Clown Loaches Disease? Help!

[AydenD]

Hi all, I'm in need of some help, I had 8 clown Loaches in my 75 gallon tank. (It's a grow out tank don't worry I have an 8 foot now) There is now one. The largest one. A couple of weeks ago I noticed one of the clowns had ich and so I got what I've used in the past for ich which is the API super ich cure (AT HALF DOSAGE BECAUSE LOACHES are sensitive). Long story short it did nothing which is weird because last time it worked miracles. I thought originally my silver dollars (I have six the two larger were affected) just had torn find but I decided to err on the side of caution and got some erythromycin and treated the tank with it. It seems like my silver dollars fins are doing a little better but it didn't help any of the other fish. Fish that have also died during this time: Five German Blue Rams (Very Small), Two Male Dalmatian Mollies, One Male Gold Panda Mollie, 4 Cherry Barbs. Currently in the tank there is the one very sick clown loach, 4 giant danios, one blue Gourami, two Weather (dojo) Loaches, 6 silver dollars (also grow out), one Dalmatian Mollie and 14 Dalmatian Mollie fry (in a fry net), and two balloon belly mollies (male and female). None of the other fish seem sick at all and why haven't the fry died? I feel like they'd be the first to go (they're 3-4 weeks old now).

Water Parameters:
Ammonia, 0ppm
Nitrite, 0ppm
Nitrate, 10-20ppm
pH, 7.5ish (hard to tell 100%)
I can't remember exactly what kh and gh were earlier but they were very good from what I can remember.
Tested using the API Freshwater Master Test Kit ((or whatever it's called) it uses liquids it's not test strips).

Please help! I have no idea what to do I think it could possibly be velvet but I have no clue because to me it looks the same as ich. I will try to take pictures in the morning if the clown is still alive.

Also, filtration isn't an issue I have an Marineland Penguin 350 (up to 75 gallons), two in tank corner canister filters (up to 40 gallons EACH) and an up to 125 gallon UV Sterilizer (this is new I bought because I read tons of good reviews of how it's helped with bacerial infections and ich).

Thanks, AydenD

EDIT: Changed mistake. I meant to say at half strength on the ich medication. I DID NOT treat at full strength because of the Loaches.

 

[Colin_T]

For future reference, this should be in the Tropical Fish Emergency section, not tropical discussion, so it hopefully gets a quicker response, but doesn't matter now.
http://www.fishforums.net/forums/tropical-fish-emergencies.2/
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Post pictures of the sick fish that clearly show the issue.

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Erythromycin is a strong anti-biotic that should only be used on confirmed bacterial infection. It kills filter bacteria and improper use or mis-use can lead to drug resistant bacteria that can harm people, fish and other animals.

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Make sure you remove carbon from the filter/s before treating so it doesn't absorb the medication.

Check the expiry date on the medication because it could be out of date. Make sure you keep test kits and medications in a cool dry place so they don't go off. I kept mine in a plastic icecream container with lid, in the bottom of the fridge.
*NB* Keep medications and test kits away from children and animals to prevent unwanted poisoning.
Wash hands with soapy water after using test kits and medications.

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Lots of fish get damaged fins and they normally heal quickly without the need for any medication as long as the tank water, gravel and filter are clean. The best thing to do if fish have damaged fins (early stages of Fin Rot) is a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. And clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

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You can take a glass full of tap water to your local pet shop and have them test the GH & KH for you. Write the results down in numbers when they do the test. Then you can refer back to it when you need to.

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When the tank light is off, shine a torch on the fish (dark coloured fish work best) and see if there is a gold sheen to the body. If there is a gold sheen the fish have Velvet (Oodinium).

Whitespot (Ichthyophthirius, aka Ich) has small white dots on the fish's body and fins, whereas velvet has a gold/ yellow sheen.

There is information at the following link about treating Whitespot and Velvet with heat or medications (they both get treated the same way). Heat is the safest option and you simply increase the water temperature to 30C and keep it there for 2 weeks. Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-is-ich.7092/page-2

Before increasing the temperature wipe the inside of the glass, clean the filter/s, and do a 90% water change and complete gravel clean. This will remove most of the parasites and gunk from the tank and buy the fish a day or two while the water warms up.

Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

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U/V sterilisers help kill some things in the water but are useless when it comes to treating diseases that are already on the fish, and in fact the ultraviolet light can cause medications in the water to break down faster. Personally I do not recommend them.

 

[NickAu]

. And clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

People with canister filters also need to clean the hoses spray bar and pick up bar you would be amazed at the crud that can build up in there.

 

[Colin_T]

Yes, as Nick suggested, when you clean the filter, you should also clean the spray bar and hoses and any fittings.

 

[NickAu]

Try this
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071HV4VY6/?tag=ff0d01-20