Well I am new to Clown Loaches, but I picked up 3 about 2 weeks ago. About 2 weeks later they came down with a really bad case of Ich. Spots just covered them.
I started treating them with QuickCure 5 days ago at a half dose. Unfortunatly, I lose 2 of the 3. The rememaining one is acting much better and seems happy and feeling good but the spots are still there and have not gotten any better in the 5 days of treatment. Is this normal? It seems the meds should be working by now. I have read that the Ich can not be killed while attached to the fish but also read the life cycle is only a few days while at 82 degs. So it seems it should be clearing up.
None of the other fish ever showes signs of ich. One platy did have clamped fins and was near the bottom but never had spots. Since, he now acts very happy again. (He is still much smaller than the other platy though). All the other fish look very good now.
Water tests shown 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite, and 20 nitrate. Temp is 82.
Clown Loach W/ Ich
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Emma Turner
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Hi Riven,
Welcome to Loaches Online. Sorry to hear about your clown loaches.
Have you had a good read of this?: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2599
Many clown keepers will maintain their loaches at 82 deg F anyway. If you wish to speed up the life cycle of the Ich, you can gradually raise the temp to 86 deg F provided that (a) you increase oxygenation *very important* and (b) the other fish in the tank are able to tolerate such a high temp.
Persistant cases of Ich can tank longer to clear up, and it is recommended that you follow a full course of treatment even after the spots may have 'disappeared' off of the affected fish. I assume you removed any activated carbon from the filter before you started treating, so that it didn't absorb the medication?
Here's a link to our in-depth profile on the care of clown loaches, for your reference: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/cl ... cracanthus
Hopefully others in your area may be able to say whether this is the best Ich medication available to you.
Good luck,
Emma
Welcome to Loaches Online. Sorry to hear about your clown loaches.
Have you had a good read of this?: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2599
Many clown keepers will maintain their loaches at 82 deg F anyway. If you wish to speed up the life cycle of the Ich, you can gradually raise the temp to 86 deg F provided that (a) you increase oxygenation *very important* and (b) the other fish in the tank are able to tolerate such a high temp.
Persistant cases of Ich can tank longer to clear up, and it is recommended that you follow a full course of treatment even after the spots may have 'disappeared' off of the affected fish. I assume you removed any activated carbon from the filter before you started treating, so that it didn't absorb the medication?
Here's a link to our in-depth profile on the care of clown loaches, for your reference: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/cl ... cracanthus
Hopefully others in your area may be able to say whether this is the best Ich medication available to you.
Good luck,
Emma
East of the Sun, West of the Moon.
Yes I have read both of those, and the Ich one was the reason I halved my dosage.
I did remove the carbon. I think the stess from this could be causing some additional problems to my little loach. His gills are red (looking a little better than they did) and around his mouth he has a little fungal type look. It might just be Ich but it looks a little fuzzy.
He is eating ALOT better and he is swimming around in the tank alot more now. When he was at his worst he would just sit in the corner.
I did remove the carbon. I think the stess from this could be causing some additional problems to my little loach. His gills are red (looking a little better than they did) and around his mouth he has a little fungal type look. It might just be Ich but it looks a little fuzzy.
He is eating ALOT better and he is swimming around in the tank alot more now. When he was at his worst he would just sit in the corner.
i introduced a few new ones to the tank and after about a week they had ich. i just recently stopped seeing signs of ich two days ago. i used the brand super ich cure. half doses. i bought a new brand when i ran out called rid ich +. the loaches are very energetic today!
All your loaches are belong to me!
Hi Riven,
Sorry to hear about your problems.
OTOH, fungal-like growth around mouth is a problem and possibly a very serious one. This is *likely* not connected to ich, but another infection, *possibly* flexibacter (aka columnari), *possibly* true fungus. Having two diseases at once is a problem since Malachite green (main ingredient in QuickCure) in combination with antibiotics is quite capable of wiping out your biofilter. Thus, unless you are prepared to go through without a biofilter for a while, putting antibiotics into the tank is not an option until you killed of the ich and removed the drugs.
Your 2nd problem is that for treating Ich you are better off with 84F-86F but for treating columnari you are better off with mid-70's. Notice that Flexibacter tends not to like high-O2 environment, so adding more air is a certainly good idea.
The best course of action may be to concentrate on Ich, and meanwhile feed the fish with antibacterial food, ideally containing Terramycin (Oxytetracycline). This way you can fight both Ich and Flexibacter (if this is what it is) simultaneously. When Ich is fully gone (no signs for three days), clear the tank from the meds, concentrate on the mouth fungus.
Adding a UV (if the tank is well established) may be a good idea.
Adding some Aquirium salt may not be a bad idea too. It makes Ich meds more potent (many Ich meds include salt, but not QuickCure) and also works against both fungus and flexibacter. I would probably go for a small dosage, around 1teaspoon/10g.
Posting a picture of the loach may help to confirm the diagnosis and also see if there are possibly other problems: mouth fungus is often an opportunistic infection and a sign of yet another problem.
hth
Sorry to hear about your problems.
Red gills may or may not be a problem: small fish often has very red gills and your loach may also have a gill irritation because of ich.Riven02 wrote:His gills are red (looking a little better than they did) and around his mouth he has a little fungal type look. It might just be Ich but it looks a little fuzzy.
OTOH, fungal-like growth around mouth is a problem and possibly a very serious one. This is *likely* not connected to ich, but another infection, *possibly* flexibacter (aka columnari), *possibly* true fungus. Having two diseases at once is a problem since Malachite green (main ingredient in QuickCure) in combination with antibiotics is quite capable of wiping out your biofilter. Thus, unless you are prepared to go through without a biofilter for a while, putting antibiotics into the tank is not an option until you killed of the ich and removed the drugs.
Your 2nd problem is that for treating Ich you are better off with 84F-86F but for treating columnari you are better off with mid-70's. Notice that Flexibacter tends not to like high-O2 environment, so adding more air is a certainly good idea.
The best course of action may be to concentrate on Ich, and meanwhile feed the fish with antibacterial food, ideally containing Terramycin (Oxytetracycline). This way you can fight both Ich and Flexibacter (if this is what it is) simultaneously. When Ich is fully gone (no signs for three days), clear the tank from the meds, concentrate on the mouth fungus.
Adding a UV (if the tank is well established) may be a good idea.
Adding some Aquirium salt may not be a bad idea too. It makes Ich meds more potent (many Ich meds include salt, but not QuickCure) and also works against both fungus and flexibacter. I would probably go for a small dosage, around 1teaspoon/10g.
Posting a picture of the loach may help to confirm the diagnosis and also see if there are possibly other problems: mouth fungus is often an opportunistic infection and a sign of yet another problem.
hth
Well good news the little guy looks to be doing good. I am not out of the woods yet because I need to keep meding for a few more days to make sure they dont relapse.
However, I have another question. I know Clown Loaches are normally kept in groups. I was planning to have 3 in my tank (55gal) as I said in the first post 2 died to Ich. Now I would like to get 2 buddies for him now but I learned my lesson and am sitting up an iso tank as I type. So will the 1 little loach do OK by himself for a month or so while I iso 2 new ones?
However, I have another question. I know Clown Loaches are normally kept in groups. I was planning to have 3 in my tank (55gal) as I said in the first post 2 died to Ich. Now I would like to get 2 buddies for him now but I learned my lesson and am sitting up an iso tank as I type. So will the 1 little loach do OK by himself for a month or so while I iso 2 new ones?
he may be more reclusive but will likely perk up once he gets some buddies.
be sure you treat the ich for at least 5 days after all the spots have gone. sounds like he's rounding the corner which is good. Do a really good gravel vac as well. the parasites leave the fish and end up in the substrate. The more you can remove, the better.
be sure you treat the ich for at least 5 days after all the spots have gone. sounds like he's rounding the corner which is good. Do a really good gravel vac as well. the parasites leave the fish and end up in the substrate. The more you can remove, the better.
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My wife just called me and told me she thinks he has fin rot now = 
Hopfully I can get this ICH cleared up in time to treat the fin rott before it gets too bad.
I'm gonna feed him some medicated food that is for Fin Rott and hope that helps. If not I will medicate the water as soon as I get done with the ICH meds.
Hopfully I can get this ICH cleared up in time to treat the fin rott before it gets too bad.I'm gonna feed him some medicated food that is for Fin Rott and hope that helps. If not I will medicate the water as soon as I get done with the ICH meds.
Some antibacterial/antifungal meds will work in conjunction with ich meds. You may want to do a google search on it. Secondary bacterial infections are not uncommon when dealing with ich. It's what can make is so nasty. When the parasite leaves the fish it leaves behind an open sore that is highly subject to infections.
Do water changes daily, and add the appropriate level of medication back into the return water. Clean water is a must to avoid these kinds of side effects. I know -- the directions don't say to do this, but have a look HERE.
Do water changes daily, and add the appropriate level of medication back into the return water. Clean water is a must to avoid these kinds of side effects. I know -- the directions don't say to do this, but have a look HERE.
books. gotta love em!
http://www.Apaperbackexchange.com
http://www.Apaperbackexchange.com
riven good to hear things are getting better. i had the same problem a few days ago but all the fish seem up and about.
i used an antibacterial treatment from petsmart and it worked in a 4-5 days to clear it up. took the fish about a good 2 weeks to heal up from it though but it definitely closed the wounds after a few days. there is probably something similar to this that clears up fin rot at the lfs. do you have jetheads in your tank? i noticed fin rot and bacterial problems when i wasn't getting good circulation in my tank. i added a jethead on the opposite side of the tank from where the aquaclear unit is located. it spurts air bubbles and current towards the water fall. you can also buy an added filter that attaches to these jetheads and it really sucks up quite a bit of debris.
api brand melafix antibacterial fish remedy is what i used. it worked well. it says it repairs damaged fins, ulcers, open wounds but doesn't say anything about fin rot. does say promotes regrowth of damaged fins and tissues. actually i took a look. on the back it says it treats fin rot, open red sores, eye cloud, popeye, mouth fungus, body slime, ipen wounds.
i used an antibacterial treatment from petsmart and it worked in a 4-5 days to clear it up. took the fish about a good 2 weeks to heal up from it though but it definitely closed the wounds after a few days. there is probably something similar to this that clears up fin rot at the lfs. do you have jetheads in your tank? i noticed fin rot and bacterial problems when i wasn't getting good circulation in my tank. i added a jethead on the opposite side of the tank from where the aquaclear unit is located. it spurts air bubbles and current towards the water fall. you can also buy an added filter that attaches to these jetheads and it really sucks up quite a bit of debris.
api brand melafix antibacterial fish remedy is what i used. it worked well. it says it repairs damaged fins, ulcers, open wounds but doesn't say anything about fin rot. does say promotes regrowth of damaged fins and tissues. actually i took a look. on the back it says it treats fin rot, open red sores, eye cloud, popeye, mouth fungus, body slime, ipen wounds.
All your loaches are belong to me!
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