My Weather Loach seems to be extremely ill, thought I’d post here in case anyone has any advice.
He’s been swimming erratically (a lot of twisting around/spinning) with major trouble balancing, often lying upside down or on his back. Occasionally he will stop and start to float for a couple of seconds before twisting around again. He’s also gone very very pale and occasionally seems to gasp as if having trouble breathing. This has been happening for about 2 weeks, there were no changes to their living conditions that I can think of that would have caused this.
He’s in a tank with one other loach. The other loach is fine, we’ve had them both for around 10 years and they’ve not been sick before. I did a big water change (around 60% total) and he improved for a couple of days but then got much much worse. I'm afraid to interfere too much because of how stressed out he is, I think he could die from sheer panic at this point. Usually he hides 24/7 by burying himself but recently he just lays in plain view, completely pale, on his back or side, usually propped up by something.
Some information on their living conditions:
Filter: Eheim Aquaball 180 Interior Filter
Tank: 200 litres (44 gallons)
Ph: I believe Ph is 7 but I’ve ordered a kit to test Ph and nitrate and will update this post when the kit arrives. We fill up jugs with tap water and leave it out for 24 hours before changing around 50/60%, been doing this monthly for years.
Diet: flake food, bloodworms and occasional peas.
Any help would be much appreciated as I’ve had these two for so long and have grown very attached to them, he really seems in a lot of discomfort/pain and it’s hard to see him in this state. Sorry if my information is inadequate I’m quite new to this, feel free to ask any questions!
He’s been swimming erratically (a lot of twisting around/spinning) with major trouble balancing, often lying upside down or on his back. Occasionally he will stop and start to float for a couple of seconds before twisting around again. He’s also gone very very pale and occasionally seems to gasp as if having trouble breathing. This has been happening for about 2 weeks, there were no changes to their living conditions that I can think of that would have caused this.
He’s in a tank with one other loach. The other loach is fine, we’ve had them both for around 10 years and they’ve not been sick before. I did a big water change (around 60% total) and he improved for a couple of days but then got much much worse. I'm afraid to interfere too much because of how stressed out he is, I think he could die from sheer panic at this point. Usually he hides 24/7 by burying himself but recently he just lays in plain view, completely pale, on his back or side, usually propped up by something.
Some information on their living conditions:
Filter: Eheim Aquaball 180 Interior Filter
Tank: 200 litres (44 gallons)
Ph: I believe Ph is 7 but I’ve ordered a kit to test Ph and nitrate and will update this post when the kit arrives. We fill up jugs with tap water and leave it out for 24 hours before changing around 50/60%, been doing this monthly for years.
Diet: flake food, bloodworms and occasional peas.
Any help would be much appreciated as I’ve had these two for so long and have grown very attached to them, he really seems in a lot of discomfort/pain and it’s hard to see him in this state. Sorry if my information is inadequate I’m quite new to this, feel free to ask any questions!