# Please help me, my loach is sick (pictures!)



## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

Hi everyone, first of all I'd like to apologize because I don't know some proper terms, english is not my mother tongue.
I would really appreciate if someone would give my advice, my loach is letargic and has white "smears" on his back. The disease seems to also have attacked his gills because he's breathing is worse than it used to be.
Firstly, I thought it may be some sort of fungus (it looked like silky layer on his back and he was letargic, few times a day he would have a sudden outburst of energy, and started to jump on the surface like he was lacking oxygen), but then I've read about culminaris, "the saddleback disease", and those white "smears" after few days kind of started to form "a saddle" on his back. I bought Furanol plus 250 (http://www.garnelenb...-nur-Export.png) and after 5 days (as it says in the instructions) I repeated the treatment because he still had white "smears", but definitely smaller and much much thinner.
He was getting slightly better but I'm not sure if it's ok to repeat the procedure the third time (since he's about 8yo and could be vunerable from a lot of medication). Maybe I was wrong because if this was culminaris, it would probably go away after 2 treatments. What do you think this desease could be? I am worried because today he's again started to breathe heavily, as he used to do before the treatment.

HERE ARE THE PICTURES, you can clearly see the phases of the disease, so if someone knows what disease this is, I would greatly appreciate your help!!! (last pic is after the last treatment)


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## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

What kind of loach is it?


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## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Oriental Weatherfish (Weather loach)


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

it may possibly be a protozoan parasite..try to find a med that will treat that without hurting the loach..


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## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

I don't know.. I mean the fish was slightly responsive to Furanol plus 250.. :/
I think that there's not a wide range of antibiotics for fish available in my country, so every advice helps me a lot! I'll contact a vet/aquarist tommorow and see do they know if there are any other similar antibiotics available.


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## e048 (Dec 23, 2010)

what else is in the tank with it? does it have hiding places? it looks like it got beat up to me, then an infection set in...


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## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

It is alone in the tank and it can't actually hurt itself because there are no sharp areas anywhere in the tank


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2015)

The first pic looks like the slime coat is coming off. I am not sure if there is a treatment for slime disease or not. I don't think there is. What dechlorinator are you using?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Can you get good old fashioned Mercurochrome or Tincture of Iodine in your country? Swabbing the affected areas with either should help.


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## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

A possibility may be an overproduction of the slime coat due to water conditions that may not be preferable or something else having to due with water quality.


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## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

Angelclown said:


> The first pic looks like the slime coat is coming off. I am not sure if there is a treatment for slime disease or not. I don't think there is. What dechlorinator are you using?


The first picture was a beggining of the disease, and that white coat got a lot thinner, it almost disappeared (last pic)... Is that how slim coat disease looks like? I have never heard of that disease before :? The fish is 8yo and has always been in the same conditions, water in Croatia doesn't have a lot of chlorine and people here don't use any dechlorinators, I just put water for 24 hours so chlorine "evaporates".. That's how it worked for 8 years so now you got me worried huh


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## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

TheOldSalt said:


> Can you get good old fashioned Mercurochrome or Tincture of Iodine in your country? Swabbing the affected areas with either should help.


That's for getting rid of bacteria or for the slim coat?


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2015)

Kim: I am not sure because I have only seen a photo of it on a clown loach once before and I talked to a friend of mine about it. That is how I know it looked like slime disease. Other things in the water could be what is causing the slime disease. I think what TheOldSalt is saying is that the meds are for bacteria. But I could be wrong as I am no expert on medication for fish.


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## Guest (Jul 15, 2015)

Does the patches look like cotton? If so, it is saprolegnia fungal disease. For treatment, medications containing malachite green.


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2015)

How is the loach doing?


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## Kim123 (Jul 12, 2015)

Blue Moon said:


> How is the loach doing?


He's better, still has a little white patch on his back but almost transparent, and he's got more energy. Thanks everyone for help


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