riskbreaker76

OK, so awhile back i posted about my 2 clown loaches being sick w/ ICH and then both eventually getting some sort of parasitic hole-in-the head disease. one of them was so bad that i took him back to my LFS so he could nurse him back to health...which he did. i picked him up again after 3 weeks and he was back to normal. the other less damaged loach, i kept in my tank. he got a bit worse but i followed the instruction of my LFS and took care of him and hope he pulled through. he did as well. even the scars have gone away on both fish. this was about one month ago.

the problem i had over the past few weeks is that the loach that i kept did not eat during the whole time he was fighting whatever illness he had. so now he looks emaciated and lost a bit of his color. good news is that he's eating just a tiny bit now but im still worried. the reason being is that the loach that my LFS nursed has almost doubled in size in the past month. he CONSTANTLY eats. so much so im starting to worry that my catfish doesnt get enough to eat anymore! it's crazy.

am i being paranoid? will my skinny loach eventually get back to eating and growing normally like the other one?

thanks!!

CHoffman

I'm so glad they both made it through the ordeal..Clown loaches are the cutest fish.
I think a couple more answers might further help members to help you. Do you know what your LFS did to treat your clown while he was in there care?? Do you know what illness he treated him for?? How did you treat your clown to get him better? Also do you know your water perimeters? ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. What is your clown loach eating and how many time a day...Soory for all the questions....lol.But hopefully this will let us know a little more about the situation so we can help you. That really says allot about your LFS that they would take a sick fish and treat it and nurse it back to health not any LFS would do that..I would say you have a GREAT LFS!!!

riskbreaker76

the guy at the LFS just told me that he just kept him in the quarantine "sick" tank that was salted regularly. he didnt use any medication or anything (he usually doesnt he says). i did similar. he told me it was "hole-in-the head". the fish looked like they had ulcers all over their head. my water quality at the time was not 100% perfect as there was a low amt of nitrites (the bad ones, i forget which). about 1 week after i dropped off the loach at the LFS, the one at home got worse, starting to get the same symptoms the other one had when i took him to the LFS. i checked my water and it was fine...zero nitrites and ammonia. nitrates were around 30. only thing that was noticed was that my pH was a bit low at 6.5 mostly due to the big driftwood in my tank. since then, i've been regularly been putting in ph+ and ph lock once a week to try to hold my ph at 7.0.
as for food, i feed them a variety of flakes, frozen bloodworms, pellets and the tiny thick flakes (?) that usually just sink to the bottom after 10 secs. i usually feed about 1-2 times a day. the fat loach just eats and eats and eats. the guy at the LFS told me that my thin loach wasnt eating for awhile because he was sick and to just give him time...which makes sense. im just concerned that he still doesnt eat as much and that he might STILL be sick w/ something considering he's not growing at all. he really got skinny...we're talking kate moss skinny...

i will try to take pics when i get home...

EDIT: yes, i love my LFS...the owner is a bit of a wackjob but he knows his stuff and is extremely nice. my loach was on the verge of death i tell you...always hiding, gasping for air, never eating. i went back once a week to check on the loach and practically saw him getting better. i was truly amazed. and now i am even MORE amazed because of how much he has grown since i got him back and also how much he eats!!

aquarist48

Good morning Riskbreaker.
Glad to hear that your Clown loaches have survived. Below are 2 links you may find helpful.
Clown Loach (Chromobotia macracanthus) — Loaches Online
Clown Loach Coloration & Marking Variations — Loaches Online

Too, I would like to recommend that you stop using all chemicals to adjust your pH levels. pH adjusters are too unstable and can even lead to a crash in your pH and loss of fish. Another link that is very helpful concerning pH below:
Properly Maintaining the pH in a Freshwater Aquarium - Rate My Fish Tank

Best wishes!
Ken

mathas

Clown loaches in particular are fairly susceptible to something called "skinny disease", which it sounds like you might possibly be facing. There are two possible causes; bacterial infection or internal worms/parasites.

If it's bacterial, any medication containing erythromycin (Maracyn, for example) would be effective. If it's parasitic, Levamisole Hydrochloride is supposed to be an effective solution.

Here are a couple of links worth reading:

http://www.geocities.com/pktechlizard/skinny.htm (good pictures here, to see if this is really what you're dealing with)
http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari...ydrochloride-1

Or you can search at http://forums.loaches.com/search.php for the word "skinny" and see what other people have had success with.

riskbreaker76

thanks. will try all that. worse comes to worse, i can always take him to my LFS again

riskbreaker76

thanks again to all the advice...
it looks like my skinny loach is on his way to recovery. after a 5 day treatment of maracyn one and some parasite clear, he seems to be more active and eating more. he doesnt hide as much as he used to and seems to be generally happier. i have been feeding bloodworms everyday to try to fatten him up and he looks to be getting his share as i see his belly bulging from each feeding. also after a week he looks to be a tad bit wider which im thinking is a good sign! now i just hope he starts to get his color back too. maybe he's not out of the woods yet but considering that my fat loach has already been through a rough time and back, this guy should have the fortitude to do the same

Edited by Ken