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Hello all. I formerly had 5 clown loaches. I am now down to three. I believe it is the work of an internal parasite. The previous two that died, slowly wasted away over the course of a few months. As far as i can tell, of the three i have remaining, 2 of them show one visiible sign of an internal parasite. It is a bubble inside of them that is between the gills(not on) and the stomach. I see this in many clown loaches at pet stores. Is this an internal parasite? I think it is. I already treated them with junglelabs Parasite clear. It says it is for external and internal parasites. One of the main ingredients is Praziquental. I read in a previous Aquarium fish magazine that this is the medication that you should be looking for in meds to treat internal parasites. I treated them for 48 hours and then did a 25% water change and added some more medicine, just like the box says. The bubble on each fish was still there. My question(s) is : Should i continue to use this medication? If i should, how long after i treat them with the recommended dose can i do it again. Should i switch to a different medicine? If anyone else had this problem, please tell me what you did to cure them.

When treating for internal parasites it's generally best to treat with medicated foods as they're often more effective.
I'm not entirely sure if it can be combined with what you're treating with currently so you might want to check up on it. I do know that petsmart and I would assume petco have started carrying an antiparasitic food. It's supposed to be safe that all the other fish in the tank can eat it.
Sorry it's not much help, hopefully you'll get some more .

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

heh...the search function is working ...that would have made it easier....I'd known that there was a post about antipariasitic foods somewhere just wasnt able to find it and wanted to make a post :%).
Anyway have a read thru [link=this]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Hospital/49493.html?200411011919" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] if you have some time .

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

thanks Babel. I previously used that Ultra cure Px stuff from AQ but the loaches were not too interested in it though. i suppose ill have to go there this weekend. Did You say its in pellot form?

Unfortunatly I've never used it personally.
From the [link=description]http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441806678&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030134&bmUID=1099174106563" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] and picture it looks like it might not be flake...especially with the pic of the red belly on the package!.

Garlic acts as a apatite enhancer, as well as not being appreaciated by parasites. Once you get the food if you have fresh garlic around the house squeeze a few drops from a garlic press onto the food and let it soak in a bit. If you only have powdered garlic, sprinkle some into a container add a small ammount of water (dechlorinated or bottled would be best) then soak the medicated food in it then feed to the fish.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

clownloachfan

One method of getting the Garlic if you choose to use it is to crush some fresh (fresh is best) and mix it with some frozen blood worms over night this just migh help.

After it settles down consider what you have been feeding them with. Did you use fresh tuberfex worms as they have been known to introduce many nasties into tanks. I gave up using it many years ago for that reason also I never feed any bought live food (many grow their own food and this is usually much safer)
I hope all works well for you.

Keith

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Keithgh- I only feed them frozen bloodwoorms or frozen brineshrimp(at night) and Hikari sinking wafers(in the morning). Does the garlic method fully, absolutely, completely cure them of of any internal parasites. Have you tried this? Did it work for you? I heard about someone doing this for their sick discus that had something like internal parasites but it took them many weeks to fully cure it. I have no problem with how long it takes. I just want them to be well again. Are'nt tubifex worms the worms that are found in very polluted streams and lakes, etc?

Once I add the fresh garlic to the bloodworms, do you put it in the fridge overnight or the freezer? The refridgerator makes more sense to me. I suppose the garlic will act as a marinade. One other thing, does it matter if you use bloodworms or brine shrimp? I am almost out of bloodworms and i just bought a pack of brine shrimp last week.
THANKS

I have no proof of garlic compleatly cureing internal parasites which is why I suggested the medicated foods first. I only suggested the garlic since you'd said you'd tried a food and not had success getting the loaches to eat it. Garlic acting as an appatite enhancer should make the food I linked to go down easier....like a spoon full of sugar .

^_^

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clownloachfan

I have never used the Garlic either but I have seen it mentioned. I would use the propper medications first.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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