How to nurse a clown loach back to good health?

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:07 pm

cmcwong wrote:How do I know the correct dosage for this medication? Will it give dosage for use in fish tanks? I assume it would be calculated per gallon?

Thanks for the continued advice everyone!

The dosage is easier to figure out with this calculator-
http://www.geocities.com/chefkeithallen/Levamisole.html

If you need help with the dosage let us know. Most people make a stock solution.

cmcwong · Post by **cmcwong** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 2:15 am

I have some pics I wanted to post to see if you all could help with a diagnosis. What's the quickest way to upload pictures? Any sites you recommend for hosting images that's free? Thanks!

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 9:45 am

http://photobucket.com/ for pics
www.youtube.com for videos

cmcwong · Post by **cmcwong** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:40 am

Thanks for recommending Photobucket.

Here are some pics of the sick loach and the others (last pic) in the tank.

I think the signs of skinny disease are pretty evident. Let me know what you think. Appreciate the help.[/img]

Ashleigh · Post by **Ashleigh** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:21 am

He certainlly is lacking weight

I would definatly go ahead with the proposed treatments that chefkeith and others have suggested to you asap.

In the last pic, the loach on the far right-is that the sick loach or another individual? If its another individual, might be best treating it also as its looking a bit skinner than the rest.

Hope your little clowns start making a recovery soon

Ashleigh

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 1:24 pm

I'd get those rainbow rocks out of the tank ASAP. IME, they leach quite a bit and that can make routine water changes stressful to the fish. Maybe even stressful enough to cause infections that can make the fish skinny.

You really need to move the clowns to a larger tank if you're going to keep them. Keeping them in a 15 gallon tank and trying to keep them healthy is rather futile.

cmcwong · Post by **cmcwong** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:47 pm

Hi Ashleigh-

Thanks for the quick reply! The loach on the far right of the last picture is the same skinny one. I wanted to provide that shot for comparison to the others. Is it possible that that's the only loach infected? I'm very paranoid that medicating the whole tank will harm the other fish too. Haven't had any trouble with the loaches over the past 4-5 years that I've had them till now.

Thanks,
Chris

Ashleigh · Post by **Ashleigh** » Wed Jan 21, 2009 3:37 pm

I would medicate the entire lot, it does more good than harm imo, you may find that the skinny one will need an antibiotic course after parasite treatments-you will have to do that isolated.

Do you mean that those clowns have been in that 15g for 4-5yrs? If so, they look a bit small for their age. As Chefkeith says, a larger tank is a must for long term optimum conditions. Im in the middle of pricing tanks for next yr as my larger clowns (4-8 inches) are looking cramped in their 5ft.

I would also second removing that rock-it will cause the water params-ph etc to swing, this will stress your fish everytime you do a water change. A stressed fish is more suceptible to secondary infection-it could be possible that your skinny clown has secondary infection which could have been partly infulenced by these swings.

Hope this helps

Ashleigh

cmcwong · Post by **cmcwong** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:06 am

Hi All-

Thanks for the tips. I feel like a terrible owner. :-/ I knew clown loaches required special care but didn't realize they grow so much!

So, it's recommended to remove these rocks completely? What exactly do they leach? I will see if I can track down some of this medication that you were all mentioning.

-Chris

Ashleigh · Post by **Ashleigh** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 5:13 am

All of us make mistakes, you shouldn't feel bad, your doing whats best by your loaches now

Yes it will be best to remove all the rocks, Im not sure what they leach, perhaps Chefkeith could share a bit more when he sees this.

When adding rocks and decor that you are unsure about into your aquarium (you should really do this with any rocks that you want to add), you can either soak the rock etc in a bucket of water and test the water continuously-for a few weeks maybe and note any changes in pH, KH etc

Another way to test if the rocks are inert is to pour a small amount of vinegar-or another acidic substance. If there is a reaction-fizzing etc, the rock is alkaline.

If you are having problems tracking medication down, could you post your location, there are members from everywere on here so if your having problems theres a good chance someone can recomend were to go.

Ashleigh

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:02 am

From tests I've done, I do know that those rocks add to the TDS (total dissolved solids). From what I've read, I think it leaches Sodium and Potassium, but I'm not 100% sure.

cmcwong · Post by **cmcwong** » Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:13 pm

Hi All-

Appreciate the continued advice and insight. I live in California in the SF Bay Area (East Bay) but work in SF. Let me know if you can recommend a good pet shop or animal store that has what I need and might be able to provide more commentary.

Thanks,
Chris

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