"skinny Loach/internal Parasites"

[phantomlink]

[background=rgb(225, 235, 245)]I have 5 clown loaches I bought the other week, they are no larger then an inch or less and two of them are decent sized. The other three are incredibly thin, their last half of their body almost looks like its as thin as their tails are. Two days ago they were taken out of the 125 gallon they were in and put into a 20 gallon just by themselves so I can fatten them up a little bit. I know they are social so I got all 5 instead of just the 3 I was worried about, but should I separate them?[/background]

[background=rgb(225, 235, 245)]After doing some more research, I learned that alot of clown loaches have internal parasites when they are younger, and the best meds to use is a deworming powder, unfortunately in Canada you can only buy deworming meds from the vet now. Is there any other meds that might work to get rid of the parasites/worms so they will get healthy?[/background]

This picture isnt mine but its close to what 2 of the 3 skinny loaches are starting to look like:

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Without seeing the actual 3 loaches in question it is hard to say, but could it not be that these fish have simply been heavily underfed until you bought them?

My first approach would be to get them eating and try to feed them upto 6 small portions a day of good quality food with a high protein content of 40%+. This will mean they will need extra water changes because of the higher levels of ammonia that will be produced, but if the fish put on some weight it will be worth it.

If the 3 skinny ones are anythig close to that random photo you pulled off teh web, I would definitely quarantine them seperately from your healthy stock. This way they should have a more equal chance of getting a fair food ration and to be honest, if you bought what looked like ill fish, why would you risk mixing them with established stock before a quarantine period of at least two weeks? Quarantine is not just about looking out for disease, it is also to let fish get their first decent food rations on some time, fish are often horribly underfed as they travel to reach the fish stores and once there things often do not get much better.

 

[phantomlink]

The fish looked fine when purchased, two of them aren't thin and eat well I just think the competition with all the other fish and yoyos might have been too much or something. Only then I learned that alot of clowns are shipped with internal parasites and I'm working on treating it now

 

[balraj_bangar]

I would treat them with parasite meds. I lost one of mine as we left it too late. It died and was thin and the pic. Poor thing. I learned and have 7 healthy clowns. I treated em with the tablets off ebay!

 

[phantomlink]

I found some meds that were suggested, I'm going to the store on Wed since its out of town, just hope they'll be fine till then