# Very skinny clown loach, help!



## Aeonz (Aug 27, 2009)

Hi, about 1.5 months ago I bought two small clown loach at the LFS.. one of them thrives and his actually fat, the other one is very skinny i'm starting to see the bone structure. He seems to be eating, does not act strangely and is in fact less shy than the fat one. He looks exactly like this : 










I red a lil bit about this skinny disease and the recomended Erythromycin(maracyn 1) treatment. It is late here unfortunatly the only store still open was walmart so I bought the only anti-parasite stuff they had. 

Its called Parasite Clear Tank Buddies, from Jungle.. Active ingredients: praziquantel; N-[[(N-Chlorophenyl)amino]carbon 1]-2,6-difluorobenzamide; metronidazole; acriflavine. 


Any chance i can save him with just that or should I order some other stuff?? I really dont want him to die. This is the first time I've had a disease in my tank. 

25g 
Ph: 6,9 
Kh: 2 º 
Gh: 5,56 º 
amonia : 0 
nitrite : 0


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

Poor clown loach, I lost one to skinny disease.

I tried the Maracyn for treatment and mine just got worse. I am not sure why Maracyn is recommend, because I do not think the active ingredient does anything for IP.

I would go ahead and use the Parasite Clear, I have heard of people using it with good results. If that does not work, consider Jungle Labs Anti-Parasite food, it contains levamisole.

There are some other stronger meds available, but right now I can't remember the names. I will try to dig some more info up.

I wish you good luck!


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

*Levamisole hydrochloride*
*Ingredients:* purely levamisole hydrochloride
*Diseases:* roundworms, lungworms, nematodes, nodular worms, hookworms, stomach worms

Not effective against flukes, flatworms and tapeworms as experimented by Chefkeith of Lpaches Online.
*Comments:* This is often used in cattles however it has proven itself effective in fish as well. It is used as a defense mechanism against parasites found among wild-caught fish particularly loaches. 

Levamisole hydrochloride has been found labeled in other names and is also found as an ingredient in some medications. It is light-sensitive and should be stored in a cool and dark place. It is worth noting that it is also found as Levasole.

*Praziquantel
Diseases:* flukes, tapeworms, intestinal flagellates
*Comments:* It is not effective against camallanus worms.



*Fenbendazole*
*Diseases:* roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, tapeworms
*Comments:* It is considered a very effective treatment against camallanus worms.

The guy I bought my last clown loach off of, treats all of his incoming loaches with Fenbendazole. He sent me a very healthy clown, but not sure where you buy Fenbenazole.


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

I found what I was looking for! This is a thread from a while back. You may find it helpful.

http://www.fishforum.com/member-submitted-articles/treating-internal-parasites-fenbendazole-19108/


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## Aeonz (Aug 27, 2009)

Thanks Twistermom, I did use the Parasite Clear, Now I am in the process of trying to find some levamisol powder or like you said a fish food that contains them, however i dont have an hospital tank and I have no way to ensure the sick fish will actually eat the medication before the healthy fishes. =(


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

The medicated food is safe to treat all the fish with, but getting them to eat it is a different story.
When my clown became ill, I moved it into QT, but decided to treat the main tank with the medicated food. the fish did not like it. I started soaking the food in some Garlic Guard and that helped some.

Hope the Parasite Clear will work for you. Be careful about mixing meds, especially if they have the same active ingredients.

Also, Petsmart carries the medicated food, if you find that you need it.


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## Aeonz (Aug 27, 2009)

Thx , i wont be mixing meds I will finish the parasite clear posology. I went to my lfs and the guy there didnt have levamisol in any form. But instead he gave me some metronidazole a product by seachem. He swears by it. Did you ever hear about it? think it could be a suitable med?


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

They sell it at my LFS, but I have not tried it. 

*Metronidazole
Diseases:* Internal Parasites, Hexamita or Hole-in-the-Head Disease
*Comments:* This is effective in most cases against internal parasites which can be characterized by white stringy poo in the fish's anus.


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