Fish health...

[nataliek]

Hi!

I have a concern regard my fish and am a bit confused on how to treat.

First of all I have 2 clown loaches, 2 black mollies, 1 peppered cory and 1 guppy.

1. One of my black mollies has been swimming around and very rarely has its top fin upright. From time to time i have also seen it swimming upright ie. as if standing on it's tail but not standing, hovering in the water (if you get what I mean). The other molly doesn't suffer from any of this.

2. The other molly seems to have trailing waste.

3. The guppy's tail has virtually disappeared and is now left with 3 stringy bits (i used fin rot treatment but this hasn't worked) - and i have never seen any of the other fish nip at him.

4. One of the clown loaches seems to flick off objects some of the time but I've inspected him thoroughly and there's no signs of anything wrong.

5. The other clown loach doesn't flick off objects (I've never seen him anyway) but he has what looks like a tiny reddy/brown stripe on the edge of his tail and also a grey looking little line on his gill.

The peppered cory is fine and very happy!

They all eat fine, they're not hanging at the water surface and there is no problem with the water quality as I do regular water changes, regularly clean out the tank and get the water tested every 2 weeks which is perfect.

Any suggestions???

Thanks.

 

[Saz]

It sounds like a type of parasite-maybe one that is too small to see. That may be why your guppy is losing its tail and one of your clown loaches is flicking off objects. The red/brown spot on the other clown loach could be a blood spot. The closest thing I can think of is Cosatiasis which can be treated very quickly with Acriflavine. But don't take my word for it!

 

[Saz]

It sounds like a type of parasite-maybe one that is too small to see. That may be why your guppy is losing its tail and one of your clown loaches is flicking off objects. The red/brown spot on the other clown loach could be a blood spot. The closest thing I can think of is Cosatiasis which can be treated very quickly with Acriflavine. But don't take my word for it!

 

[Dubby]

What are your water parameters nataliek? what medication have you tried so far?

 

[nataliek]

Thanks for your replies.

The tank is 45 litres and I'm looking to upgrade in the next few months as the clown loaches are now a bit bigger (they were only about 2" when I bought them) and I'm aware you are supposed to have clown loaches in 3's and want to get another one.

I'm not sure of the levels of pH, ammonia and nitrite as they don't write the restults down for me, they just tell me that the levels are perfect.

The only treatment I have tried so far is one called 'Anti-fungus & Anti-finrot'.

All the symptoms have been apparent for about 2 months (apart from the tailrot in the guppy, that started about 3 weeks ago) but was so unsure on how to treat because each symptom didn't point to one thing.

 

[nataliek]

Sorry, but just a question on another issue, I go on hols next week for 3 weeks - I have arranged for people to come round and feed the fish - would every 3 days be sufficient??

Thanks

 

[rdd1952]

I'm not sure of the levels of pH, ammonia and nitrite as they don't write the restults down for me, they just tell me that the levels are perfect.

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I would strongly suggest getting your own test kits, preferably liquid. It's much better to be able to test when you have a problem rather than having to wait till the next day or even longer to take samples in to the LFS.

Sorry, but just a question on another issue, I go on hols next week for 3 weeks - I have arranged for people to come round and feed the fish - would every 3 days be sufficient??

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That should be fine. I would premeasure each feeding and put them in cups or something like that so the person only has to put it in the tank and doesn't over feed. With the condition of your mollies and guppy, they may not make it through 3 weeks without water changes. If they are already in bad condition and then have to deal with deteriorating water conditions, it may be more than they can handle. That is a lot of fish for a 12 gallon tank so the water could get pretty bad in 3 weeks. Clown loaches are pretty messy.

 

[nataliek]

Sorry, forgot to mention - we're getting someone to do a water change while we're away too.

Are 6 fish too much for a 45 litre tank? The guy at the shop told us we could have up to 20 small fish (not that i'd think about having that many)!!!