clown loaches
- Thread starter fishman61
- Start date
It may have Camallanus Worms. Clown Loaches are known to carry them. They appear as red thread-like structures protruding from the anus. If this is the case treat the tank with proper medications that are not hazardous for Clown Loaches.
skinny disease it's an internal parasite and it's really hard to get rid of. I would euthanize that loach because I have tried every single aquatic parasite meds out there to no avail but there is a certain dewormer used for pigs that was succesfull go to loachesonline and search for skinny disease.
I used powdered Levamisole (pig dewormer) when my Convicts and Dempseys had Camallanus years ago. It is very strong and takes only a very small amount to medicate a large tank. I just don't know if it is safe for loaches. Plus this may not be your problem. Make sure you know what's wrong before you treat with any meds.pounder;4809844;4809844 said:
Gruff Master;4809877; said:
It is 99.9% likely an internal parasite problem. Levamisole is safe for loaches. Praziquantel is also good. You should really soak the food in the stuff as well add it to the water. There's a whole sticky about it on the loaches forum here.
Luckily for you (unluckily for me!) I am very well versed with this particular malady.
Levamisole is a pig dewormer, and paralyzes the worms. Very effective, but you have to have a very rigorous treatment schedule, and do it multiple times in order to effectively rid your tank. You also have to do 100% water changes, and vacuum out all the worms before the fish can eat them again. I had a planted tank that was infected, the first treatment I completely ripped everything up and started from scratch, and it still did not work, and the tank still had problems. It's easier with barebottom tanks, but still I prefer another method.
If one fish has it, THEY ALL DO, whether the others are being heavily effected or not, you need to treat the whole tank and all of its inhabitants.
Praziquantel DOES NOT WORK against these bastards, so no use wasting your money.
Finally, there is Fenbendazole. It is sold as a dog dewormer at most feed stores, and even some Petsmarts carry it. The trade names are Safe Guard, and it's also sold under the name Panacur. This is what I recommend.
Crush up the granules into a very fine powder. Add this powder to some homemade gelfood. I used oysters, garlic, mackerel, sardines and kale. The oysters and garlic cover up the bad taste of the medication, and your fish want to eat it.
*Feed this once per day, for three days in a row.
*Repeat this in 10 days, fed once per day, 3 days in a row
You will also want to crush it into a powder and add it to the tank's water, since fenbendazole not only kills adult worms but also the eggs and live larva that are expelled into the tank (which is why if one fish has it, they all do.)
Fenbendazole is safe for cherry shrimp, and most snails. The only thing I have read is that nerite snails are poisoned by this, but snails are an intermediate host, and they have to be treated regardless.
Levamisole is a pig dewormer, and paralyzes the worms. Very effective, but you have to have a very rigorous treatment schedule, and do it multiple times in order to effectively rid your tank. You also have to do 100% water changes, and vacuum out all the worms before the fish can eat them again. I had a planted tank that was infected, the first treatment I completely ripped everything up and started from scratch, and it still did not work, and the tank still had problems. It's easier with barebottom tanks, but still I prefer another method.
If one fish has it, THEY ALL DO, whether the others are being heavily effected or not, you need to treat the whole tank and all of its inhabitants.
Praziquantel DOES NOT WORK against these bastards, so no use wasting your money.
Finally, there is Fenbendazole. It is sold as a dog dewormer at most feed stores, and even some Petsmarts carry it. The trade names are Safe Guard, and it's also sold under the name Panacur. This is what I recommend.
Crush up the granules into a very fine powder. Add this powder to some homemade gelfood. I used oysters, garlic, mackerel, sardines and kale. The oysters and garlic cover up the bad taste of the medication, and your fish want to eat it.
*Feed this once per day, for three days in a row.
*Repeat this in 10 days, fed once per day, 3 days in a row
You will also want to crush it into a powder and add it to the tank's water, since fenbendazole not only kills adult worms but also the eggs and live larva that are expelled into the tank (which is why if one fish has it, they all do.)
Fenbendazole is safe for cherry shrimp, and most snails. The only thing I have read is that nerite snails are poisoned by this, but snails are an intermediate host, and they have to be treated regardless.
Nerites are very sensitive to any meds actually. I lost my collection of nerites to praziquantel alone. O.O
Making gel food is not really an exact science. But I can give you my recipe I used, and you can make appropriate adjustments as you see fit. This will make more gelfood than you need for the medication, but you can put the extra in a cookie sheet, in the fridge, then in the freezer to use at another time. All of my fish eat it, other than the stubborn bichir. Cut it into squares after it's "set" in the fridge, and lay it on the cookie sheet or some other flat surface so the pieces are not touching. Use saran wrap in between the layers, so when they freeze, they won't stick together and you can pull them apart.
You will need a scale that can measure mgs and also grams. The dosage for the Fenbendazole is x mgs of medicine = x grams of food. i.e. 100mgs Fen = 100grams of gelfood
What you will need for gel food is these ingredients:
*one can of sardines (in water)
*one can of mackerel (in water)
*one can of oysters (mine came in cottonseed oil, you can use it too, but drain all of the oil away, no need to rinse)
*one bunch of kale (type of leafy green in produce section)
*one half zucchini (you can freeze the other half for another batch of gelfood)
*one clove of garlic (if the clove is rather large, use half of one clove)
*three packages of plain, unflavored gelatin (the brand I buy is Knox, and comes in packs of four, if you find another type of gelatin that does not come in small packs, use three teaspoons of the gelatin powder)
*one men's daily multivitamin ground into fine powder
*one acidophilis(spelling?) tablet also ground into a fine powder(it's a probiotic sold in the vitamin section, also called Lactobacilis)
You will also need a mortar and pestle. (bowl and grinder thing that old school pharmacists use, I got mine at an herb shop) I use it any time I make gelfood, so it was worth the expense for me. You can make regular gelfood to feed your fish on a regular basis, if you want, it's more nutritious than pellets.
Depending on the type of fish you have dictates how much vegetable matter you put in the food. If you have predators, then you only use a small amount of vegetables. I feed my tropical fish gelfood with 2 parts fish, one part vegetables.
Anyway, after you have all of your pills crushed, you blend everything together until it's like a paste/thick liquid. You put about half cup of water in a small sauce pan, and heat the gelatin while stirring. Don't let it quite come to a boil, that will make it lumpy, but you want it hot enough to "steam" a little. You add and incorporate the gelatin mixture into your gelfood stuffs. Make sure you get it evenly distributed so it will set correctly in the fridge (or else you will get some harder parts, and some soft parts that fall apart in the water.)
Again:The dosage for the Fenbendazole is x mgs of medicine = x grams of food. i.e. 100mgs Fen = 100grams of gelfood
You will feed this food 2x per day for three days in a row (I know I said 1time per day, that was a mistake, Mods can you please edit it, if you have the ability?)
I used an ice cube tray, spooned the mixture into the ice cube tray, let it set in the fridge for a few hours, then in the freezer overnight. Once it's completely frozen, you can pop out the cubes, store them in a baggy in the freezer for future use. Thaw out one cube for use, cutting it into bite size pieces for each fish. Make sure there is enough for every fish to eat.
I'll also post later on how much fenbendazole to add to the tank per gallon, I just don't remember right now.
You will need a scale that can measure mgs and also grams. The dosage for the Fenbendazole is x mgs of medicine = x grams of food. i.e. 100mgs Fen = 100grams of gelfood
What you will need for gel food is these ingredients:
*one can of sardines (in water)
*one can of mackerel (in water)
*one can of oysters (mine came in cottonseed oil, you can use it too, but drain all of the oil away, no need to rinse)
*one bunch of kale (type of leafy green in produce section)
*one half zucchini (you can freeze the other half for another batch of gelfood)
*one clove of garlic (if the clove is rather large, use half of one clove)
*three packages of plain, unflavored gelatin (the brand I buy is Knox, and comes in packs of four, if you find another type of gelatin that does not come in small packs, use three teaspoons of the gelatin powder)
*one men's daily multivitamin ground into fine powder
*one acidophilis(spelling?) tablet also ground into a fine powder(it's a probiotic sold in the vitamin section, also called Lactobacilis)
You will also need a mortar and pestle. (bowl and grinder thing that old school pharmacists use, I got mine at an herb shop) I use it any time I make gelfood, so it was worth the expense for me. You can make regular gelfood to feed your fish on a regular basis, if you want, it's more nutritious than pellets.
Depending on the type of fish you have dictates how much vegetable matter you put in the food. If you have predators, then you only use a small amount of vegetables. I feed my tropical fish gelfood with 2 parts fish, one part vegetables.
Anyway, after you have all of your pills crushed, you blend everything together until it's like a paste/thick liquid. You put about half cup of water in a small sauce pan, and heat the gelatin while stirring. Don't let it quite come to a boil, that will make it lumpy, but you want it hot enough to "steam" a little. You add and incorporate the gelatin mixture into your gelfood stuffs. Make sure you get it evenly distributed so it will set correctly in the fridge (or else you will get some harder parts, and some soft parts that fall apart in the water.)
Again:The dosage for the Fenbendazole is x mgs of medicine = x grams of food. i.e. 100mgs Fen = 100grams of gelfood
You will feed this food 2x per day for three days in a row (I know I said 1time per day, that was a mistake, Mods can you please edit it, if you have the ability?)
I used an ice cube tray, spooned the mixture into the ice cube tray, let it set in the fridge for a few hours, then in the freezer overnight. Once it's completely frozen, you can pop out the cubes, store them in a baggy in the freezer for future use. Thaw out one cube for use, cutting it into bite size pieces for each fish. Make sure there is enough for every fish to eat.
I'll also post later on how much fenbendazole to add to the tank per gallon, I just don't remember right now.