# my new loaches have white spots



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

hi there , i bought three new loaches last week , a few days after i started noticing some white spots i removed them from the tank , what do i do now . i have two tanks and would hate for some silly reason to cross contaminate the other tank , how and what should i treat with , can i expect losses in my tank from the other fish 
thanks 
tom


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

Was your tank cycled when you added your new fish? If not, the stress may have caused Ich to form on your Clown Loaches.

There are many remedies for Ich, but with Clown Loaches, it becomes more difficult, as they are sensitive to many of the common Ich medications (i.e. Formalin, malachite green, etc). I do not remember which precise medications they are more sensitive to, and what the recommended starting dosages are, however (I believe it was 1/2 the normal dosage, but I am not sure).

In the meantime, raising the temperature while providing lots of aeration will speed up the life cycle of the parasite. Some sites may suggest a salt treatment, but again, Clown Loaches are sensitive to salt, so caution must be taken before starting any treatment.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

Sounds like Ich.

Basically what you do is: 

Day 1:
1) raise the water temp to at least 85F.
2) do a 30% water change
3) add 3 teaspoons of salt for each 5gals of aquarium

Day 2:
1) add same amount of salt as Day 1

Day 3:
1) add same amount of salt as Day 1

And just wait. You can also look into various ich meds, I have heard good things about ridich+, but never tried it myself.

If you need to do water changes, make sure you replace the amount of salt lost.

*note, I read this from a pleco forum, so the amounts are already for scaleless fish (plecos, catfish, loaches etc). So don't half the salt, though halfing the ich med would be a good precaution.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Here you go give this a good read 

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=2599

From what I know CL's are not scaleless


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

oop...apparently they are even more sensitive to salt then plecos...use with caution.

really? I thought clown loach just have a membranous cover on the surface.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Hitch said:


> oop...apparently they are even more sensitive to salt then plecos...use with caution.
> 
> really? I thought clown loach just have a membranous cover on the surface.


So did I until I was told by some dude that they have very small scales so people think they are scaleless.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

hmm...after searching through loaches.com.....still cant find whether they are scaleless or small scaled fish.

But either way, according to the site, treat them the same way as scaleless.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Hitch said:


> hmm...after searching through loaches.com.....still cant find whether they are scaleless or small scaled fish.
> 
> But either way, according to the site, treat them the same way as scaleless.


Here you go I found it

Loaches either lack or have very tiny scales, which means they have almost no protection from toxic materials dissolved in the aquarium. Avoid adding medications to the aquarium unless they are specifically recommended for "scaleless" fish.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

As mentioned, Clown Loaches do have scales, albeit very small ones


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

can i use epson salt or do i need a special salt for aquariums
thank you


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

read the link that Jackson gave....it stated to avoid salt.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

My clown loaches have never been harmed by tiny amounts of salt. I would say that you shouldn't use therapeutic salt permanently in a loach tank, but when they already have ich, it may save their life, as the ich is even more damaged by the salt. 

I use the salinity meter to make sure it's no more than 10 parts per thousand salt. (reading of 5.0 on pinpoint salinity meter units ~= 10 part per thou)

Warren


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## oshiet (Oct 23, 2009)

I've medicated loaches with 2% salt concentration (2 grams/L), 85%, and a very mild ich medication like Kordons Rid-Ich+ or any other half concentrated ich med.

Key thing is, you should really move them into a QT with no substrate and a small HOB filter and introduce the salt slowly. Do daily water changes of 20-30% (adding the same salt concentration to the waterchange) while vacuuming tank bottom, and replace floss daily as well. Add some ceramic or PVC tubes so they can hide (relieves stress) and feed sparingly. When topping up with fresh water, monitor the temp and don't let it drop more than 1 degree/hour. Usually, a week to 10 days is all it takes.

Remember to slowly acclimate them into your DT. I usually change 1/3 of the water with water from the DT over a period of 3 days before they go back into the display.

This has personally worked for me, but your results may differ. HTH


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Ich is about the least dangerous disease your fish can contract. It happens to be the well known fish disease and people (mostly non-hobbyists) think it's a real big deal but it's not.. I used rid-ich in my 75 gal community tank when some blue rams came in from Big Al's with ich. I treated with the recommended dosage AND used aquarium salt (albeit in a smaller dose than recommended) after turning the temperature up gradually a few degrees. The rams had one of the worst cases of ich I'd ever seen, it was all over their bodies. I still can't figure out how I didn't see it in the store!! Anyways, the tank has panda cories and bn plecos in it and both species did fine. The ich was gone after about a week and haven't heard from it since. 

Ich is very treatable and rarely fatal. I wouldn't bother with the QT tank because unless you caught it right away spores will have been released into the water and it is probably a good idea to treat the whole tank so it doesn't crop up again. A lot of people say ich dies without a host after 4 days but there is actually no evidence to support the claim. There are a lot of different varieties of the parasite and in all likelihood they have different traits. Even if they do die off, I'd rather be safe than sorry and treat the whole tank. Last thing you need is ich popping up again the first chance your fish get to be stressed out. Whatever treatment you use, be sure to continue it for a few days after the ich appears gone. This is what the medications recommend and I think it's a good approach.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Just read the link I posted and do what it says. 

Those are the best people for advice on loaches.


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