skinny loach not eating

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Gladeve
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:04 pm

skinny loach not eating

Post by Gladeve » Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:29 pm

Hi all. This is my first post here. I have read through the forum in the hope of finding an answer.

I have 3 clown loaches, I have had them for approx 2 years with no real problems apart from a mild case of ich about a year ago which was treated successfully.

I have a 200l tank
2 bristlenose plecs
3 clown loaches
1 Otto
5 platies

Water perameters are ammonia 0, nitrites 0 and nitrates 30ppm

I have just noticed this weekend that one of my loaches is very skinny so am suspecting possible internal parasites. I feel pretty bad not having noticed this up till now but I often don’t see them all for days so missed the progression of weight loss.

I have always fed them a mixture of courgette, frozen blood worm and brine shrimp with garlic. Catfish pellets, algae wafers and have even resorted to mango today as I read that clowns can like them. My other two clowns have gone in all guns blazing wolfing down as much as they can but my little skinny loach searches for the food, sometimes will take some but will promptly spit it out.

I do notice that the healthy clowns appear to barge him out of the way but even when he is by the food on his own he still isn’t taking any.

I managed to get some levamisole and after a 20% water change added 2mg/ l to the tank

So my questions are.....I haven’t introduced any new fish to the tank for over a year so wonder what the likelihood of it actually being worms are..could they be only affecting my fish at this point or am I totally off with what may be wrong with him.

If it is worms how long before he gets an appetite back or is there a chance he won’t and finally I see people mentioning putting him in quarantine. I do have a hospital tank that I sometimes use but I really don’t want to move him and stress him out any more. I never have great experiences with the hospital tank as the fish I place in there still die (maybe I put them in there when it’s too late to save them)

Any advice would be appreciated. I feel awful just watching him want to eat but not being able to and wasting away

Thanks in advance

FranM
Posts: 482
Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:43 pm
Location: Rhode Island USA

Re: skinny loach not eating

Post by FranM » Sun May 06, 2018 10:05 pm

https://s26.postimg.cc/om3qa5int/A10_B0 ... _B06_E.jpg

This is a before and after pic of my clown. Thanks to Nancy D and LoachLoach they directed me to a product called Kusuri Dewormer. For some people Levamisole works. I tried medicated food infused with Levamisole and another with Metronidazole. The Kusuri dewormer is what worked for my clown.

Good luck.
Fran

joietan
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 10:01 pm

Re: skinny loach not eating

Post by joietan » Sun May 20, 2018 8:53 pm

I have similar loaches that is skinny like that. they seem sicks and do not school together.

Did you take them out and treat them in quarantine or do you treat the whole tank?

Thank you.
Joie

FranM
Posts: 482
Joined: Wed Jun 26, 2013 9:43 pm
Location: Rhode Island USA

Re: skinny loach not eating

Post by FranM » Sat Jul 28, 2018 9:34 am

To Joietan. I treated entire tank. The skinny Loach still continued to eat the entire time, Michael Tew. As of today the skinny clown is no longer skinny still it has recovered and holding steady for at least a month now.

The fish are going to be rehomed in a new larger aquarium I’m in the process of setting up. I hope this move doesn’t trigger a relapse.

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