Here We Go Again

[Sharon]

As usually happens with my Clowns, problems have begun. All have been eating and growing. All ate at 8AM and all were active and looked great. I gave them apple during the afternoon...At 6pm, I noticed one looked a little off, and seemed to twitch. I've been keeping a close eye on him, and he just died. This was faster than usual though...normally it takes a couple of days.I am totally rotted...I can't understand why this always happens with Clowns for me...

As you can see by the pic, colour and overall look is good....

[Lady Hobbs]

He looks odd to me but I can't put finger on it. Excuss slime, clamped fin and bulging eyes. Could he have been poisoned by the apple.

[Deleted User]

He looks odd to me but I can't put finger on it. Excuss slime, clamped fin and bulging eyes. Could he have been poisoned by the apple.

Yes I agree with Lady Hobbs. He looks roach backed too.

Very strange shape

[Sharon]

Gosh, I hope not...I read that Clowns like apples, so I put in a slice for about two hours. They did nibble it, but didn't seem to care for it...Geez! I wish I hadn't tried that!!!:scry:

I've watched them a lot, and the bellies look rounded...I think it may be the way he's laying on the towel???

[Sharon]

Here's the other two...Do they look thin?

[Deleted User]

Sharon can you get full side on shots please ?

[Sharon]

I can't get the camera card to download into the computer...Grrr! I'll try it again later...

[Red]

Just by the looks, I don't think they look skinny. Sharon, i would feed garlic or garlic based foods. NLS therA is good for them, I think you might have a problem with internal parasites. I may be wrong though, but because of the sudden dying, thats the only thing i can think of. What are you feeding ( i assume a varied diet because of the apples). I am sorry for your loss..

[Lady Hobbs]

From what I can see, they look fine. Fins erect, great coloring. Heck, the dead one had great coloring, too. Problem with these darned loaches is they hide so much we don't get to see how they're acting. Mine spend so much time in their caves, I wouldn't know if something was wrong with them either unless their color was off.

Was he OK, best you can tell, prior to eating the apple?

[Sharon]

Yes, they were all fine. Mine don't hide yet...they are always out cruising around. I check them several times a day, as I'm a bit paranoid, considering the trouble I've had with Clowns. They do have a bedtime, and they all settle in the same spot. All three were active and eating this AM...they looked great. They've all grown since I purchased them. When I looked at the tank around 6pm, the dead one looked "uncomfortable"...I don't know how to describe it but the thought crossed my mind that he had eaten something he couldn't swallow. I walked into the kitchen, and while finishing the dishes, I checked periodically. He was in the same spot, just looking "wrong"....Then he was just on his back, dead...

Diet includes flakes, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, peas, cucumber, mysis shrimp, and bloodworms. I did try banana last week, and the apple slice today. The fruit remained in the tank for only 2 hours....

[Sharon]

Here's the remaining two...I can't see anything that looks wrong ....although the one on the right(in the second pic) has a lumpy belly. Clowns don't accidentally eat the substrate when they forage , do they?

[Rue]

Sorry about your fish! :scry:

I have no idea. Doubt it was the apple though.

Sometimes it happens. I can't keep guppies alive.

[Lady Hobbs]

Very strange. I can not see it being the apple either but if he was fine prior to eating it and then had a sudden death........? Just seems odd to me. Most, if ill enough to be dying soon, would not be eating at all. Just strikes me as odd.

[Sharon]

It is odd. The deaths of the previous Clowns were not sudden like this one. They actually looked unwell for a couple of days before death. This one was perfectly normal earlier in the day...Maybe he did choke. I did read that fish suffer the same ailments as people, such as heart attacks etc. Maybe??? My record with Clowns is extremely iffy! I had one who got startled when I walked into the room, and knocked himself out from hitting his head on the wall of the tank...Can you believe it! I held him under the current to keep the gills oxygenated for 15mins but he didn't revive.

Hobbs, I'm a little concerned that mine don't hide much, and are almost constantly on the move. Do you think that's anything to worry about? They are very young and I know the young don't hide the same as the older ones...I'm just thinking....

[fishlover49]

So sorry you have to go through this again, Sharon. :scry: Hope you get it figured out soon. Sorry for your loss. :scry: :scry:

[Crispy]

the smaller your clown loaches, the less 'hardy' they are. Yours still look a bit thin to me (LFS clowns always seem to be small and thin) and probably succeptable to the slightest changes in their water/food. Have you had them long? My clowns favorite food is TopFin sinking shrimp pellets. There is a clown loach and pictus cat on the container. It's really got them fat. I wouldn't mess with their diet too much until they're a bit bigger. Sorry about your loss... I always recommend to have at least 4 clown loaches cuz they're less stressed in groups.

[Sharon]

I've had them less than a month...I'm hoping the other two survive, and that this death is not related to any specific problem. If these don't do well, I am not doing this again! I've said that before, but Geez, I'm starting to feel like I should get a Tshirt with "CLOWN LOACH KILLER" written on the front!!!!:scry: :scry:

[Crispy]

I've had them less than a month...I'm hoping the other two survive, and that this death is not related to any specific problem. If these don't do well, I am not doing this again! I've said that before, but Geez, I'm starting to feel like I should get a Tshirt with "CLOWN LOACH KILLER" written on the front!!!!:scry: :scry:

Many people lose their clowns in the first few months after they get them. You really gotta look for the fatter ones when loach shopping. I've seen many many poor quality clown loaches around the LFS. I'm not saying yours was 'poor quality' or anything, but it's hard to keep them when they're small and choosing the fattest will up your odds. I hunted for a year to find clowns I thought were in perfect shape and I havn't lost one in the 16 months I've had them.

[Jellygirl]

So sorry to be reading this again Sharon. Perhaps it was just a one off type of thing as you suggest like a heart attack or something. I have seen much thinner looking clown loaches than that.

They have good colouring and I would think that yours are so active because they are younger. It certainly didn't go the way the others did.

Michelle

[Brookfish]

Sharon i'm real sorry to hear about your clowns hun, first one looked
poorly but the others look fine, I was looking at your food list and
it all seems ok for the clowns, only thing I would like to ask you
is were the bloodworms fresh or frozen? reason I ask is I got a bad
batch of fresh bloodworm once and lost 2/3rds of the occupants
of a 100g cichlid community, never had a prob with the frozen BW.
I hope this is a one of and your other clowns are fine, please
keep us updated.

[Sharon]

Thanks guys...I feel better! I'm not going to stress myself out over this, anymore.
Mike, the Bloodworms are frozen, so I assume they would be OK...although I have noticed when I defrost them in water, that some are red and some are grey...???

[Brookfish]

Like I say i've never had a prob feeding frozen Sharon, just the
fresh kind.