not be helping your clowns, but the immediate problem does sound like it may need treatment with antibiotics obtained through a fish friendly vet, as it hasn't responded to shop bought treatment.

A photograph may help with diagnosis, although I fear it may be too late for this little fish. You might want to get your local shop to re-test for nitrAtes as you may well have a faulty test kit and need to purchase another. They may also sell products to help bring down or neutralise the nitrIte.

Good luck,

Emma

Hi, That was a fast reply!
Thanks for your help.
I thought the tank size may be a problem now, up until now the water has been perfect, the little fellas are growing so quick! I will go see what treatments I can pick up tomorrow & price up a bigger tank. I have a picture, not sure how to show it

Hi Seraphangel,

Don't worry about posting pictures here, sometimes it can help immensely when trying to diagnose problems. From what I can see in the avatar pic, it looks pretty nasty. Does the bulge seem solid or liquid filled? A larger pic would be better - could you upload the pic to a free picture hosting site such as http://www.photobucket.com and then copy the img code over here to display the larger pic in-thread?

Many thanks,

Emma

It looks liquid filled, I can see inside. I'll try to do a better one tomorrow.
Thanks again.

You should try uploading that pic in your avatar to photobucket as it may be good enough for people elsewhere to have a look at overnight whilst us in the UK are asleep, and then give their recommendations. Once you've uploaded it, there will be a box that has 4 different codes in it and you need to copy the text in the "IMG code" box and put into your message. Then the photo will be displayed. It's probably a case of the sooner the better with this.

Emma

One more thing I should have asked, how long has the lump taken to get to the size it has - days, weeks, months?

Emma

It got to that size in a few days, It's now been a week and still he's surviving.
Seraphangel

This pic might look better.

Seraphangel[img][img]http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk31 ... _A0216.jpg[/img][/img]

that looks like a build up of fluid under the skin, if the fish was mine i'd put it in a QT as years ago i had a similar thing with a gourami and it burst open when i was at work, every fish was dead when i arrived home.
it must have been very toxic whatever the fluid was.

mick

That doesn't sound good, Thanks for letting me know.

Seraphangel

Well his bubble has burst, just an empty sack now and he's still alive! Bless him.