Clown Loach - White Spots

oxfordmark

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Hello

One of my clown loach appears to have some white spots. Should i treat the tank with some API White Spot cure?

Thanks
 
You'll have to read the label; some meds aren't suitable for scaleless fish, like loach, or may need to be used at a half dose.

I should also point out that there are strains of ich out there that are resistant to some meds, so you may need to try two or three before you find one that works for the strain your fish have.

I also feel I should mention that clown loach are very prone to ich if they're not housed appropriately, so you should take a close look at your tank size, tankmates and your maintenance regime to make sure the ich won't keep on returning.
 
I raise my tank temp, do a massive water change treat with protozin n I use salt and it doesn't stay long. I also treat for up to 14 days to make sure I get the ick life cycle :) just make sure it is white spot :). As said above be careful of treatments as some it can be harmful to scaleless fishes
 
I also feel I should mention that clown loach are very prone to ich if they're not housed appropriately, so you should take a close look at your tank size, tankmates and your maintenance regime to make sure the ich won't keep on returning.

Another thread of his says he has 10 in a 60 liter so I'm not surprised they have ich.

I raise my tank temp, do a massive water change treat with protozin n I use salt and it doesn't stay long. I also treat for up to 14 days to make sure I get the ick life cycle :) just make sure it is white spot :). As said above be careful of treatments as some it can be harmful to scaleless fishes

Salt is very harmful to scaleless fish such as corys and loaches, because they have no scales to protect them.
 
Agree with Man of Fish; I would never use salt with loaches, personally.
 
The temp of my tank atm is 26oc what should i raise that too?
 
If treating itch you should only use half doses on clown loaches as i read on the internet as i was considering some.
Sincerely hope its not 10 loaches in a 60 litre tank!!!! If so you got serious problems ahead.
 
Its not a cycled filter, he has been ignoring the advice on here regarding cycling and dumping Nutrafin cycle in the tank :D

Welcome to the downward spiral of fish deaths, i strongly advise you to do some reading in the beginners resource section and start doing some decent water changes.

You cant treat fish in a tank where the filter isn't working correctly (not easily anyway), since you have to medicate it and do water changes at the same time to remove ammonia/nitrite from the water column. You've just made your fish keeping experience extremely complicated for yourself.

Your best and only hope, in my opinion, would be to raise the temp up to 30 degrees, then do some regular water changes on the tank depending on your ammonia and nitrite readings on your test kit. Forget medication and do not use salt.

Water changes do not stress fish as much as swimming around in their own urine does.....and i've no need to comment about Clown Loaches in such a small tank as everyone else has. :)
 
I took a water sample to my fish store, asked how long id had the tank for and they said the readings were fine for more
 
How long have you had the tank? Fish stores are notoriously bad at giving advice. Most don't even know about fishless cycling. Theyll say anything for a sale.
 
When i added the loach, it had been going for 5 weeks...

I have upped the temperature, will see what happens.
 
Get yourself your own liquid test kit, API freshwater master kit. Being reliant on the shop to test your water isn't the best way to start. You need to learn about the cycle and be able to test it yourself if you want your current and future fish to survive and be happy :) Gluck!
 
Just an update, i went to the Goldfish Bowl and they recommended half doses of white spot treatment and melafix. Literally after one treatment almost all spots have gone. One Neon Tetra has one or teo left.
 
When i added the loach, it had been going for 5 weeks...

I have upped the temperature, will see what happens.

Personally I Have only had 2 breakouts of Ich since i started keeping fish 4 years ago and none in the last 2 years I do not like the idea of using the salt method with tropical fish but that's me so I cannot help you with the salt thing.

Some people say garlic extract again I have never used it so cannot advise you, I would recommend you get a medication asap but as it has been mentioned before you have made a rod for your own back with putting fish in an un cycled tank, but for the moment it is a good idea to understand what you will be dealing with so here is the basics of Ich as I understand it:

"Ich" is the convenient way to refer to the organism Ichthyophthirius (sometimes Ichthyopthirius) multifilis. This parasite has three stages to its life cycle: trophont, tomont, and theront. The white spots on an infected fish are visible during the trophont phase of the cycle. The spots are actually scarring that occurs as the parasite burrows into the outer layer of the fish's skin. Beneath each white spot, the Ich is forming a tiny cyst in which it multiplies by cellular division. At this stage of the infection, the Ich is impervious to medication.

When the cysts mature, they burst and release thousands of the tomont stage cells into the water. The tomonts develop a slimy coat immediately after emerging from the infected fish, which allows each one to adhere to aquarium décor, substrate and even the glass walls of the tank. Once the encapsulation is complete, the organism begins a second stage of reproduction by further cellular division.

Finally, the Ich is released from the capsules in its theront phase. These theronts swim out in search of new host fishes and begin the cycle again. It is only during this free-swimming phase of the life cycle that medication is effective. Theront cells are not visible in the water.

So increasing your water temperature to a maximum of 30 degrees Celsius that will only increase the cycle of the parasite to the point that you can treat it with a medication the increased temperature does not in anyway actually kill the parasite.

Many different products are available to deal with Ich, but perhaps the most effective products are ones that contain the chemicals formalin and malachite green (sometimes called malachite blue or Victoria green). Both of these chemicals are highly toxic and in some areas, their sale is restricted. They are carcinogenic, so great care must be taken to wash any body part that is directly exposed to the medicine or treated water. Products such as Rid-Ich and Quick Cure are available as do most of the popular Fish treatment company's have an Ich treatment available in most aquarium shops. Also beware with fish like Loaches who have very small scales it is advisable to use half dose as the manufactures recommendation but you have been advised of this already.

Final bit of advice is see the full treatment through as just because you cant see the white spots it does not mean it has gone away, plus the tank sounds like its not cycled so you need to take the advice given to you in this thread and it also sounds like you have a tank size issue versus species namely the Clown loach as well which will only cause more ich as the loaches will get stressed

I do hope this helps you Regards onebto.
 

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