Unfortunately, one of my loaches is looking very sickly from "skinny disease". Ive tried doing my research but cant find any recent threads or threads with definite answers. Does anyone have any procedures to cure this? I have a hospital tank that I can put him in and treat with medicine. I just don't know what to use. I also read that due to the fact the loaches are scaleless fish you only use half the desired medicine. Can anyone please help me with this before I lose one of my beloved loaches.
URGENT: Loach with skinny disease
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Joined
·
1,074 Posts
From another forum...
skinny disease', is most likely an internal, Spironucleus type of infestation. This is prevalent on newly imported fish, especially those that are then kept in high concentrations.
The illness manifests itself as a constant loss of weight, regardless of how much food the fish accepts. At points they may have a full belly, but of a knifeback appearance whereby muscle is wasting away.
Any Levamisole-based treatment will cure this,
skinny disease', is most likely an internal, Spironucleus type of infestation. This is prevalent on newly imported fish, especially those that are then kept in high concentrations.
The illness manifests itself as a constant loss of weight, regardless of how much food the fish accepts. At points they may have a full belly, but of a knifeback appearance whereby muscle is wasting away.
Any Levamisole-based treatment will cure this,
Thanks for all the help, I know I need some levamisole but I cant find anywhere to buy it. For some reason the Angels Plus website won't let me purchase my order and Subaquaria.com will only accept paypal which I don't use. Does anyone have direct links to a good product? Also, any other comments on the prazipro product that bsantucci suggested?
If you are in a rural area there may be some in a feed store, it is used as a wormer for many farm animals. You can get a liquid (injectable) or bolus (large tablet) form.
I used the bolus, crushed it, and rolled it up in a coffee filter. Then stuck it in the filter. The active ingredient goes through the coffee filter, into the water.
This article was written several years ago, but the dosing is correct. Perhaps the sources are not.
Levamisole Hydrochloride ? Loaches Online
here is a source:
Levamisole, Flubendazole & other chemicals for the aquarium
I used the bolus, crushed it, and rolled it up in a coffee filter. Then stuck it in the filter. The active ingredient goes through the coffee filter, into the water.
This article was written several years ago, but the dosing is correct. Perhaps the sources are not.
Levamisole Hydrochloride ? Loaches Online
here is a source:
Levamisole, Flubendazole & other chemicals for the aquarium
Happen to be a clown loach?
Usual anti-parasitic meds are Praziquantel (found in Hikari PraziPro) and Metronidazole (Seachem MetroPlex/AquaZole).
There is Levimisole HCl (hydrochloride) and Fenbendazole, though those are considered more powerful dewormers. I haven't used those two personally so I don't know how well fish, plants and inverts tolerate it, but with stronger drugs, I usually consider them harsher on livestock as well. Again, I can't say that for a fact though as I haven't observed fish undergoing treatment with those meds. Sure land animals tolerate perfectly fine, but not so sure thats the same for fish. Could be completely wrong though.
So with that said, I usually prefer to use gentle meds as a first approach, since if a med is stronger, but harsher, it may induce enough stress on the fish to have it succumb. For this case, I would first try Metronidazole.
To give the fish the best chance, if he is still eating, try and overfeed the fish to give him as much nutrition as possible. If the fish isn't eating, then yes, treating the water column is necessary. I actually prefer to dose the water column since its more of a sure thing.
Note, a secondary round/course of treatment is often recommended to kill off baby parasites that may have hatched after initial treatment.
Usual anti-parasitic meds are Praziquantel (found in Hikari PraziPro) and Metronidazole (Seachem MetroPlex/AquaZole).
There is Levimisole HCl (hydrochloride) and Fenbendazole, though those are considered more powerful dewormers. I haven't used those two personally so I don't know how well fish, plants and inverts tolerate it, but with stronger drugs, I usually consider them harsher on livestock as well. Again, I can't say that for a fact though as I haven't observed fish undergoing treatment with those meds. Sure land animals tolerate perfectly fine, but not so sure thats the same for fish. Could be completely wrong though.
So with that said, I usually prefer to use gentle meds as a first approach, since if a med is stronger, but harsher, it may induce enough stress on the fish to have it succumb. For this case, I would first try Metronidazole.
To give the fish the best chance, if he is still eating, try and overfeed the fish to give him as much nutrition as possible. If the fish isn't eating, then yes, treating the water column is necessary. I actually prefer to dose the water column since its more of a sure thing.
Note, a secondary round/course of treatment is often recommended to kill off baby parasites that may have hatched after initial treatment.
I just ordered some prazipro to treat the tank. Next question, I have about 8 clown loaches, would it be better to treat them all in the large tank or set up a hospital tank for the infected individual? Due to the fact that loaches are social fish, I don't want to further stress a single fish with the solitude of a hospital tank.
1 - 8 of 8 Posts
Join the discussion
