Clown Loach Issue, Updated Today

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yesterday i went and bought some very small 1inch clown loachs(2 of them) from watermarqe/mart in yeovil for my 50gal tank.

When i got home i noticed that one of the loachs the staff had given me has the bgeinnings of whitespot ....

I cracked my old 10gal tank the other day so i can't use it as a hospital tank so i have put them in a 10litre/3gal bucket with an established filter- i have given them some small snails and catfish pelets to eat.
Im very annoyed as the guy didn't give me the loach i specifically chose but the loachs were going haywire in the tank when he got them so i suppose he could of missed the fact there was an infected one in the tank like i did.
I've heard clown loachs are notoriously difficult to treat whitespot for- i have some whitespot med by interpet at hand although its over 2yrs old so im going to get some new stuff tommorrow- i would like some advice for treating whitespot in clown loachs as the last and only time i've ever treated whitespot was 2yrs ago.
Any ideas/comments?

 

[breezer40]

Been a while since I had clowns but no matter where they come from they always seem to get ICH the moment they enter the new owners tank

I do remember treating my lot with very high temps of around 90 and waterlife protozan with no losses. The temp did mean I had to put on additional air but worked a treat.

 

[funkybodal]

Some aquarium medications (such as whitespot treatment) can be dangerous to 'scaleless' fish such as loaches and the like. Best thing to do is to find a treatment that specifically states it is safe for use with loaches. You might wanna use a reduced dosage to be on the safe side.

 

[ninjaboy]

I've had my clown loaches for about 2 1/2 months now. They seem to be doing fine, except a week and a half ago they developed ICH. The white spots, I hope, you are talking about. So, I used ICH medicine and and every 24 Hours I did a water change. I did a water change right before I added the ICH medicine and I turned the water temp up to about 82-85 degrees. I hope this helps you!

BTW: I have had no losses and the white spots have fallen off. But keep treating for a couple days-a week after they are gone, cause the white spots will be growing at the bottom of the tank, and this is when the medicine really kicks in.

 

[cyprinut]

The single greatest fish advice I ever got was to fight Ich in clown loaches with 90F, salt, and keep it going like that for at least 3 weeks. Once my loaches got over that hump they never got it again, even during a move of a 125g with a 100% water change. Have since sold the tank and fish, but they were 4 years old and doing great. Many other fish species will not tolerate such warm water, so beware of that....
Good luck, Tokis.

 

[Lateral Line]

Loaches are high Oxygen demanding fish. High temperature water has a very low O2 content, that is enough by itself to kill them. They are also scale less fish and very subject to poisoning by salt which will irritate them imensly.

Rather then the best piece of advice, where loaches are concerned, it sounds like a recipe for a total disaster.

Raising the temperature does not kill Ich, it increases the rate of the life cycle which gets the free swimming stages into the water, (where they are susceptible to attack), sooner.

 

[cyprinut]

Exactly, and salt attacks the Ich in the free swimming stage. Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree, LL. Indiscriminate use of meds with loaches can be a total recipe for disaster. I'm not talking a salt bath here, more like a tablespoon per 10 gallons added over a period of time. The loaches lack of scales make them even more susceptable to med overdose than to harm by a little salinity. With plenty of current, which loaches enjoy and thrive in anyway, there shouldn't be an O2 issue. Airstones can be added if there is concern. Just my opinion based on 4+ years experience with clowns. I'm no expert, but it worked for me with 100% survival rate. The tank also had gouramis, yoyos and barbs in it. Good luck whatever you try, Tokis.

 

[breezer40]

I have to agree with Lateral Line on the salt issue although this is an excellent way with scaled fish.

As for the temp..I personally have never had problems with high temps and clowns but being aware of the reduced oxigen levels have always compensated by adding additional air and testing oxigen levels.

This article makes some very good points on the effects of heat to speed up the ICH cycle and also gives clear evidance that heat alone is not the key but an aid.

http/aquanic.org/publicat/usda_rac/efs/srac/476fs.pdf

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Thanks for the info everyone, the whitespot interpet med i have says nothing about treating loachs with it so i take its ok? I can't stay for long as i am not feeling well but i will try to keep this thread updated on thier progress as much as i can .

 

[LoachLover]

From my experience the one thing that will sometimes work is "QuIck Cure", but younger loaches are generally even harder to treat than an older one, so good luck

 

[andywg]

The best way I've yet found (though sadly quite a major layout) is UV irrdaiation. Not with a pond UV (that has too large a void space) but an aquarium one. I had a pretty severe outbreak and have managed to get on top of it with UV (though I lost one but I think I discovered the outbreak too late).

Prolonged exposure to salt is bad for any freshwater fish which comes from a pure freshwater environment, let alone a scaleless one.

 

[cyprinut]

Guys, I do apologize if my advice was in error. It's what a long-time breeder and store-owner recommended to me, and it definitely worked, at least that time. I guess my loaches and I got lucky I didn't kill them off. Sorry again- but I am wondering, if UV is unavailable can he use the Ich med?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Somthing realy weird has happened that i thought i should update you guys on;

I was about to treat the loachs this morning with the interpet med as that was the only med i could find locally for my loachs and i went to check up on them. They have been very active since i have had them and are always swimming about in the bucket following each other around and i put some ornements and snails in for them to keep them occupied..
Their whitespots have gone! I havn't done anything apart from feed them and keep the water clean as i wanted them to settle in a bit before i medicated them, the bucket only has a mature filter other than that.
Im realy stumped to why the spots have gone with no meds or temp ajustment or anything? Is this whitespot i am dealing with as i thought it wouldn't leave on its own??

 

[pica_nuttalli]

it's possible that they fought off the infection all by themselves

you'll still need to continue the quarantine for another week or more. but i bet you already knew that

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

...Well the whitespots have returned and its definatly whitespot, i've put some interpet med in their tank last night and they don't seem to be affected by it and are going strong and very active as usual, im going to buy a heater for the bucket as its beginning to get cold over here.
I'll keep you updated on how things go, one of the clown loachs is infested with spots while the other hardly seems to be affected at all but i am hoping they will both get through this treatment alive
Thanks for the help everyone