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Ich / Ick clown loach problems- ich & swollen belly

Discussion in 'Fish Diseases & Cures' started by jrow8162, Apr 14, 2009.

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  1. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    As much as I love these fish i'm not having much luck with them. I have one that is covered in ich and another one who's belly is swollen. The one with Ich is acting fine. The other with the swollen belly is laying on its side a lot and not moving much. I have the tank temp at 86 degrees to treat the ich on the one fish. I also did a 50% water change last thursday. Is there anything else that I need to be doing?

    Ammonia is at 0. Not sure how the other levels look at the moment.
     
    jrow8162, Apr 14, 2009
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  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Well the first thing that comes to mind with a swollen belly is bloat. What are you feeding them and how often ?
     
    Anthony, Apr 14, 2009
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  3. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I have the Cichlids in there so I feed them Wardley Cichlid Crumbs 2-3 times a day. The loaches seem to like this too. I also put Shrimp pellets in from time to time so that the loaches can eat them off of the bottom. It's been hiding out in one of the rock caves just laying low. Now its swimming behind the filter. Still fat and swollen...
     
    jrow8162, Apr 14, 2009
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  4. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    How much are you feeding them each time you do ?
     
    Anthony, Apr 14, 2009
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  5. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    Not too much. Enough that they are finished in under a minute...
     
    jrow8162, Apr 14, 2009
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  6. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    I'd suggest treating obviously treating the ich (Salt) ...I've read online also whereas someone was having bloat/swim bladder issues with a loach that was previously fine and said after a day of salt and raising the temperature that the loach was fine.

    Wish I had some better advice for ya!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Apr 14, 2009
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  7. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I just remember Anthony saying no salt last time I treated them for ich. It got really bad fast and I had to treat my tank with Quick Cure and ended up losing the loaches. I caught it pretty quickly this time and jacked the temp up. The one showing noticable signs of ich is swimming around and eating like nothing is wrong... I went back to LFS where i bought the fish and the whole tank was covered in Ich so I'm pretty sure it had ich when I bought it... I have a 5 gallon that I can quarantine them in but it seems like that would be too small. Should I just leave them in the big tank and see how it goes?
     
    jrow8162, Apr 14, 2009
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  8. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Hmm..no salt? Do You have plants in there? or Recall why Anthony said no salt (has to be a reason).
    Once the ichs in the tank imo it's useless to quarantine. And a 5g is too small (as you said).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Apr 14, 2009
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  9. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I'm not sure... maybe something to do with them being scaleless fish or something... I would have to search the thread....
     
    jrow8162, Apr 14, 2009
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  10. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    oh ok. ...Yes, it was because they were scaleless...soo sorry. Didn't catch that right away, gosh I am soo sorry on that one. <--2 kids sick on breathing treatments every 4h is kicking my brains butt!

    Warm your water up as you said you were, don't forget to increase the oxygenation also (air stone attached to aerator).
     
    MOD_Dawn, Apr 14, 2009
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  11. Alleycat

    Alleycat Member

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    A great cheap medicine is called Aquarisol. It's available at almost every LFS and is an excellent med for clowns..at least it has been in my experience and many others.
    Dose for 2-3 days and bump up your temp into the 82-84 range to speed up the ichs life.
    I use it as a preventitive med when I bring home fish from stores or auctions. Some use it as a net dip ...

    Just my 2 cents
     
    Alleycat, Apr 15, 2009
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  12. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    If you want to feed the tank 2-3 times a day and you're feeding them what they can eat in a minute that's too much food IMO. If you're feeding that often I would only put enough in the tank that they can consume within 20 seconds.
     
    Anthony, Apr 15, 2009
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  13. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    A minute is pushing it. I dont feed them that much. They usually eat it all before I even put the lid back on the food. I feed them 3 small feedings a day hoping to keep aggression down.

    The small loach with the fat belly was belly up this morning... I didnt think he was gonna make it... :( The one with the Ich is still swimming around like he's fine. I still have the temp up and I changed my airstone so I have plenty of water movement on both sides of the tank. How long will I need to keep the temp up? I'm going on about a week now...
     
    jrow8162, Apr 15, 2009
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  14. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I'm trying not to medicate this time. I lost all of my clown loaches the last time I medicated the tank. Also lost a Cory. Do you use this everytime you add new fish?
     
    jrow8162, Apr 15, 2009
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  15. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Skip feeding for two days and see how he looks. As for the ich as I've said before, keep the temp at 86 (make sure the temp is actually 86 toward the bottom of the tank).
     
    Anthony, Apr 15, 2009
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  16. ira

    ira Member

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    Use 1/2 doase . leave temp high, leave carbon in filter doase every day until ick is gone.
     
    ira, Apr 15, 2009
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  17. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    I've moved the heater to the center of the tank... I'll drop it down lower.. How long does it normally take to treat the ich with heat?
     
    jrow8162, Apr 15, 2009
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  18. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    That would be a waste as the carbon would absorb any meds placed in the tank.
    You should see an improvement within 5 days and the fish should (depending on the severity) be completely cleared of ich within 2 weeks.
     
    Anthony, Apr 15, 2009
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  19. jrow8162

    jrow8162 Thread Starter Member

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    Cool... I have treated without meds this time. the fish moves around and eats like nothing's wrong. I've been going for a week now so hopefully it will be gone by next week. I lost the little one with the fat belly. None of the other fish are showing any signs of ich either so thats good...

    Anthony, is Aquarisol something you recommend keeping on hand? I've heard mixed reviews about it...

    Ira, thanks for the advice! I had bad luck treating the ich with medication last time but will definitely keep this product in mind...
     
    jrow8162, Apr 15, 2009
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  20. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    You cannot use copper based products on clown loaches. If you want/need to use a med for loaches look for something that uses Quinine Sulfate.
     
    Anthony, Apr 15, 2009
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