Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

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LoachOrgy
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Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Feb 17, 2011 4:17 pm

At my work I take care of the office tank. I came in yesterday and one of the clowns appears to have white streaks on the black stripes. It looks like bleach was poured on the stripes and they whited out.

I can't find any info on what type of disorder this is. Could anyone help. I will try to get pictures soon.

Also it is not fungus.
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Jim Powers
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by Jim Powers » Thu Feb 17, 2011 6:42 pm

How big are the clowns?
As they get larger, the black stripes began to divide as seen in this pic.
Is this what you are talking about?

Image
Image

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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:21 pm

this is not stretch markings from growth. im talking about some kind of ailment that must have formed over the weekend. it basically looks like bleach was poured onto your clothing and left white splotches on the black. its not a fungus. i started treating the tank with a metronazidole bc it was the only antibiotic i had. a few days in the treatment appeared to be helping the loach. i didn't have the opportunity to change the water over the weekend. so they sat in it and bathed for a few days. also, i can't do 25% water changes between the doses that is recommended. so ive been changing as much as i can.

there are 3 clowns. one is about 3.5" and the other two are around 2.5". it appears another clown is getting these white splotches as well. id almost say its the slime coat on the fish withering away. thats the only way i can explain it. i really don't know what it is, or have not found info or pictures. kinda like hole in the head disease but it doesn't wither tissue. it looks like pigmentation discoloration. at first i thought it was hole in the head bc it started on his head. and spread. now its all over the little guys black stripes. imagine a clown loach with orange and white stripes instead of black. thats what it looks like.

take note, this tank was established prior to me working there. the clowns are in a tank with parrot cichlids. they actually get along. but this tank was converted from a salt water setup to a freshwater setup. so the filtration system is some kind of home built overflow system. when the water goes too low, it has to be refilled or it overflows. there is a reservoir under the base in the cabinets that has bio media in it. at the top there is a place for filter pads. i change them once a week. i couldn't find any chemical media in the tank. they pay a fish guy to come into the office and clean it like once a month. but hes not immediately available for emergencies. and unfortunately there is only so much maintenance i can do to the tank when im working. a plecostamus died over the weekend. i noticed him late monday and took him out. i proceeded to do as many water changes with a one gallon vase that i could. so i did about 15 gallons. the nitrates were at stress level. all other parameters were perfect. so ive gone in early voluntarily for the last 3 days to do about 15 gallons of water changes a day until the nitrates come down. but im not sure it will help. i don't have the ability to change large amounts of water at a time. its water treatment, tap water and a 1 gallon vase.

also, a brief history. there was some kind of fin rot going on in the tank for a good month or two. we called the fish guy he did a nice water change. unfortunately, that wasn't enough and we lost 3 fish. 2 big parrot cichlids and an angel fish. it rotted their fins off to the bone. then the other fish ate them. the pleco that died this weekend was chomped to the bone when i came in. they don't feed the clowns on the weekends for 2 days. most of the time if there are new fish introduced, they all attack the new fish and kill them to eat over the weekend for a fat meal. ive come in several times and they have eaten their tank mates. seems to be working from a smaller fish to bigger fish order so far.

this is a 75 gallon tank. the tank was well overstocked and many of the fish died. after that 2 of the fish that were present before they increased the stock in the tank, also died. the owner of the tank, is of the mind that doing water changes is better than medicating the tank. there is no opportunity for a qt tank. i think its past the point of water changes, especially if your not doing them frequently enough, but there are only so many hours and days a week i can wake up an extra hour early to do this. im worn out from a 2 hour daily commute and ive been trying my hardest to save this tank. on my own time, ive probably spent a good 5 hours extra a week trying to help these poor fish. the camera at the office had dead batteries. ill try bringing in my camera tomorrow to clarify what it looks like.
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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:27 pm

jim i just read your paragraph on patchy disease on the sticky. sounds something like that. although the clown is eating well and very hungry. but his color has gotten worse.
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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:36 am

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

sorry about the bad pics. he wouldn't hold still.
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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:47 am

anyone have any idea what this is?
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Jim Powers
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by Jim Powers » Mon Feb 21, 2011 7:17 pm

Maybe an internal bacterial infection?
Just a guess on my part, but if that was a hillstream, that's what it would probably be.
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:05 pm

thanks Jim.


I thought I might come into the office after the 3 day weekend to find dead clowns. However, they were lively and eating well this morning. The symptoms don't look worse but all I can judge is by eye. I have discontinued the antibiotic treatment and done a good fresh water exchange. I will be changing about 15% daily for the rest of the week. Also going to add some carbon filtration back into the tank.
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Jim Powers
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by Jim Powers » Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:31 pm

Good luck and keep us posted!!
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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:24 pm

after a few days of water changes. the white color is starting to fade a little. the loach still looks rough but hopefully hes feeling better.
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Jim Powers
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by Jim Powers » Sat Feb 26, 2011 10:26 am

That's good news!! :D
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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:46 pm

don't want to jump the gun, but i went into the office today and the loaches had full color back. and were super lively. i hope its out of the tank. im still doing frequent water changes.
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Jim Powers
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by Jim Powers » Mon Feb 28, 2011 9:55 pm

That's great!!
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LoachOrgy
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:57 pm

so its been more than 3 days with the color back. the smallest fish that was white before has his fins grown back and is loachy dancing all over the place. he was real skiddish when he was white striped.
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Jim Powers
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Re: Anyone seen this? White streaks where black stripes are

Post by Jim Powers » Thu Mar 03, 2011 10:02 pm

Any ideas what this was exactly?
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