White Spot And Clowns

[Skysters]

It does sound like you might be feeding too much yes. It also sounds like a lot of vegetable matter, which is great, but they would appreciate something meaty too. Defrost a couple of Prawns or Frozen mussels from your local aquarium shop, Frozen bloodworm or a meaty granule food like Tetra Prima.

Anyway, going from what you have just said above, it sounds like you have simply shafted your filter by replacing all of the contents with new material. I presume you got it from eBay, got it home and went "eeeew that's really dirty" and thought a good clean and new filter stuff would be the best course of action? To be fair to you, its a very common mistake to make so don't feel to bad.

Try do some daily water changes as well as half dose the tank with meds and you might be ok, but i suspect that being mid filter cycle (you can read about this in the beginners resource section here) and doing a treatment won't set you off to a good start in fish keeping and certainly don't add any more fish to the tank.

Tizer the tank came home and got set up as it was as the fish and loaches were already living it in , we bought with us 0ver 50 litres of origanal tank water which was in the tank , and just put it all back in ..and then topped up gradually with tap water and de clorhine to make sure the water was safe .. so nope we didnt give the tank a clean when we got it .its running the same filter that was already in there .. we added another for a spare , and the only thing new was a new heater the other one didnt work ..it was stuck on 30 the week we set up i took 3 samples to lfs to check water levels and the shop had sed everything was spot on ..

the worms we feed are blood worms , but will take on board other foods as u have mentioned

now about this tiny tank idea ? good or bad idea ? for the clowns i know they like the room to swim about , but they so poorly i wanna try anything i can as i said to try and save them ?

 

[Skysters]

I'm really trying to think of a simple process for you to work to, but its quite difficult to come up with a master plan, however i would try the following:

Take the filter from your small tank and put it in your big tank, don't clean it, don't do anything, just move it and fire it up so you have two running.

Drain out 50% of the water in the big tank and fill it back up again, remember to use dechlorinator to take the nasties out of the tap water and try and mix the water with warm water so the tank temp doesn't drop down.

Add a half dose of Protozin to the water. turn off the lights, leave the tank in darkness, (less stress to the fish)

Tomorrow, do exactly the same, drain out 50% of the water, add new tap water, dechlorinate again and add another half dose of protozin.

Continue that process for a week, keep the temp around 30 degrees and in total darkness.

After a week, carry on doing the 50% water changes every day, but stop dosing Protozin.

If you don't see a significant reduction of the white spot after 14 days, start half dosing again for another week, and keep doing the 50% water changes before you dose.

That is pretty much what i would do in your situation. I hope it doesn't sound too complication. It will either work, or all your fish will die. You got a 50/50 chance.

If you decide to try it, report back and keep us informed.

PS, stop feeding daily, a single prawn is enough to feed 3 loaches (that size) for a good few days, they are cold blooded, they don't eat and process food fast like we do.

so ..... im understanding have 2 filters running ..which i already have

this is where i need to be certain , as i have just done day 3 yesterday of protazin ,, so not spose to dose any more untill thursday

so what ya suggesting is ......

remove 50% of water and refill , adding half dose .. which for me is 6 mil ..yes?
then continue to do this daily for a week ?

So question is what about thursdays dose i spose to do ,, ?? just leave that and do ur idea for the next 7 days ,, empty 50 % daily adding half dose protazin for them 7 days ./then the next 7 days .. carry on with 50% water changes and no meds

my temp is running at 29 1/2 atm and has been since white spot started when i first saw clown flashing

am i about right assuming this is ur suggestion as im for trying anything atm

Thanx for ur suggestions so far

 

[Tizer]

yes, i'm basically telling you to forget whats written on the instructions for the meds and carry out a different course of action. Dosing half meds gives you a little room to play with the science and doing a 50% water change daily, again, gives you room to play and be safe.

Drain off 50%, fill it back up, dose half meds. Lets take into account you have dosed some already and say, do it for the next 5 days and not 7. So on Sunday, stop the meds and carry on with a 50% daily water change for a week. This will take the meds out of the tank slowly over 7 days, cleaning it up ready for another 7 day course if its needed. It will also help keep the ammonia low and hopefully your filters will start to deal with it.

If you can just top the temperature over 30 degrees or even 31 if your heater can handle it, it would be better. I've found the white spot to really struggle at high temps. Your Loaches wont mind the higher temps and your other fish should be fine for the period.

PS, i take no responsibility if your fish die!

I have 24 Clown Loaches in my tank so i'd like to think i know a little about them. :>

 

[Skysters]

yes, i'm basically telling you to forget whats written on the instructions for the meds and carry out a different course of action. Dosing half meds gives you a little room to play with the science and doing a 50% water change daily, again, gives you room to play and be safe.

Drain off 50%, fill it back up, dose half meds. Lets take into account you have dosed some already and say, do it for the next 5 days and not 7. So on Sunday, stop the meds and carry on with a 50% daily water change for a week. This will take the meds out of the tank slowly over 7 days, cleaning it up ready for another 7 day course if its needed.

Thankyou !! , yes saturday sunday and yesterday has had 3 days of treatment this week , so i will treat till sunday ..doing 50% water change daily before meds will try light gravel clean on top so not to stress fish any more while doing changes then monday 7 days change without meds

i will come back with any news progress to this thread , i am so glad i have joined here cos im getting some constructive help here

and hopefully keep these babies alive

and nope will not hold u responsible shud they not make it , they will die with out doing something for them now so hopefully with ur suggestion then they may stand a chance

 

[Tizer]

Have fun with your water changes There is nothing better for your fish than fresh water

 

[Skysters]

Have fun with your water changes There is nothing better for your fish than fresh water

just a quick question for u

when doing water changes we have always used cold water from tap ..and boiled water from kettle + de chlorinater because i always thought boiled water is better than hot water from tap ,

or is it safe to use hot water from tap ..or keep doing it as i have always done it and use boiled water from kettle

p.s added u as friend hope u dont mind

 

[Tizer]

you can use boiled kettle water, i've done it in the past but only to get the temp up quickly in a new tank. Hot tap water is perfectly fine.

 

[Skysters]

you can use boiled kettle water, i've done it in the past but only to get the temp up quickly in a new tank. Hot tap water is perfectly fine.

Thanx well if im doing this daily then will use hot water from tap will be easier to do

 

[mossonthemoon]

Sorry to jump in here, but if you are using hot tap water, does your water sit in copper? Will that hurt your snails? Mine is instant hot water and is not in a holding tank so doesn't have copper, however I have previously had relatively high levels of copper in my hot water (in other houses). Now I use the kettle out of habit, though it is a pain if doing daily water changes.

Either way, good luck with the treatment. I love clown loaches and would have them if I had the space. I don't blame you for being attached already.

 

[Tizer]

Those Clown Loaches will eat the snails eventually, so i wouldn't be worried about copper

 

[mossonthemoon]

I did think they were going to be loach food, but not having had either of them, I didn't know about sizes, etc.

 

[Skysters]

I did think they were going to be loach food, but not having had either of them, I didn't know about sizes, etc.

lol tyy just done water change ..and low n behold the baby snails decided to come out lol , so the loaches are gonna have a field day , i have just seen like loads lol ill try and see if my pic will work lol



lol the molly n golden loach has found them lol

 

[Tizer]

Nice little clutch of newly hatched eggs, those guys will keep the glass clean for sure. Until they get munched

 

[Skysters]

Nice little clutch of newly hatched eggs, those guys will keep the glass clean for sure. Until they get munched

lol if they get a chance to clean the glass haha

 

[WILDER]

The thin loach. Is he eating well but not putting weight on?
As you might need to use an internal wormer once the whitespot has cleared up.

http/www.bollmoraakvarieklubb.org/artiklar/praktbotia/clown%20loach.htm

Information taken from the above link.


Special problems:
There is a couple of things that you should keep watch for concerning Clown loaches. The most common problem is white-spot, these fish are easily struck down by this disease. This often occurs when the fish have been kept too cold or in newly bought fish after being transported. Habitual fish that are well cared for are not more susceptable than others, in the ten years that I have kept these fish privately, I have only had white-spot once. For safety´s sake always have white-spot medicine at home if you acquire botia, it can save lives. White-spot is easily cured but can be a catastrophy if not treated.

N.B! follow the dosage instructions carefully for all medicines, some medicines recommend half the normal dosage for just loaches, because they can be sensitive to some ingredients, mainly coppercombinations.

Loss of weight or "skinny disease" is also quite common in Clown loaches. Typical symptoms are loss of weight and behaviour known as "knifeback" even though the fish is acting and eating normally. This sickness is more difficult to treat, it comes from a parasite organism (spironucleus) in the intestines of the same type that is thought to cause the so called "discus disease". I have successfully removed this disease from newly imported fish by using Spirohexol from JBL in the form of tablets. I have taken one tablet and crushed it and dissolve it in as little water as possible. I have then used discus granules which have been soaked in the solution. It becomes like a thick porridge after a short time when the food has drawn in the liquid. I then feed this to the sick fishes, after a week it looks like the sickness is gone. For the best possible effect do not feed with any other food. Flagyl (Metronidazole) also helps fight against this sickness but at least here in Sweden it is on prescription and can be a little difficult to come by.

Apart from this Clown loaches are not more susceptible than other fish, the above sickness usually occurs in fish that have been stressed during transport or subjected to other stress factors like cold water or poor aquarium hygiene. Do not buy fish that look emaciated! Well looked after fish are seldom sick. To quote my friend Elisabeth Hallberg; "the best way to avoid sickness is to keep the fish healthy".