Help with sickly weather loach?

Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? 40 gallons

How long has the tank been running? about 3 months

Does it have a filter? yes

Does it have a heater? no

What is the water temperature? 70 F

What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) 3 dojo loaches, 6 mosquitofish, 4 guppies, a handful of malaysian trumpet snails

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? once a week

How much of the water do you change? usually around 15%, though occasionally I'll do 25

What do you use to treat your water? imagitarium dechlorinator

Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I vacuum weekly and spot clean with a turkey baster as needed

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? yes

What do you use to test the water? api master test

What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10 (today is water changing day though)
pH: ~7.6

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 2x daily

How much do you feed your fish? a sliver off of a frozen block

What brand of food do you feed your fish? San Francisco bay

Do you feed frozen? yes

Do you feed freeze-dried foods? no

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? 3 months

How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? it's been slow, but maybe 2 weeks ago

In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? the loach has slowly become more 'lethargic', not really laying around, just slower to come for feeding time. though once he gets there he's plenty active and seems healthy. he's also always been slightly skinnier than the other loaches, but it's never really been too concerning as his activity levels are high

Have you started any treatment for the illness? no

Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? I don't think so

How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? as above

Alongside what I described above, I noticed he had a chunk taken out of his tail yesterday. I managed to get pictures of that, though I'm still trying to get a good full-body photo. The mosquitofish are a bit nippy towards each other and the guppys, but they have never given the loaches a problem before.


the behavior in the photo is normal, all of my loaches will tangle themselves in the water lettuce roots occasionally

 

You only feed them frozen foods? What kind of frozen?

Frozen food typically does not have all the nutrients fish need, the prepared foods for fish are typically designed to get them everything they need. I would suggest feeding the bottom feeders some Xtreme Bottom Wafers.

 

I rotate between bloodworms, spirulina brine shrimp, a mix of other frozen critters, and one similar to the spirulina brine shrimp but with some other things in it that I cannot identify. I thought that the variety would provide enough for them. I forgot to mention in my first post that I have recently started giving them a piece of a bug bites algae wafer at feeding times as well. Should I feed frozen less often?

 

I know that they are carnivores, but I worry that you could be over feeding since it is all protein. And they dont get as much exercise as they would in the wild. Maybe consider a little less meat and instead add vegies to their diet like blanched or steamed or frozen then unthawed cucumber, zuchini, yam, grean beans...

 

I would say lift your tank temperature and do something to lower your pH, what is the nitrate reading usually?

 

No improvements today, but he's not gotten worse either. I gave the loaches half an algae wafer (they're a bit large) alongside the frozen food. The loach in question (named conduit, sort of a joke between my partner and I as he's like flexible conduit) hasn't shown as immediate interest in food as he normally does

You only feed them frozen foods? What kind of frozen?

Frozen food typically does not have all the nutrients fish need, the prepared foods for fish are typically designed to get them everything they need. I would suggest feeding the bottom feeders some Xtreme Bottom Wafers.

I scanned the ingredients of the stuff I give them, I rotate which one they get each feeding

I know that they are carnivores, but I worry that you could be over feeding since it is all protein. And they dont get as much exercise as they would in the wild. Maybe consider a little less meat and instead add vegies to their diet like blanched or steamed or frozen then unthawed cucumber, zuchini, yam, grean beans...

Sounds like a plan. I've given them zucchini in the past and they were mildly interested in it. I have a can of steamed green beans packed in water... would those work? no one in my household really uses them

I would say lift your tank temperature and do something to lower your pH, what is the nitrate reading usually?

Lift the tempurature? I was under the impression that weather loaches did best in water slightly cooler than this, in the 68F range or so. The nitrate reading is usually 10-20, I forgot to clarify that that was the reading before I changed the water. Do you think that adding more driftwood would help? I really don't want to be throwing chemicals in there all the time

 

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Itiwhetu may reply and explain his/her suggestions, I am not sayin that they are wrong, But intil then I suggest that you just keep the temp were it is, and just make sure that it dosnt sink more then a few degees at night, and as the weather continues to get cold this winter.
Your ph is a little high for dojos, but I think that they will have adjusted by now and this should no longer be an issue. adding ph changing chemicals creates unstable ph levels which are worse than having ph levels that are a little less then perfect. I dont see how driftwood would help, If anything, i would buy indian almond leaves.

 

The temperature tends to stay even at night, I've been keeping a close eye on it as it gets colder outside. I was under the impression that driftwood does the same thing as the almond leaves, just a bit more slowly

 

I have had driftwood in my tank for 10 years and it never lowered my ph one bit, and a few others on this sight have said the same. If you have a pleco, you should have driftwood.

There are a lot of benifits listed listed about indian almond leaves that i can not confirm or deni as i have never used them, and i don't want to just randomly copy and paste something from google. But it seems like they would be good for your fish tank, And i would try them before adding more of what you already have.

 

Since you don't want to use any chemicals as of now, which I can absolutely relate to, my first step usually is adding some tannins in the form of catappa leaves and alder cones to the water. That often is enough to kickstart the healing, worst case they do nothing.

 

Very simply the reason I say raise the Temperature is because the average room temperature is above 20 degrees C and the average fish room temperature is above 20 degrees C. The easiest way to alter pH is to make sure you have a neutral natural gravel substrate, plant the tank, don't over water change it (25% weekly)and don't vacuum.

 

I have had driftwood in my tank for 10 years and it never lowered my ph one bit, and a few others on this sight have said the same. If you have a pleco, you should have driftwood.

There are a lot of benifits listed listed about indian almond leaves that i can not confirm or deni as i have never used them, and i don't want to just randomly copy and paste something from google. But it seems like they would be good for your fish tank, And i would try them before adding more of what you already have.

Since you don't want to use any chemicals as of now, which I can absolutely relate to, my first step usually is adding some tannins in the form of catappa leaves and alder cones to the water. That often is enough to kickstart the healing, worst case they do nothing.

I'll probably add some botanicals to this tank then. I've got some that I've been slowly adding to my betta tank.

 

He didn't show up at feeding time today, and I found him wedged behind the sponge intake cover. Usually isn't a cause for concern but I detected no gill movement. I moved the filter and he moved slightly, what should I do?

I'm really afraid to lose him, and I've been worried about him for a bit. He ate a bit last night but wasn't as active as he usually is. He doesn't appear red or injured at all, nothing wrong with his vent or gills. He's just skinny as I mentioned before. please help!


EDIT: He moved around a bit and I got a photo of him. of course he settled in the dirtiest part of the tank

 

He is clamping his fins so there is definitely something wrong. Is it me or does the tail fin look pretty damaged with a white edge?

That might be fin rot or columnaris then, both bacterial. Do you see any white spots around his mouth?

Since I'm not familar with the treatment options and general treatment where you live, someone else needs to chime in, sorry.

What's internationally the same is, that catappa leaves help. I would add some rather sooner than later.

 

He is clamping his fins so there is definitely something wrong. Is it me or does the tail fin look pretty damaged with a white edge?

That might be fin rot or columnaris then, both bacterial. Do you see any white spots around his mouth?

Since I'm not familar with the treatment options and general treatment where you live, someone else needs to chime in, sorry.

What's internationally the same is, that catappa leaves help. I would add some rather sooner than later.

I need to take a closer look at his tail, but in the photo it's somewhat backlit, I didn't notice a particular whiteness when I was taking the photo (I wasn't specifically looking for it either). I don't see any white near his mouth. I just looked for him, and he's hidden again in a very hard-to-get-to spot so I wasn't able to see anything new. I'll make a post as soon as I can get a better look. Do oak leaves work as well as the capatta? I'll be able to pick some capatta leaves up tomorrow but I have oak leaves on hand

also another quick edit: still none of the other fish seem ill at all, even the other loaches.

 

Not as effective as catappas but definitely better than nothing.

 

Just out of interest, how old is this guy?

 

Not as effective as catappas but definitely better than nothing.

thanks, I'll get some in there until I can get capatta tomorrow

Just out of interest, how old is this guy?

I'm honestly not sure. I've had him the entire time my tank's been cycled (so ~3 months) and he has grown a bit. definitely wasn't tiny when I got him

 

another update: I made sure to hand-feed him last night and this morning, I was worried about him not getting enough food. tonight's feeding he seemed slightly more lively, I got a closer look and I think he's got a small bit of finrot. I don't have a very experienced eye, and his fins are already sort of light in color so it's admittedly a little hard to tell. I added some capatta tea bags, and I'm currently soaking some leaves to put in there so they won't float

 

I don't really have the space/resources for a quarantine tank right now, would it be a good idea to put him in a breeder box so I can monitor his food intake easier? The only reason I hesitate is because of the size. He's about 4 inches long, and the breeder box is 5 x 7 inches. I'd definitely fill it with some sort of plant cover so he wouldn't be too freaked out

EDIT: I ended up putting him in the box, at least for a little. I managed to get a good picture of him from above as I was transferring him. in the box with him are several ial and one capatta 'tea bag', along with some water lettuce for light cover/security

 

I was going to say, it is not a good idea in my opinion. Let us know how it goes!

 

Don't you think he will now be really stressed and wondering what is going to happen to me next?

 

Should I remove him then? I did consider stress but I'm very worried about him getting food

 

I think you are the only one who can make that decision. I have been in the same boat. I even cunstructed a large breader/ isolation net box out of plastic canvis for a fish.
I would probablygive him a good meal and put him backin the main tank, but like I said, im not right there with all of the ins and outs. You can add little extra sinking food and with the slow disolve nature of them he should get to them. You might even try rapashy community fish formula, If you do add extra foods, do not add too much extra foods, and asls o add extra water changes and water tests.

 

sorry for the lack of updates, I got covid and have been feeling pretty under the weather. I ended up taking him out from the breeder box the next day. He did get fed well while he was in there though. Unfortunately he passed away either this morning or late last night... I'm pretty bummed about it.

And I'm still sort of unsure about the cause, I'm not *super* worried about my other loaches since they both seem thick, active, and healthy. I guess if I notice either of the others looking poor I'll ask on here right away

 

HELP--- Now my golden weather loach is showing the same symptoms. I've had a bunch of botanicals in the tank, and have been doing 2x weekly water changes... and now my golden loach is seeming ill. he's been sitting in the same spot for quite a while and exhibiting similar symptoms as my other one. I really don't want another loss. What do I do?

 

ANY outer symptoms? Any white or milky spots? Look as close and as thoroughly as you can.

 

ANY outer symptoms? Any white or milky spots? Look as close and as thoroughly as you can.

not that I can see. His color seems fine, eyes clear, gills look fine but since he's so light in color they always look slightly redder than normal. I'll keep looking for outwards symptoms. His tail got nipped by the mosquitofish which is worrying, I think it's because of how lethargic he's been. I usually don't have problems with them nipping the loaches. do you think it could be an internal parasite?

 

Did the one that died lose a lot of weight? If yes it might be parasites.

I still wouldn't rule out columnaris though...is the new one also clamping its fins?

 

The other one did lose a bunch of weight, yes. The golden loach's fins are clamped

 

Any chance you can see the feces? Are they white / transparent?

 

I've honestly never seen my loach's feces. I've looked a bit into columnaris again, and I'm starting to think that that's what it might be.

 

just an update: I decided to start treatment with maracyn oxy. just now added it to the tank