One of my loaches is horrifically skinny right now even though he is still eating. It appears to fall into the catagory of "skinny disease" from what I've seen online. I think he has a parasite because all of his behavior is totally normal. Still an active swimmer and eater, even though I can see the outline of his skull and spine. It's very sad and I believe he's too far gone to save (I don't have a QT tank to use currently and don't want to medicate everybody because the rest of the loaches are fat and happy). My question is, is it necessary for me to pull the fish and put him down to keep the others safe, or can I leave him in there and let nature take it's course? I would prefer not to kill my loach, but my sensibilities are less important to me than the health of the other 4.
Do Loach parasites spread?
- Thread starter Life Liberty Cichlids
- Start date
First off, yes, most parasites can indeed spread to other tank inhabitants. But before you snuff the life out of your little loach there are a couple simple, very safe options to try. Prazipro, which is a very safe medication used for treating tapeworms and flukes, and NLS Hex-Shield, which will clean the fish out if it has IP's such as Spironucleus aka Hexamita. In fact, at this point all of your fish have probably been exposed, so best to treat the entire tank.
I had a cl with yo yos, red tail sharks and angels. The clown stopped eating one day and I came home and found it dead the day after. I didn't take any of the other fish out just did regular water changes and they were all fine and haven't had anymore problems. Hope this helps