Yoyo Loach With Blood Red Face

My yoyo loach has something going on and I can't figure it out. His gills, face and under his jawline is bright red and it was mentioned that it could be ammonia poisoning but my water parameters are 0ammonia 0 nitrites 5ppm nitrates and I do large water changes of 50-70% weekly as my yoyos are in with discus. I also just treated my tank for parasites 3 weeks ago and have had no other issues besides my one yoyo and his bright red face. He eats normally and swims back and fourth on the front of the glass like he's done since I brought in home 6months ago. Please help me solve this issue

 

The only reason I noticed how bad it really is, is because I just swapped tanks to grow out my discus in a bare bottom tank. And the reflection let's me check underneath them as they don't stay still very long.

 

Poor loach, that looks nasty.
Diseases & meds aren't my forte but CindiL may be able to advise you.

 

Poor loach, that looks nasty.
Diseases & meds aren't my forte but CindiL may be able to advise you.

Thank you Coradee

 

Is the little guy acting any different? Is he breathing any heavier than the others? Having redness around the head isn't a good thing, especially when it's by the gills. Maybe he's just embarrassed I can't say I'm too familiar with that loach species so I don't know how much I'll be of help.

I can't think of anything other than high ammonia and nitrate/nitrite levels, but then the other fish would be showing signs too. Maybe his gills are irritated from the sand, but that seems odd because loaches are meant to sift through the sand. Maybe look into parasites that would effect the gills, such as flukes?

 

He acts completely normal no changes with him at all still eats, swims no heavy breathing I haven't seen him run into anything. And I just recently treated for everything because my lovely husband keeps bring home catfish!! I have like 5 different catfish. My water parameters are perfect 0ammonia 0nitrite 5ppm nitrates I do large WC because there in with discus and they need super clean water and my pH reads 7.4 on the high range pH.

If it was flukes wouldn't the other fish have them too?

What about doing a paraguard dip for an hour or longer if he shows no signs of stress?

 

Hi, I have never seen that before.....How long has it been like this for? Has it spread?

I find myself thinking bacterial though, not parasitic. What medicine did you use a few weeks back? you mentioned you treated for parasites awhile ago.

You could try some medicated one hour baths with double strength meds. I'd probably suggest something that will treat a variety of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Perhaps Triple Sulfa or Seachem Polyguard which has both sulfa and furanol in it as well as a couple of anti-parasitic meds all pre-mixed together. Its a good medicine to try when you don't know what's wrong (at least in my case I don't know what's wrong with him).

I'll tag Sarcasm Included and DoubleDutch, maybe they've seen this before.

 

Looks like a rash more than an infection. Yoyo loaches can be very sensitive to Malachite green. He should heal on his own but sulfite meds reduce toxicity of malachite green. I suggest treating him for a few days and if you ever need to treat for parasites again, add triple sulfa to the regiment.

Just FYI now that I can type again. Yoyos blush during mating season as well, but it is much smaller area around the barbels. The intensity suggests that irritation more than damage.

 

Here are much better pictures now that my husband is home and has a good camera on his phone. I used paraguard for a previous treatment. I'm doing a paraguard dip right now for and hour like the bottle says. These pictures are of both sides of his face

 

He's not doing so well he keeps laying on his side I only did the dip of 20mins. I don't think he's going to make it through the night. But I sure hope he does.

 

Woke up this morning to my little guy dead. And still don't know what was wrong with him. I'm hoping the newer pictures I posted last night will be able to help you guys maybe for future references. I'm thinking he had a head trauma and somehow it ended up infected. When I placed him in my hand his gills and face was very swollen definitely didn't look it in the pictures or thru the glass.

 

So sorry for your loss.

 

So sorry for your loss.

Thank you Brian, he was my little buddy every time I placed my hand in the tank he would rest in my hand unless I had food.

 

Aw that is sweet. I'd love a YoYo, unfortunately I'm on a singe tank diet.

 

Hahaha yeah I forgot what a single tank diet was. I have 3 and a hospital tank.

 

Wow, I'm so sorry he died
Based on those pics I would guess septicemia, the way the veins are so obvious there in the pics, you would want to treat with antibiotics if you see anyone else start showing any signs at all.

I'd have some on hand. Do you have any antibiotics in your fishy medicine cabinet?

 

I have paraguard , genural cure but I can get capsules of fishmox and others like it. What do you suggest as an antibiotic? And what is septicemia? I've never heard of it.

 

I believe fishmox is ampicillin so in the tetracycline family of medicines? not sure but if it is wouldn't be my first choice.

I'd opt for Seachem Kanaplex (or kanamycin) which is a strong antibiotic that treats a variety of gram negative bacterial infections.

I might be wrong about it being septicemia but it does look like it was bacterial. I am kind of thinking that because of the redness of the veins and face like it is a blood infection.

 

Septicemia is general term for blood poisoning. It can be bacterial or viral, think of it like gangrene.

 

Septicemia is general term for blood poisoning. It can be bacterial or viral, think of it like gangrene.

Would it be contagious to others cause I know for gangrene everyone who enters a room is fully wrapped up to protect themselves.?

 

It depends on whether or not it was viral or bacterial. If you didn't introduce any new fish recently (I can't remember) then it was probably bacterial and hopefully will not be passed on.

How long was his face red for?

 

A few weeks. And here's what my husband pulled out of the yoyo as he explores our dead fish whenever they die off. It looks like some kind of worm but kind of like a tiny chicken vein too.

 

That depends on whether its bacterial or viral.

You had mentioned you did a paraguard dip. Did you know paraguard is malachite green? It could've also been a reaction or sensitivity to the paraguard like Sarcasm Included mentioned.

Keep that in mind with any of the others.

 

Yeah I didn't know that until after I did it