Loaches Online Forum

I have a few thin loaches: kubs, histies, yoyos. These are young fish -- less than two inches long, I have owned for a short period. I treated them with levamisole. Some of them are fattening up, but the others are still thin. They eat well and show no signs of illness.

I bought some metronidozole infused flake. I was planning on feeding with this flake for a couple weeks. Does anyone have any reason to believe this will not work or could harm my fish? I imagine my loaches will eat the flake. I know my thin eel will not. My eel will only eat worms.

Has anyone use metronidazole?

never heard of that word but when i buy new loaches, they are usually skinny little rats but get fat from all the hikari algae wafers i give them.

Unfortunately, I have been feeding mine hikari algae wafers, shrimp pellets, flake, frozen flood worms, zucchini, cucumber, . . . for the last three months and they are still skinny, which usually menas that they have a parasite load. I knocked some of the parasites out with the levamisole, but some of the loaches are still thin, so they need another round, and I thought another antiparasitic might do the trick.

ahh thats a bummer. lucky all my yoos are fattening nicely. even the new one i bought a week ago.

Sorry I can't be of help on the metronidazole issue- never used it. However, I am just about to treat some skinny little b. rostratas with leavmisole hcl. I read that you should treat once, then once again a week later (and even once again in a month to cover your bases) to destroy any worms that hatched after the 1st treatment, since it doesn't necessary kill the eggs. Not sure how many rounds of levamisole you did, but maybe do another round?

Metrodinazol is dangerous, because it can cause cancer. That's probably the main reasons that it is forbidden to sell it in Holland. I have to buy it in Belgium or in Germany.

Sometimes I use it to get rid of infections of my cichlids. And especially for the Chuco intermediums. These cichlids come from fast flowing rivers in Mexico and they can easily get infections at their skin.

First I catch the fish that suffers of an infection. Then I clean the wound twice with salt dissolved in water. After that I use some handcream mixed with metrodinazol. I will put it on the skin of the cichlid. Then I put the fish back in the tank again. The metrodinazol makes the skin heal in about 1 or 2 weeks.

If I don't treat these cichlids the skin will tear open from the back of the fish to the belly and the fish will die. This happened to 1 of my intermediums already. By using metrodinazol I can prevent this.


the wound and infection before treatment

the wound and infection after treatment (a few days later)


I don't know anything about a mix of metrodinazol with food
Some peoples add metrodinazol to the water, but then you can't put your hands in the water afterwards. I never do this!

As far as I know, metrodinazol is only used against wounds and infections.

I have found prazi-pro to be a pretty helpful antiparasitic that the fish tolerate quite well (I have used it in a number of loach containing tanks and no problems there). I will do food with levamisole (ordered it from "fish PHarmaceuticals", and then follow with a treatment of prazipro as part of the quarantine protocol that I use for new fish.
I think it has worked so far. It has a sickly sweet smell which I hate, but the fish do not seem to notice.

I usually use Levamisole, and it works well. But I still have a few thin fish. I have continued to do quite a bit of research and the metro works well for hexamita. I have discoved that the Metro will cause kidney failure with over use. THe recommendations I have seen is to feed twice a day for 10 days. And then stop treatment.

The problems with praziquantal is that it must be ingested to work. There are many forms that are poured into the water, but do not work in the water. Needs to be mixed with food.

I also have two thin eels, even though I hand feed them every day. I have no idea how I will manage to treat them, since they will eat nothing. Levamisole is one of the few water treatments that works.

I will take all the advice you all have given me, and do more research. Thank you so much for replying and if anyone has any more advise, please send it my way.

Metronidazole is a pretty standard item in my "Fish medication cupboard".... Standard course of treatment is 7mg/liter... 50% waterchange after 3 days,dose repeated with another 50% water change after 3 days...

We cant get Levimisole in South Africa - Metro works REAL well with "Skinny Botia dissease" - I by Metro from my vet - 20 x 400mg caps for the equivalent of about 3 Dollars....

Thank you. That is very good news. My Metro has been added to food. I know it would work some of my fish, but it will not work for the eels. I will need to figure this out. Thank you again.

Metro plus prazi is usually a good one/two punch combo.

Do you have info where prazi needs to be injested? We usually dose the water and have positive results with the prazi bath.