# Possible only loaches have ich?



## funkycat (Nov 3, 2010)

Hi, recently i noticed my dwarf loaches have been scratching themselves on the rock and drift wood. and tiny white spots are appearing on their fins. 
the thing is all the other inhabitants (rasboras, BNP and pygmy cories look perfectly healthy and are behaving normally). I dont really want to medicate with healthy fish in the tank, but something is definately wrong. The tank used to also be full of baby BNP's, and i thought lately they were just hiding. Upon closer inspection today (moving some rocks etc) i think they are all dead =(


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Loaches have very tiny scales and so are more prone to being infected by ich. Ich parasites can always be found in the aquarium; how a fish gets infected is when it's immune system weakens due to various reason but the most common is stress due to changes in water conditions. From just the brief information you've provided, I can only provide a general and broad excerpt, and may not be limited to this factor, as the loach is some how stressed due to a fluctuation of one of the water chemistry items (pH, GH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite,....). Before dosing any medication, quickly check out what may be the cause, then find a resolution to counter the ich.

Treating ich, there's numerous threads on this topic.....basics is to increase tank temperature a bit, add aquarium salt, dose a small bit of medication...). Here's some quick reading.
​Understanding and Treating Ich or White Spot

Most importantly, frequent small water changes throughout the week would help the fish. Too big of a water change may just further stress the loach.

Good luck with your battle.
​


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## mollyb (May 18, 2010)

if all the BNPs died, there may be a nitrate spike, a big water change, and raise the temp to 80 will probably do the trick, I guess there are no dead BNP bodies around, but they should be removed if there are (or if you can find any), and I would change the filter media (rinse out biological media) as it may be plugging up as it works OT on the nitrates. I can't remember for sure, but there may be a caution with salt and loaches.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

i always thought loaches are scale-less. 

Anyway, they are ich magnet. If there is any ich or a stress in the water, they will get ich. And because of that, it might create a bad environment for your smaller fish. I would use quick cure but in a half dose usage. up-ing the temperature to 85 and add salt will work but I found that it takes too long and most of the time, when stress issue appears, the ich comes back to the loaches.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

lexingtonsteel said:


> Hi, recently i noticed my dwarf loaches have been scratching themselves on the rock and drift wood. and tiny white spots are appearing on their fins.
> the thing is all the other inhabitants (rasboras, BNP and pygmy cories look perfectly healthy and are behaving normally). I dont really want to medicate with healthy fish in the tank, but something is definately wrong. The tank used to also be full of baby BNP's, and i thought lately they were just hiding. Upon closer inspection today (moving some rocks etc) i think they are all dead =(


Sorry to hear that the BNP babies are dead. I could be wrong and please correct me if I am but I believe the cories/bnp have some kind of armour plates sort of things covering their bodies so they are more hardy than a scaleless fish like loach when it comes to skin problem. Because of that they may look healthy. Having said that they can still get infected and the rasboras would likley get infected if you do not do anything. May be add some medication, increase the temp, and try to vacuum the substrate often with frequent water change, and clean up your filter media really well (I would boil the media to get rid of any ich or if it is a HOB, I would disinfect the whole filter with bleach, then change a new filter cartidage). You can add stability/cycle/instant start to cycle your tank again afterward. Increase temp above I think 85 or so will stop them from reproducing. Just my 2 cents.


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## JohnnyAppleSnail (May 30, 2010)

If I were You I'd treat as soon as possible,don't worry about your other Fish they'll be fine if You treat properly. As Charles said raise temp and Quick Cure or similar Med should work. Point is sounds like Ich is present and You have to get rid of it,I find the sooner you find and treat the easier the outcome. I myself have never bothered with cleaning the Filter Media while dosing. Just raising heat slowly to 88-90 (I always crank up to this level,Fish seem to do fine) to speed up ich life cycle,increase aeration (Add airstone,etc.) or lower water level in tank to get more splash from HOB/Canister Filters,treat 10-14 days (I do 14) to make sure all signs of Ich are gone.


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

Loaches are definitely ich magnets. That's not a bad thing, if you keep your loaches happy and healthy all is good.

Ich is a parasite. Reference the other inhabitants in your tank, I used coppersafe the first time +daily 20% water changes, gone in less than a week. 2nd time, just did daily 20% water changes once again gone in less than a week. Good gravel vacuum with the water changes, every day.

If I remember correctly, the parasite either sits or hatches on the substrate which is why you want to vacuum every day.

Good luck, I've had my loaches for over a year now, they are awesome!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I agree with everyone Loaches are Ick magnets in bad conditions and they are scaleless as Charles mentioned. They are some of the harder fish to get the Ick off of. It seems treating them causes more stress which makes the Ick come back. Some people say to turn off the lights while treating for Ick aswell. BUy some Ick medicine. Crank the heat add salt and hope for the best. Vaccum often since Ick will sit in the gravel. A UV would help solve the problem from returning and help kill it now. Good luck I hope they survive


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

The reason why to turn off the light is because most ich medication is light sensitive. The light will reduce the effect of medication.

Also, if I haven't mentioned it before, take the carbon out if you have any while you are appling the medication.


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