Please Help My Kuhli Loach

[Captain Retardo]

Today I noticed that one of my Kuhli Loaches has a white, not really fuzzy, but kind of straight, white growth on his back, its not very big, but I can notice it, and he also has something that sticks to him (I assume it a parasite). He acts pretty normal, he eats, and has a pretty good coloration. But he has the white growth and the thing attached to him, I have noticed though that him, one of my cories, my female cherry barbs, and my Bolivian ram have been acting kind of weird and have been itching and putting their fins down more.

Please tell me what it is! And what I need to cure it....BTW- I have shrimp in the tank also, so I need a shrimp safe medication...

Sorry, I can't take pictures right now. I have activated carbon in my cabinet to take out the medication.

Edit- I see some white dots also, so I presume it is Ich. Please tell me what I should do...My kuhlis are one of my favorite fish I have, and a hard one to find in this area...

My parameters i assume are fine, becuase I checked the water a week ago, before doing a water change and it was fine.

Any special treatement with medication, especiially considering I have Kuhli loaches and cories and shrimp in the tank?

I've never had to treat my fish before, so I'm freaking out here....I might be able to go to petsmart or petco tommorow, especially If i emphasize the point that my fish are dieing to my dad...

 

[Captain Retardo]

It is more like a thin white film on his back...

He has multiple things attached to his left side: what looks like a piece of food or somehting, a small sphere, what looks like a piece of poop or a piece of string that i have in my tank....

I have a 29 gallon tank: occupants in signature

My newest fish are 2 female cherry barbs, they looked healthy when I got them (1-2 weeks ago), but they were from petsmart, and one of the other occupants in the petsmart tank was a large female cherry barb with a huge popped tumor like thing, I thought it was a tumor and wasn't contagious so I got the other cherry barbs anyway....I feel so stupid, never gonna buy from petsmart again!

My tank has been running for 5 months now, it is fully cycled of course.

I do 25-30% water change once a week.

Please help....

 

[WILDER]

Does the parasite look like nylon with a forked tail if so it anchor worm.

 

[Captain Retardo]

It looks like nothing is attached to him anymore. This a better description of what he looks like: in between the third black band is a layer of whitish, what look like filmy stuff that is on him. Then after that is little specks or whitish and light brownish (shrimp pellet color) circles.

He's still acting normal, and it looks like nothing is inhibiting him, but I am still worried to heck about him........and the other fish.

 

[WILDER]

Is it disc shaped with many legs.

Look under fish louse.

http/www.2cah.com/pandora/Disease.html#Argulus

 

[WILDER]

This might help.
http/articles.pointshop.com/pets/50451.php

 

[Captain Retardo]

I think he has parasites, i read on the articles that you gave me that white slimy skin means parasites (although on my fish it is just on about 1/5 of his body) on the rest of his body is white spots, either parasites, or the disease whitespot...
It also looks like it might be a bacterial infection, in the first link you gave me, look under bacterial external infections, then look at the 2nd row and the 3 and 4 pic from the left. My kuhli looks like that. which i believe is columnaris...I don't think It has any visible parasites.

What should I treat it with? How much should I treat it with ( it is a loach and i have cories and shrimp in the tank). Will it kill my beneficial bacteria?

BTW- I am going to the LFS tommorow, but after that I can't go until another week.

It looks like columnaris, but also with flaky spots, like Ich.

BTW- Should I raise the temperature to 86 degrees?? I read that this kills ich. Right now i am researching ich and columnaris....

 

[Captain Retardo]

Oh crap, now I'm really scared. I believe it is columnaris, and am scared to death that all my fish will get infected also, I have read really bad things about columnaris....

For now, I'm gonna lower the temp and put in some airstones...

I don't believe I had a difference in my water quality lately, unless for some reason the water company changed the water and put nitrates in...

It is definetly Columnaris. Does columnaris also have spots? because my Kuhli loach also has what looks like spots of ich on him.





I'm totally freaking out now....

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/columnaris_disease.php
read that link^^^

I believe my Kuhli loach has the AJS4 type (whew, that takes a little bit off of my brain, that is the least deadly strain i believe)

 

[QuotheRaven]

http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/columnaris.htm

have a look there Captain hope it helps

 

[Captain Retardo]

Thanks Raven!

Another load of my brain: I caught it early, apparently when it is in its white looking stage, that means it is early, when it turns yellow and brown, then it is getting late.

I believe that the reason why it started now is that I don't do a very good job vacuuming my gravel. For some reason there is always some crap, or dead plant leaf, or whatever on there. I'll be more vigilent next time.

I have calmed down now that I know that I caught it early, my fish has the least virulent strain, and I am going to the LFS tommorow.

 

[QuotheRaven]

Your welcome Captain good to know I helped out

 

[Captain Retardo]

Now I am worried again because i read that the best treatment is salt, I have Kuhli Loaches, Corydoras Trilineatus, and Ghost Shrimp, and I don't know what effect salt will have on them.

I don't have a qurantine of hospital tank, I need to get one. I'll buy a 3 gallon one day.

 

[QuotheRaven]

Salt and cories...not a good mix Not sure about others.

 

[Captain Retardo]

Uggh! I guess I'll get some medicine...which I'll have to use less of because of my scaleless fish. Any suggestion, I can't have a medicine with copper in it though, it will kill the shimp. If there is no treatment without the use of medicine with copper, I will take the shrimp out and find a place to put them for now (probably friends tank)

Another reason why my fish probably got sick: I am too generous with food, I'll start feeding less.

Now I feel like an oaf for having my tank like this and not noticing it very much, or fixing it...

 

[QuotheRaven]

Everyone makes mistakes (I am one of those that makes mistakes)
So you only have one tank?