crazyzoo Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I have a fairly new loach (about 3 weeks) who is very skinny with a sucked in appearance. According to some web sites it is a wasting/skinny disease that can be treated with Erythromycin. Before I hassle my vet tomorrow has anyone else come across this disease and had success treating it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 I didnt even know it was a disease to be honest with you. I thought it had something to do with the hierarchical structure of their groups. can you post a link to that info? I'd like to read it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 one of my larger clowns (10 cm) got this. it took a while to sort, i tried getting meds for him that were metridonzole (something like that) which was recommended but the vets wouldn't give it to me. so i put him in a tank of his own & fattened him up with heaps of food until he was fat again which took about 4 weeks. I put him back in the main tank & he got skinny again over two weeks so i repeated the four week fattening process & returned him to the main tank & he has not got skinny again. that was about 6 months ago. i don't know how it fixed the sickness but it did Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 Metro is for worms, and wasting like that sounds like worms. Try some droncit for worming. It's a dog wormer. Soak their food in it. If they don't have worms, probably wont do too much damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyzoo Posted April 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 If you search for skinny/wasting disease in loaches there are heaps of forums / sites about it. I first noticed it last night so thought I would check that the loach is eating....seems to be in small amounts, I was worried about the other fish snatching up all the food, but I always have cucmber in the tank for the fish to nibble on so the loach is not skinny because it is starving to death. I looked up the worms/parasites too, but there are photo's of this wasting disease and it looks exactly like my loach....I don't really want to treat until I have a definite diagnosis as loaches don't take kindly to meds anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 It can be very hard to diagnose exactly what the problem is.. I have seen alot of skinny small clown loaches in shops that I wouldn't touch, I suspected worms but you never know, has there been any explanation of what causes this "wasting disease"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 20, 2009 Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 So this is what my Zebra loach may have had?? He got skinny and eventually died. Now his mate looks like he's following the same path! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 So this is what my Zebra loach may have had?? He got skinny and eventually died. Now his mate looks like he's following the same path! if you can separate him & throw food at him. it worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Well he is eating though, as was the other one... I could get one of my spare AR380s up & put him in there. Perhaps he needs more feedings? I only feed once every 3-4 days. bit of flake food for the tetras and some sinking pellets for the loach, bristlenoses & rainbow shark. Although once the flake food is gone, the naughty tetras go get the pellets.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyzoo Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 I thought I had lost him....he was lying in log looking very pale on his side.....tried to scoop him up and the little blighter shot off....now I can't catch him....when I do I will put him in a tank with some food soaked in worming stuff....worth a try anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyzoo Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Ok I have caught him. Done a bit more research and apparently you can use garlic to fend off alot of worms/parasites.....so my poor loach has just become an experiment (I don't mean that in an awful way). If I got the dosage wrong for the dewormer I would just kill him....anyway have dropped some garlic into his tank....and he is eating it! Will try this for a few days with his normal food and see how it goes :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochelleMay Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 You could also possibly buy some garlic guard and soak every 2nd or so meal in it for all of your other fish, to boost their immunity against worms etc... I know my Dad had some worm in his fish and lost a couple but now does every2nd meal soaked in garlic guard for the past year with no problems and the fish love it. They get more excitied over the garlic guard food then plain stuff He mushes all the flakes and pellets in it. and then puts a couple drops onto the vege discs. Best of luck with your wee one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Ok I have caught him. Done a bit more research and apparently you can use garlic to fend off alot of worms/parasites.....so my poor loach has just become an experiment (I don't mean that in an awful way). If I got the dosage wrong for the dewormer I would just kill him....anyway have dropped some garlic into his tank....and he is eating it! Will try this for a few days with his normal food and see how it goes :-? Do let us know how you get on. I'm particulary interested in this outcome since my loach may be suffering from the same thing. Did you just use a raw garlic clove? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Wasting disease can have a number of causes including piscine tuberculosis. It is hard to treat any disease if you don't know what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyzoo Posted April 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 I used crushed garlic to make it easy to eat. I read about the TB also, but trying to get hold of TB drugs could be very difficult....and it is usually a cocktail including Rifampin. Hopefully it is just worms....but time will tell. For good measure I gave all the fish crushed garlic today....and they all gobbled it down. it should not do any harm, because it really is no different from any other vege that I feed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Perhaps he needs more feedings? I only feed once every 3-4 days. bit of flake food for the tetras and some sinking pellets for the loach, bristlenoses & rainbow shark. Although once the flake food is gone, the naughty tetras go get the pellets.. is this all you feed? once every 3-4 days? I feed every day but sometimes miss a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Yep. Not enough? I'm trying not to overfeed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Yep. Not enough? I'm trying not to overfeed.. i would suggest you feed every day, i feed every day & if you are scared of overfeeding just make sure you feed as much as they will eat in about 10 mins. you will only have a problem if food is left over after aday or so as it will then begin to break down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyzoo Posted April 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2009 My wee loach is still alive His tank smells like a strong smelling garlic bread! I'm giving him 3 small feeds a day and he is eating, and swimming around more today. I gave the other fish another small feed of garlic today too....think I might keep this regime up for a week and see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 Resurrecting this thread. The loach I previously suspected of having the skinny disease is still alive but getting skinnier. Crazyzoo did you have success treating with the garlic? I've read about treating with levamisole hydrochloride or metronidazole? Where do I get these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 levamisole hydrochloride is particularly good for callamanus worms but not always easy to find. I bought some (in the form of AVIVERM bird wormer) from www.hippo.co.nz in the bird section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 I've had several Loaches like this bought from Pet Shops, popped them into a Tank on their own and fed Bloodworms 5-6 times a Day, Fattened them up in no time at all, haven't lost one yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 I would use a general wormer like levamisole just as a precaution. If you are going to use garlic it must be fresh raw garlic and it has to be used and eaten within an hour of cutting or juicing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 I would use a general wormer like levamisole just as a precaution. If you are going to use garlic it must be fresh raw garlic and it has to be used and eaten within an hour of cutting or juicing it. Fresh as in freshly dug out of the ground or freshly purchased from the supermarket?? lol knew I should have grown my own. Crazyzoo said they used crushed garlic, I assume bought packaged from the supermarket. But I still don't know if it worked for them. I'm going to attempt to catch said zebra loach tonight and put him in one of my spare AR380s. I have frozen bloodworm, had it for a while now I hope its still ok. What else is good for fattening up fish? They normally get JBL Nova plecochips or Wardley shrimp pellets. I've had several Loaches like this bought from Pet Shops, popped them into a Tank on their own and fed Bloodworms 5-6 times a Day, Fattened them up in no time at all, haven't lost one yet. He wasn't purchased like this though, I've had this loach for at least 3 years. He is very small and doesn't appear to have grown at all in the time I've had him. Stunted perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 Any ideas on the dosage of the levamisole? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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