Need Advice..my Clown Loach Is Acting Weird

[G_Sharky]

Just want some advice regarding my clown loaches. I've been medicating them for ICH and using aquria-sol and so far everything is going good with only a few spots left on 1 or 2 loaches, but I've noticed on of my clown loach looking really weird, mouth is open all the time and the eyes seems huge and looks really weak and lazy. I've seen this before and lost 1 clown loach with the same symptom and it died a few days after. Also I have small ones that look really skinny and haven't gain any weight inspite of them eating like pigs..Can anybody tell me what to do, I don't wanna lose this one cause he's the biggest one I have about 2.5 inches...My water parameters are good: Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates below 20 ppm, temp 86 degrees, ph 7.6....any advice would be great...thanks....

 

[WILDER]

Open mouth can mean injury, sores in the mouth, something lodged in the mouth.
Is the jaw dislocated.

Are both eyes bulging out.
I would dilute the med down abit, if you used the full dose.

It sounds like your clown loaches might have internal parasites.
Fish that are skinny and not gaining weight due eating well, usually a sign of internal parasites.

There a desease that clown loaches can get and it's called skinny desease.

 

[G_Sharky]

I don't think that it's jaw is dislocated..he was fine yesterday and the rest of loaches seems to be alright and not acting weird, I've been medicating for the last 4 days and no other fish in the tank seems stress of the meds...can the skinny disease be help and would it be contagious to the rest of the group? thinking of getting some metro to mix with the food they eat.....

 

[WILDER]

Do a 20% water change to dilute the med down. Let me know if that makes any difference to the clown loach with the open mouth.

All the clown loaches will need treating for internal parasites.

 

[G_Sharky]

did a 25% WC yesterday and they are still acting the same...I think it might be bloat as the clown loach has a bloated stomach and it hasn't gone down since yesterday....I'm going to be adding some epsom salt and get some metro for the internal parasite...Is it okay to mix it with aquaria sol since some of the loahces has a few white spots left?

 

[CentrarchidFan]

Aquarisol is a copper sulfate-based medication, so that could account for your loach's strange behavior. Diluting the concentration by a water change is excellent advice. In my experience, botiid loaches with ich try to get as close to the water surface/filter outflow as possible, but I have never seen the symptoms you describe associated with ich. Perhaps it is the copper or something else entirely?

As for the internal parasites, I would recommend levamasole hydrochloride, which is commonly used as a pig dewormer (at least in the U.S.). I have seen it work wonders on very weak, thin loaches. It has the benefit of being a relatively safe medication, both to you and the fishes. A link to an article describing its use is listed below.

My link

 

[WILDER]

I wouldn't mix meds with the whitespot med.
Clear the whitespot up first.

Maybe do another 20% water change to dilute the med down even further.

Also levaimsole boost the immune sytem.
Never heard it being used on clown loaches for skinny deasease, but if it works it's fine.
Internal parasite meds can knock fish for a few days.

 

[G_Sharky]

Thanks for the advice guys...I don't think that it's the ICH medication that's causing this...the one that's originally acting weird is on its side now i think i'm going to lose him and there's another one just like him with big belly and mouth open, the rest of the clown loach and any other fish even my cory cats are fine.....I just went to the LFS and both some hikari metro + contains metronizadole that is for internal parasite...I'm just going to mix it with the colorbits and flakes that I feed hopefully the skinny loaches(I have 4 of them) will be save...I've had similar experience with this when I used to keep african cichlid once in a while they'll get it and by mixing some metro in their food I have success curing it...Hopefully it wouldn't wipe out my clown loach army...I haven't had anything gone wrong for almost 2 years now, but all of a sudden ICH and all sorts of problems just keep filling up....

 

[WILDER]

It never rains but pours.

Let me know how they get on with the med if you don't mind.

Internal parasites can cause bacterial infections also. They do alot of damage to the organs.
Once a fish is infested with them the damage has already been done.

 

[G_Sharky]

Just an update...the two loaches are still fighting both still have swollen belly, but would still come to greet me and ask for food, the ICH seems to be gone..I got some medication called Metro + by hikari and I've been soaking the food with it..first dose by yesterday and another one today...I will do another 24% WC today and see how they do. Still hoping that the skinny loaches would recover.....

 

[WILDER]

Glad the whitespot sorted.

Keep the thread updated if you don't mind.
Good Luck.

 

[G_Sharky]

just an update..one of the bloated clown loach belly has seem to have shrink and doesn't look as bad as before, but is still breathing heavy and not so active often just hanging out under the driftwood the other one seems to be the same, but they are both fully colored and still hoping for the best....the others are fine and the skinny loaches are still eating like pigs hopefully the medicated food would take care of the internal parasites.....

 

[WILDER]

Ok. Thanks for the update.
Check water stats.

 

[G_Sharky]

sad day...i lost one of the loach the biggest one.....the other one hopefully is on it's way to recovery as the the bloated belly has completely gone to it's normal size, but this loach is still breathing heavy....check my water parameters and it's good 0 ammonia and nitrite, nitrates below 20 ppm, ph 7.6, temp is 86 degrees and will be bump down to 82 on the weekend just making sure that the ick has left.....

 

[WILDER]

Bless Him.
R.I.P.

Good luck with the rest of the fish.