Does my new clown have ich?

Coryloach

Potamotrygon
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Apr 22, 2015
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Hey guys. this is my first post here but I've been lurking for a long time and picking up free help.

I am a long time fish keeper although unfortunately still learning and getting it wrong every so often.

I bough myself a new clown loach recently, just a baby. I have never had to deal with ich and I've had fish on and off for 20 years. I have 6 other clown loaches which he will join one day.

When I got him, I "quarantined him in a small tank in which I had livebearer fry. Within 2 days the fry started flashing, so did the loach

Here is a video of the loach flashing....is this white spot? He'll start the "flashing" after the first minute of the video.

[video=youtube;I3QqmKW8z5s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3QqmKW8z5s[/video]
 

predatorkeeper87

Potamotrygon
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Sep 8, 2014
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wouldn't hurt to treat the tank anyhow. ParaGuard and salt, half doses of each since he's scaleless.
 

Coryloach

Potamotrygon
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Apr 22, 2015
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Hi predatorkeeper87.

Thank you for the quick reply.

I actually did already after that video. I did salt and heat, but just 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons and heat at 88F/31C for 6 days., in total about 8 days treatment. The clown and the platies didn't show stress but my cory fish that got purchased with the clown floated on the surface yesterday on its side so had to be dumped into another tank to try save him. It's not oxygen, I had it very well oxygenated and the tank is open top too.

My question is, should I have seen white spots during the treatment, even one at least? If the parasite attached, shouldn't it first grow to a visible stage and then drop off? I haven't seen any spots on the fish bar the flashing, before or after treatment. Could the flashing have been caused by something else?

Right now I've stopped the treatment and I did a water change with unsalted water yesterday and today, dropping the TDS by about 70ppm at a time, and dropping the temp down by about 2 degrees already.
 

Coryloach

Potamotrygon
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Apr 22, 2015
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It's my first time with whitespot. I've been very lucky over so many years. My other clown loaches were a purchase of a group of 5 only about 3 years ago. So I am not experienced with clown loaches in particular. They didn't get white spot. And then a year and a half ago I got a 6th one, which was a solitary kept loach someone returned to my local shop, who stayed there in a 10G tank all stressed out, being too big for it, so I got him. But neither brought white spot or any disease and have been very healthy.
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evabug1

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Mar 1, 2010
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Hi there Coryloach,

Looks like ich to me. The frequent flashing is the first indicator and later the white "salt like" grains will appear. Couple things you could try - you could raise your temp 1 degree per hour until your reach 88 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 weeks with lots of aeration created by bubblers, etc. or you could get some Esha Exit and treat according to directions from Amazon. It's a safe med for loaches. If you have Facebook I would recommend joining a few groups Clown Loach Lovers Worldwide (that's mine) ;), Just Clowns, and Clown Loach Fans.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=esha+exit&tag=googiehydra-21&index=aps&hvadid=27026131793&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13674036300166490867&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1ms1usmzpl_b
 

Coryloach

Potamotrygon
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Apr 22, 2015
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Hey, thank you. I will have a look at the loach groups:)

I did a treatment, although too short by what I am reading, just over a week as per my post above. I haven't seen white spots before, during and now after the treatment, just the flashing.
I forgot to mention. The tank has a UV sterilizer as well, which may have been helping. My question is, since they definitely were seen flashing, why wasn't there any white spots at all?
Could I have been/am dealing with a different alignment, flukes, other parasites?
Right now there's no flashing, no white spots. One platy flashed once yesterday and hasn't been seen doing it today. This platy has no white spots either. I've been watching like a hawk. Could it be water conditions? Ammonia being more toxic now at high temp, less oxygen content possibly crippling the bacteria, and high TDS...

The TDS started from around 300ppm pre-treatment(hard water) to about 800ppm at salt peak and stayed there at 31C/88C for nearly a week.
 

Coryloach

Potamotrygon
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Apr 22, 2015
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They are still in salt, right now the TDS after a couple of fresh water changes is at 645ppm so not over yet.
 

Coryloach

Potamotrygon
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Apr 22, 2015
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The amount of times I've seen him "flash" is twice for the entire period. I saw more from the platies within the first couple of days only from adding the clown and then it stopped, then one flashed last night which got me thinking.....

This is him right now. His colours and behaviour has been good from day 1, a really happy looking loach that introduced white spot I can't see. I am feeling really uncomfortable treating something I can't see and nearly killing a cory in the process.


[video=youtube;8NMLvrBgRJc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NMLvrBgRJc&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 

evabug1

Gambusia
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Mar 1, 2010
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Ok, sorry you posted in between and didn't see your comments. If you're going the salt and heat route you've got to do it for 2 weeks. The salinity level needs to reach 0.03%. That's 1 tsp per gallon. What kind of salt did you use? My water is liquid rock too lol.
 

evabug1

Gambusia
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Mar 1, 2010
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I didn't initially recommend salt because most people from the UK shriek in horror and insist it will kill loaches. I recommend you use treatments you're comfortable with.

Flukes do also cause flashing although I'd venture to say that would be a less likely cause. The UV could be masking the issue somewhat.
 
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