Transporting clowns without sickness?

[CoryWM]

Every time I move a clown loach it seems, even tank to tank, it comes down with ick. Or at least more than I'd like. When i order them in at work, 50% of the time they develop ick. Once they make it through the transport ick. I can keep them at home and work for years. This happens in lots of different tanks. Even after I've dosed the tank for 2 weeks + with anti ick stuff, and had the temp around 100. to make sure it was gone. Even taking a clown loach from work to home, that has been ick free for 6+ months to home, it'll get ick..

Now, getting them home, into quaranteen, then treating them, they can live in that tank for months just fine. Moving them to a main tank, again theres that chance they develop ick.

To the people who are collecting clown loaches, do you guy's pretreat for ick, and hows your experiences moving them from place to place. I also have customers that are having the same problem. This is also happening for me and them, when buying clown loaches from different stores as well.

Maybe I just have bad luck? Or is it that they just get so stressed, their immune system drops?

 

[Lupin]

Pretreat? No. I do not advise on using preventive meds until the actual symptoms appear. I have never had that issue. Ich generally appears from unquarantined specimens and will strike a host when they sense it weakening due to stress and weak immune system.

What is this med that you are using?

 

[CoryWM]

I treat them with hikari's Ick-X. Have very good results with it. I'd rather just avoid having to use it all together.

I also only seem to have problems with clowns 1.75 inches and under, and random larger 4-6 inch that i buy from various stores.(suspecting that they're traded in due to outgrowing tank conditions etc.

The 3 inch ones seem to do just fine.

 

[Lupin]

The smaller ones tend to be very weak which is why most of the stocks at that size tend to be skinny and stressed. They require frequent feedings and water changes. It's possible, of course, the larger ones were kept in cramped conditions which could have stressed them.

I find it strange your tanks have ich all the time whenever a clown loach is introduced. Does your shop quarantine the new stocks before putting them with the old stocks? What is the temperature of all the tanks containing the loaches in question?

 

[CoryWM]

Temp in the tanks they're going in too is at 76 degrees. And the Ick only happens when they arrive. This is pretty much the only fish we have problems with. The problem might stem from the fact they get so cold in transit, sometimes the bag temp is in the 60s. We acclimate them over about an hour to hour and a half.

Just wondering if anyone else has tips when bringing in mass quantities of clown loaches.

 

[Lupin]

Clown loaches like warmer temperature. Increase the heat to 80-82 degrees and keep it consistent. With ich, increase temporarily to 86 degrees and treat with salt. Be sure to dissolve it first and add slowly.

Heat packs are needed for transport by the way.

 

[Zeppelin3k]

I just moved all 40+ of my loachs to a new tank. Make sure the tank is cycled and the temp is at least 84degrees F