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Please help. Here are pics of my littlest clown - Spotnik. He's been in quarantine for over a week. I dont know what to do with him, he's grown in length, but he's getting skinnier and skinnier. Wen he swims up straight, his body is straight, but nowadays, he sleeps on his side in an arched shape.

Here are pics of him that will show you wats wrong with him:

spotnik 1

spotnik 2

spotnik 3

spotnik 4

spotnik 5

spotnik 6

Last edited by Clownygirl at 12-Jul-2005 12:08

oh the poor baby

im not sure whats wrong with him, but, if you decide to put him down, use some clove oil, and as soon as he stops breathing cut off his head, he is sleeping, and wont feel it, never freeze them....but maybe just dose with some mels fix? im not sure what it would do, ..... im just not sure.. sorry

Fishyhelper, thank you for your advice. I really donno wat to do. I did give him a medicated bath over a week ago using Befuran along with the other fish in the quarantine tank - 1 Ram, and a swordtail. Both seem to be getting better, the Ram is getting its colour back and his fins are healing and he is eating properly and has even put on weight.

The swordtail, eventho, he has a bent spine or something, is alive and healthy.

This little clown however, is getting worse by the minute

The bent spine on the clown ans swordtail sounds like Tuberculosis. Are they all still in the Quaratine tank?

I'm sorry but it's probably to late to save them.

Some info on Tuberculosis:
[link=http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/disease/tb.asp]http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/disease/tb.asp" style="COLOR: #0000FF[/link]

I kinda thought it was that, but then, it didnt affect all the fish. The Rams died mostly of starvation, however, its the swordtail tat showed the bent spine. This guy, wen he swims, he swims straight, he does this arched back thing wen sleeping.

On the other hand, the swordtail in the same tank cant swim straight. I did look up pics of fish with TB, and no, my fish dont look anything like that. They are however, showing symptoms of internal parasite.

My biggest problem has been not being able to diagnose the disease. The tank these guys came from originally is restocked, and all the fish are doing alright, so I really donno wat to do. The other fish tat I gave away from tat tank were healty too.

Clowny
I know it's gonna be stupid to ask, but I willyou are keeping up with the water changes, and making sure your parameters aren't bouncing around, right? Like I said stupid but, had to ask...

Is he eating? I'd be sure to get all sorts of tasty treats and find something(s) he'll eat lots of...

Get some blood worms, tubifex worms, algae wafers, bottom feeder disks, anything you think might tempt him to eat more than he is...and then you might need to start feeding him 2-3 times a day as much as he will eat...

I'm not the clownloach God, and don't feel totally comfortable with him being this thin at all...but to me it looks like he hit a sudden growth spurt, and his weight just hasn't caught up with him...so in turn try to fatten him up, if he won't eat one thing swap, and keep swapping till he starts eating...I'd even try some veggies, or anything else you can think of...

Best of luck, heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

He was eating until I went away for the weekend, and now he is not eating at all

I feed him his favourite food, but he wont touch it. Water changes are weekly about 20% in this tank. It approx a 10-15 gal tank.

I did feed him tubifex worms last week and he ate well, so maybe, the shock of the lights coming on all of a sudden???

This sounds awful! Are there any improvements? How long has he been sick for? The pictures don't provide me with a lot of hope, unfortunately. Another method of putting them down that I have found useful is adding a small aeroplane bottle of Vodka to a small amount of water. Its works the same way as when a human is euthanased. That way it doesn't have to become messy.

He is not eating at all, and sleeping all day now. I dont kno how long he has

He passed away yesterday. He was about 1 1/2 inches when he passed away. He had one half stripe, and a spot instead of the middle stripe. May he rest in peace

I'm so sorry Clowny:#( It's always so sad when we lose one of our fishies:#(I'm sorry for your loss, heidi





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"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

You have my sympathies. I lost my Marilyn (clown loach) and was crushed. My clowns are my favorites. Hang in there.

*hugs* sorry for your loss, Clowny:#( Its always hard to loose a fish, and I know that this has been hard on you. Know at least that he rests in peace.

I don't know about the rest of you, and this may sound weird, but I was far more upset over losing one of my clown loaches about a year and a half ago than I was about losing my original Zebra Danios that I bought to cycle the tank.

Does anyone else out there have a special attachment to a certain species? I am that way with my angels, too.

I would say you should make this a separate tread as you for sure would get quite a few replies (I assume).

It wouldn’t be nice to turn this rather sad thread into something different, not to mention that members would only come across your question if they want to read about sick/dying clown loaches.

Just my thoughts,

Ingo

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