HummingBird Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 As if nothing more could go wrong this week, my four clown loaches have developed white spot. I've seperated them into different black ice cream containers and I've added a small amount of melafix to these. They're being fed a small amount of bloodworms every half an hour, is there anything more I can do? -Hoping there is, Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Someone else will know more about meds than me as I never use them but it is my understanding clown loaches are very sensitive to most meds and they should not be used. Raising the temperature and adding extra aeration to the tank should help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted January 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I just found one of them on the floor in front of the dehumidafier, I've put it back in the water and it's swimming around, my god I'm really surprised it's alive because it wasn't slippery at all when I picked it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staplez Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Man you realy arn't having luck are you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Loaches are a little more resiliant than most fish to being out of water, so if it is still alive it will probably be fine. I think the sensitivity of loaches to medication is due to a lack of scales. So be careful. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 FYI raising the temp doesn't kill the ich (white spot), it just speeds up the life cycle which makes it easier to treat, this is because the treatments only work during a certain cycle of the ichs life (while free swimming in the tank between the fish and the substrate I think). So the faster the cycle the more likely you are to catch them all with your treatment. Now I could be wrong, but I don't think Melafix actually kills the ich, just improves the health of the fish, improving its natural resistance to it, so while raising the temp would normally be advisable, in this case I think it will just cause extra stress to the fish and lessen the chances of a cure. FYI I'm no expert with loaches and just came to this conclusion via logical reasoning, and knowing how ich treatments work. So follow the advise of someone who KNOWS about treating loaches over this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plecs Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 hi clown laoches seem to be really suseptible to white spot. raising the temp is good, but as said above doesnt treat the white spot, only makes treatment more effective. you need to use a white spot treatment. be aware that laoches dont have scales so you MUST half dose any treatments! otherwise their skin will burn. get it quick or you will have trouble shifting it from clowns good luck plecs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Yes Melafix doesn't kill Ich, I've got some white spot cure but I'm hesitant to give it to them because I read that they were allergic to it. I've got them in floating breeding traps now because one more decided to jump out as well (still alive though) :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_guy Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 trying to end it doesnt the tank have a lid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 The tank does, yes, and they're in the tank right now. They were in ice cream containers before though, as I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_guy Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 dont you have a hospital tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Nope Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Hi Eric Can you put a sheet of glass over the top? Or even a piece of cardboard? I only know what I have read in these forums about whitespot but what about lots and lots of water changes and vacuuming the bottom. Maybe this will catch them at the free swimming stage before they reinfect the fish. Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo1 Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 I would not have removed them from the tank as I think it would cause further stress on the fish and besides the ich is in the water anyway and it is quite possible that other fish in the tank will get it too. Raise the temp, frequent water changes and gravel vac and try 1/2 dose of cure. Would also look at the cause of the ich in the first place. Did you introduce any new fish which maybe had it in early stages? Dare I say it, maybe look at water quality and maintanance issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo1 Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 I should also have said in my experience white spot has occurred either from bad fish that have been introduced or our own fault as maintance schedules were not kept up such as filter cleaning, gravel vac, water changes or clients putting too much food into tank causing water to go bad. I would also like to say that it doesn't happen too often thank goodness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morf Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 shifting white spot from clows is hard, but as already mentioned - half dose treatment (at most) and turn up the temp (88-90) and added aeration (as o2 levels drop as temp rises) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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