JoJo

I have 2 clown loaches and they are both very active but on has a bloated tummy, could it be pregnant or could it be a parasite?

Butterfly

What are the water test parameters(ammonia, Nitrites, and nitrates.) and size of tank? How big are they and how long has the one been bloated looking?
This will help us determine whether the Loaches are sick or just fat.
Carol

JoJo

29 gallon they are about 2 and a half inches long

nitrate 20

nitrite 0

hardness Soft

chlorine 0

alkalinity moderate

pH 7.2

Butterfly

everything looks good so far. How about your ammonia reading? Do you have live plants to use the Nitrates up? How long has it been bloated?
That's an awful lot of fish for a 29g. Clown Loaches alone need to be in a 75G tank as they get really big when the water conditions and tank size are right Heres some good information and cool pics of clown Loaches http://www.loaches.com/species-index...a-macracanthus
Carol

JoJo

you dont want to know how many fish I got in this tank it would give you a heart attack, The pet store owner sold them to me a long time ago he told me to definetly buy 2, I dont have any live plants, I think its been bloated for a month or so, it gets bigger

JoJo

I dont think I have a ammonia test kit

sirdarksol

It's possible that it's a parasite. With how overstocked your tank is, your fish are likely very stressed, which in turn makes them more susceptible to illnesses and parasites.
Does the pudgy loach have white or clear, stringy poo? If so, it's likely to be parasites. If not, that doesn't rule parasites out, but makes it less likely.

Butterfly

Clown Loaches are very sensitive to water quality and being over crowded. Stress alone can make fish sick.
If you don't have live plants the Nitrates are a little high. These can be lowered with water changes as I'm sure you know.
You've got some really cool fish in that tank and you've done well to keep them healthy for this long (congrats) but I'm afraid the stress and illness is going to start showing up.
Here is a link to a sticky in the beginners forum(with a link in the first post ) discussing overcrowding. Why can't I have more fish.....
do you have any recent pictures of your Clowns?
Oh by the way I don't think I got a chance to say "Welcome to FishLore "
Carol

JoJo

yea my friends started bying me fish when I didnt know it, I look in my tank and say "jeez guys seriously, do you think I like doing water changes every 2 weeks"

JoJo

no the poo looks fine, I just fed them and they seem to bloat after feeding time, I mean the fish act very normal and active, lots of hiding places to keep stress down, but as far as overstocking, nobody that I know want the hassle of taking care of fish, Its the bigger fish I would like to get rid of except my 2 plecos I had them for ages, I got rid of one of them once and the other one in my tank went nuts and started attacking everything and knocking stuff over, but I asked my friend for it back and as soon as I put it back in my tank everything was fine...kinda wierd. I almost felt like putting a padlock on my tank to keep people from throwing fish in there, I found a betta in there one day needless to say the friend who put that in there got it back in a nicely decorated large beer pitcher, still alive to this day that was about a year ago. the equipment I have in my tank are made for bigger tanks, pretty much so I can upgrade but came in handy when all these fish came to find a home in my tank

Butterfly

If the poo is fine and they are bloating after feeding time this leads me to believe maybe they are eating too much. what are they eating?
Maybe the fish store would trade you dry goods for some of the larger fish because you are seriously overstocked.
Carol