I can't treat my schools with the kuhli loaches!

In my ignorance I accepted two kuhli loaches with a tank I bought, oh! but to have put them in their own tank when I had them in a bucket with only a few inches of water and no substrate! Anyway, I have them in a 33 gal. hex tall with schooling fish. After much research, I realized I'm stuck. I can't treat my schooling fish without hurting the loaches. I can't catch the loaches unless I drain the tank, newly cycled one month old with a lot of work! Why do they let people buy loaches to put in community tanks!!! There should be a BEWARE sign. I have no where to put the schooling fish. I have no room for another tank. There is hot debate on aquarium salt - even 1/2 dose. Is there a secret to catching these cute slithery fast and furious fish? What should I do???

 

What illness are you wanting to medicate?

 

bacteria? parasites? Not sure yet. I have a HR that is very bloated and isolating herself. I have a neon that won't come out of her barrel to eat, but she doesn't look like anything is wrong. Color is good. I'd like to do general cure or aquariums salt. I can't catch the HR or the neon because they all look alike when I'm trying to catch one. The tall hex is really hard to see, even with two people. I would not get a tall tank again unless I was going to put two or three largish fish that I could catch easily. sigh...

 

bacteria? parasites? Not sure yet. I have a HR that is very bloated and isolating herself. I have a neon that won't come out of her barrel to eat, but she doesn't look like anything is wrong. Color is good. I'd like to do general cure or aquariums salt. I can't catch the HR or the neon because they all look alike when I'm trying to catch one. The tall hex is really hard to see, even with two people. I would not get a tall tank again unless I was going to put two or three largish fish that I could catch easily. sigh...

Unless you’re loaches are unhealthy I don’t really see why you can’t treat the tank. Mine have been treated for parasites, I’ve used salt for them, and at one point I think I put a bacterial med in the tank. I still have my original three with me. They also got to a deceased bloodfin tetra that had mouth rot before I did and they never caught mouth rot.

But they are a pain to catch. I was replacing my 55 because of a leak and it probably took me an hour just to catch them.

Edit: about the disease- what are your water parameters? Full stocking? Right now it sounds like two separate issues, the HR (what does that stand for?) sounds like it has been overfed or has some internal issue. But I wouldn’t treat for parasites yet, if you asked me I would say this was either bacterial or parasitical. Right now you could add in Indian almond leaves (will discolor water with tannins. Completely normal) to help combat a possible bacterial infection and if that doesn’t work move onto parasites.

 

Not a good idea to blindly medicate. Until you positively identify the disease. Best to just up the WC's & concentrate on providing the best possible environment.

 

Unless you’re loaches are unhealthy I don’t really see why you can’t treat the tank. Mine have been treated for parasites, I’ve used salt for them, and at one point I think I put a bacterial med in the tank. I still have my original three with me. They also got to a deceased bloodfin tetra that had mouth rot before I did and they never caught mouth rot.

But they are a pain to catch. I was replacing my 55 because of a leak and it probably took me an hour just to catch them.

Edit: about the disease- what are your water parameters? Full stocking? Right now it sounds like two separate issues, the HR (what does that stand for?) sounds like it has been overfed or has some internal issue. But I wouldn’t treat for parasites yet, if you asked me I would say this was either bacterial or parasitical. Right now you could add in Indian almond leaves (will discolor water with tannins. Completely normal) to help combat a possible bacterial infection and if that doesn’t work move onto parasites.

HR stands for Harequin rasboras. I'll have to research almond leaves. I have no idea how many in that size of tank. Almond leaves are OK for loaches right?

 

HR stands for Harequin rasboras. I'll have to research almond leaves. I have no idea how many in that size of tank. Almond leaves are OK for loaches right?

Just treat the loaches like any other fish. If your rasboras can handle it then so can the loaches, they really aren’t as sensitive as a lot of people say they are.

 

Just treat the loaches like any other fish. If your rasboras can handle it then so can the loaches, they really aren’t as sensitive as a lot of people say they are.

Wow! Okay. Thanks!

 

IMO kuhlis are one of the hardiest fish in the hobby. Once one jumped into a bucket that had no water, just wet on the bottom. It was in there for TWO DAYS, and it LIVED. I still have him. His name is Cookie.