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I have a rainbow fish whose mouth appears to be eroded away on the top lip. It is a large fish who is about 3 years old.The other 4 look okay.
They live in a community tank with 6 black neon tetras, 3 clown loach and 2 golden gouramis. I do a 25% water change every week and have had the tank for 3 years with no problems. It is a 22 uk gallon tank.
Can I use a anti-bacterial medication with the clown loaches?
I don't have another tank they can go in.

Yes you can use medications which will not harm the Clown Loaches Very good ones are Pimafix and Melafix.

I also think you are over stocked especially with the CLs as that tank is far too small for them.

You have not mentioned your filtration and how often it is cleaned. I would do several twice weekly 30% water changes as soon as posible. If you are using any carbon remove it completly.

Keith

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Thanks Keith
I will follow your advice and it looks as if I will have to find a new home for the CLs.
I have a Juwel biological filter system with sponges in baskets and I have now taken the carbon filter out.

Rainbowfish are regular sufferers of lip erosion, primarily because the feeding situation in aquaria is unnatural for them.They would usually imbibe only in small surface insects that require no real contact with the lips and are easily swallowed whole. In captivity though, they are still voracious feeders and will have a go at wafers, large chunks of food etc and often scrape the mouth and consequently their lips are constantly scratched and dinked against the substrate. Because of this probably at least half of all captive rainbow fish get mild fungus infections of the mouth. This is easily treated with pimafix and melafix, but if it starts to get really bad I find protozin very helpful.Anti-fungus and finrot remedies work well too.

Thank you for the very useful replies and information. My rainbow is now looking much better and I will be aware of the problem in the future. They are really the most attractive fish and I hope to have them for a long time

Chanel.