Tropical Fish Keeping banner
1 - 6 of 6 Posts

· Registered
Joined
·
282 Posts
Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I've bought four Kuhli Loaches about a couple weeks about and this week I had to flush a couple of them, although I wasn't sure if they were alive or not since they seemed to be suffering or something, at least looking like they were nearing death. The last two are bothering me because they look like they are having trouble navigating, some swim around upside down, when they swim, they do what looks like a little twirl, and the two I flushed looked like they were having trouble swimming, coiling up. What I want to know is what is going on with them, do I need to buy any kind of medication for whatever is bothering them, or are they feeling stressed and I need to buy a few more of them to calm them down? Because right now, my problem with kuhli loaches is that while they are fun to watch, then also seem to cause me the most worries for some reason.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
1,876 Posts
Can you post video of this perhaps? Kuhli loaches are really awkward swimmers. Mine sometimes swim upside down to snag food floating down or under plants(though not typically when just swimming around), they love to swim in circles, and curl up in places and just wiggle around. It's kinda what they do...since I can't SEE what yours are doing, I can't even tell you if it's normal or not...

Have you checked your water stats to make sure there is ZERO ammonia? Ammonia can cause some nasty pain and kill them, even a little of it. Have you been spraying anything near the tank? Sometimes if an airborne spray like cologne, fabreeze, anything that is airborne with chemicals like that stuff, it can sometimes cause fish to spin and act awkwardly, it'll outright poison them if it gets in the tank. Some are more delicate to it than others, and though loaches don't typically go near the top, should they during the time something is in the air it can affect them. Eventually it will kill them if kept up. Sometimes they recovered if it's taken care of and the place is aired out though.

The temp being too high can sometimes affect them oddly too. They seem to dislike it past 80 degrees or so. Yes, some can handle it, but if there isn't enough oxygen in the water they cannot and will act weird because they're suffocating, some may try to stay at the top until they no longer can and then the mess gets worse, they lose the ability to function properly since they have little to no oxygen supply.

On another note: please don't flush animals you don't know if they are dead or alive. Horrible death, that. If the shock doesn't kill them they can potentially survive in the filth for days/weeks until the toxins and ammonia literally melts them away. It's a truly awful way to die, it'd be a lot more humane to take them out and smash their heads than it would be to flush them. When I am unsure of an animal I usually put it in a container with tank water, a bubbler and some live plants if I lack a QT tank.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
5,204 Posts
Twirling is never a good sign, and is not normal for kuhlis.


It does not take days/weeks for fish to die once they are in the sewage system - especially a weak/dying fish. Fish can die from ammonia poisoning in a day in the fish tank - concentrations are probably WAAAY higher in the septic tank.

I do agree that it's humane to smash it's head with a hammer. It's one of the AVMAs endorsed methods of euthanasia.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
282 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Yeah well, the two I flushed didn't struggle one bit when I put the net on them, and the hammer thing, I wouldn't have the heart to do it because then I would feel worse then the flushing part. Temperature of the water I try to keep at 75° so that way it would be comfortable with all the fish. Ammonia levels I'm not too sure, but probably not an issue since I have live plants in the tank that are probably absorbing it. I show you but I'm still trying to figure out how to take a picture without it looking fuzzy. One website says it might be a parasite, but I don't see it affecting my other fish, so I'm not sure. Plus they went into hiding, so hopefully it means that they are doing better and that I probably got a bad pair from the place I bought them from. If they are alive when I order a new batch of fish, I'll probably order a few more to see if that would help make them feel better, since they are like a schooling fish.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
5,204 Posts
Yes, I use the net as a barometer too. If I can net the fish with ease, then that tells me that there's something reeeeally wrong with the fish.
 
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top