Kuhli Loach Seems To Be Losing Pigment?

[Pshaw]

Hello there, I recently got back from a trip and found that my kuhli loach seemed a little pale in the center near his belly. At first I didn't think much of it but now he seems to be almost entirely this pale white color and I have no idea what is causing it. I did a water change not too long ago using AquaSafe on the new water, it contains sodium hydroxymethane sulfinate, chelating compounds, plyvinyl pyrollidones, seaweed biopolymerrs, and organic hydrocolors. Aside from this nothing new has been introduced to the tank and the brand of 5-day feeder tablet I left the fish with is the same as always.

Does anybody know what this could be? Even now he doesn't really seem sluggish or less active even though this thing has clearly gotten worse. I was considering just stripping down the tank and giving it a full cleaning this coming weekend but I wanted to see what more knowledgeable people thought first.

If he comes out into the open I'll try to get a picture of him I just don't want to stress him if he is sick by trying to get him out of a hiding spot to take one.

Edit he came out so I snapped this

 

[Pshaw]

It seems similar to what happened with this kuhli loach http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...;hl=kuhli+loach

Though it's far more apparent on my loach since his coloration is darker.

 

[WILDER]

Can you post water stats please in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Any other fish showing the same symtoms.
Does the loach try to rub himself on the substrate on things in the tank.
Bleaching beneath the skin can be columnaris.

did a water change not too long ago using AquaSafe on the new water, it contains sodium hydroxymethane sulfinate, chelating compounds, plyvinyl pyrollidones, seaweed biopolymerrs, and organic hydrocolors.

Are they the ingredients in the aqua safe.

 

[Pshaw]

Can you post water stats please in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Any other fish showing the same symtoms.
Does the loach try to rub himself on the substrate on things in the tank.
Bleaching beneath the skin can be columnaris.

did a water change not too long ago using AquaSafe on the new water, it contains sodium hydroxymethane sulfinate, chelating compounds, plyvinyl pyrollidones, seaweed biopolymerrs, and organic hydrocolors.

Are they the ingredients in the aqua safe.

Yes those are the ingredients in the aquasafe.
All of the other fish are doing well have no discoloration.
The loach seems to be doing it's normal rounds of the tank, nothing new, hiding out in tight spots and winding itself around the fake plants in the tank. There isn't any real rubbing that I've seen.
I'll try and get water stats later on when I get home.

I've been trying to google up an answer some places just say it's stress related, I got a chinese algae eater about 3 weeks ago that is fairly insatiable so I wonder if it might be from food competition... The algae eater can be a bit agessive as I've seen him chase my cory cats and gouramis when they're someplace it doesn't like but the only one I've never seen it bother was the kuhli loach. If this sounds like a possible cause to anybody here let me know, I've had this loach for a year or so now and I'm a bit more attached to it than the algae eater which I can always bring back to the local fish store.

 

[WILDER]

If it was stress he would be pale all over not just in one area.
He dosn't look right to me.
What does it look like when he goes to the toilet.

 

[WILDER]

Added anything to the tank lately.
Athena a members just said there some inflamed pink areas which I didn't notice.
Its sounding more like it could be bacterial if you havent added anything to the tank.

The substrate looks smooth in the pic is this correct. No sharp edges.
How often do you preform a gravel vac.

Have you always used the aqua safe.

 

[Pshaw]

Added anything to the tank lately.
Athena a members just said there some inflamed pink areas which I didn't notice.
Its sounding more like it could be bacterial if you havent added anything to the tank.

The substrate looks smooth in the pic is this correct. No sharp edges.
How often do you preform a gravel vac.

Have you always used the aqua safe.

Yes the substrate is very smooth and the driftwood you see in the picture is very soft. There is maybe 1 rough rock in the tank but he never really hangs out near it.
I gravely vac about once a week as best I can without knocking over all their hiding spots, then maybe once every 2 months or so I take everybody out of the tank and completely rinse it clean and return them. No I haven't used the aquasafe until just before my trip and the 10% (More like 25% change) weekly water change I did when I returned.
I can't say I've seen him go to the bathroom ever to my knowledge as he's usually in a cave or tight spot someplace or skimming the bottom for food.
I have a sick tank that I could set up for him though its about a 2 hour drive to get it and I don't have much room in my dorm for it at the moment, but if he needs treatment I'd rather do it in a closed environment.

The only things added to the tank aside from the aquasafe have been the chinese algae eater and a smaller cory cat, but they seem healthy even if the cory seems a bit stupid and doesn't like to school with his fellows.

 

[WILDER]

You don't rinse the filter sponges in tap water.
Don't quite understand why you rinse the tank every two months. All you do is a gravel vac and water change once a week.
I clean my ornaments every month and silk plants. Always clean the glass with an algae scraper. Add new filter floss.

Has the paleness and pink inflamed area only happened since using the aqua safe as wondering if its irratating his skin.
I would issolate him and try a bacterial med.

Whats your locaton.

 

[Pshaw]

My location is upstate new york, in the hudson valley.
I just clean the gravel out every 2 months to get anything I don't get with the water changes/gravel vac I add a lot of hiding spots that I can't get in to clean properly so this helps keeps excess waste and food from piling up in the substrate. At least that is the reason I bother cleaning it.

I honestly think the pink inflamed area around the gills in that picture is more of a side effect of the digital color correction on my camera. The pic certainly has many odd looking color errors and tons of digital noise.

Still any particular medications you would recommend? I'll see if I can get him into a separate sick tank and give him a bit of treatment.

 

[WILDER]

Just stressing the fish that's all moving them.
So you can't lift the stuff out of the tank and do a gravel vac.

I would issolate him if you can and use maracyn plus.

 

[Athena]

The inflamed pink area is all along that side of his body (at least in the pic it looks that way). I was saying to Wilder that it looks rather like a bad reaction to something.

As Wilder says, stress would cause the body colour to become fainter, not patches like that, although stress can cause seconday bacterial infections etc.

It's not usually the done thing to remove everything from a tank every couple of months to rinse out. This can cause more damage than good in the long run because there is a certain amount of beneficial bacteria in the substrate (along with the filter sponges). So I'd suggest not bothering to do over-thorough cleaning like that, to be honest.

Not only that but moving fish about from one tank to the next and then back again causes them huge amount of stress. Stress weakens their immune system and that leads to infections/disease.

I don't personally have any experience with khuli loaches but it does appear that he's losing skin for some reason. Maybe there will be other members on here who will recognise the symptoms...


Regards - Athena

 

[WILDER]

I agree with athena.
Need to look at your water stats.

 

[Pshaw]

I will try and find the time to run down to get my sick tank for him and pick up some meds. I'll let you know what happens so anybody else who has this problem in the future might be able to get some help from this thread.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[WILDER]

I would maybe also try another brand of declorinator.