Loaches Online Forum

Hey everyone,

Wondering if you can give me some idea on whats going on. I've had 8 clown loaches for a long time, never had a single problem with them. However the past couple days Ive noticed their heads/barbels have reddened, as well as breathing really fast. At first I noticed one of them acting this way, now theres about three or four.

I added some peat to the filter (fluval fx5) to lower the pH and make the water softer a couple days ago, something i've never done in the past. Not too sure if this would effect anything. Besides that my tank hasn't really changed.

Any ideas?

Do a water change.

Gary Stanton wrote:Do a water change.

I've been doing 30% water changes every day. Today I went a step further and did an 80% change.

I lowered the temperature on the tank to 81 aswell.

Looks like some sort of irritation.
Check the water with all the tests that you have.
The big water change is good. If there was any toxin it will be greatly diluted.
Add fresh activated carbon to the filter, and change it out a couple of times. If there is something in the water the carbon can get full in just a few days.

I run peat moss in several tanks, including the tank with Loaches (Clowns and others) and have not seen any red noses like you are describing.

Big guess here: Could the peat moss have made some changes that perhaps affected the snails (if any) and the Loaches are digging more to catch irritated snails??

Hi Diana,

Thanks for your reply. The one loach breathing the fastest isn't eating. When I woke up this morning he wasn't really with the rest of the group. The rest of them however are still eating, yet half of them have that red'ish tone.

I'll also note that 2 weeks ago my big angel fish was severely bloated but recovered perfectly. However now my algae eater is bloated and seemed to developed cotton rot on the side. I had an algae eater about 8 months ago and he had the same exact thing (keeping in mind I switched tanks about 3 times since then).

Should I treat the whole tank for this? I'm not sure if this has any relation with whats wrong with the loaches, not to mention what medication since the loaches are sensitive.

If the 'Cotton rot' is smooth, grey or white patch it is likely a bacterial infection caused by Flavobacteria columnaris. Most fish antibiotics will help (it is a Gram negative bacteria). You could isolate this fish in a quarantine tank for treatment. It is cheaper to medicate a smaller tank, and the other fish may not have an active infection of this.
It is more common in warm water (over 76*F) and in water with high nitrates. Keep up the water changes.

If the patch looks like sort of a cottony-fuzzy growth then it is more likely a fungus infection. Most aquatic fungi will attack tissues that are already injured. Isolate the fish and treat, but I am not sure with what. You can clean off the area ONCE with Betadine. This can kill the healing tissues, though, so do not repeat the treatment unless the fungus gets worse. Best to keep the water as absolutely clean as possible. Lowest possible nitrates, lowest possible organic waste. If the fish is moved to a hospital tank keep the bottom of the tank bare and remove fish waste and fallen food promptly.

I found one of my loaches dead yesterday. Theres another two still bloated and breathing heavily. I've been treating the tank with maracyn-two for the past couple days.

Figures the algae eater is still kicking and hes the one that had it first.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

Have you tried removing the peat to see what happens?

redinfinity wrote:Have you tried removing the peat to see what happens?

Nah. Simply because my algae eater started to get bloated before I added peat. I can't see that being the problem, but I should remove it for the mean time anyway.

Hey there,
I have been reading along and am interested in what you figured out. Were you able to find an effective treatment? Have you lost any more of your loaches, or your algae eater? IT sounds very strange to have a "stealth germ" invade your tank like that. Any ideas on where it came from?
Thanks for sharing anything you may have found to help your fish!

Diana wrote:Looks like some sort of irritation.
Check the water with all the tests that you have.
The big water change is good. If there was any toxin it will be greatly diluted.
Add fresh activated carbon to the filter, and change it out a couple of times. If there is something in the water the carbon can get full in just a few days.

I run peat moss in several tanks, including the tank with Loaches (Clowns and others) and have not seen any red noses like you are describing.

Big guess here: Could the peat moss have made some changes that perhaps affected the snails (if any) and the Loaches are digging more to catch irritated snails??

Is it ok to use carbon on CL's tank caused I saw on a thread here that they have an effect on the locahces some how?

It is OK to use activated carbon. Rinse it really well before use. There may be some sorts that are better than others. I would get the best aquarium carbon.

http://www.seachem.com/Library/Articles ... erview.pdf

Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back at least to the Paleolithic period which began about 40,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000 year old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish. Archaeology features such as shell middens, discarded fish bones and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, where there are early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied) such as those at Lepenski Vir, they are almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.