Kuhli loaches are great for beginners and advanced aquarists alike. They can be a little tricky to care for. But with the right information, you will have no problem keeping your kuhli loach healthy and happy. What are the common kuhli loach diseases and how can you treat them? Let us find out with this article!
Kuhli loach diseases are rare but can be fatal if not treated. They can get skinny disease, ich, white spot disease. They are quite hardy than other fishes in the aquarium world. However, this does not mean you should not keep an eye on them.
Kuhli loaches are also known as coolie or dwarf suckers. They originate in Southeast Asia and live on muddy bottoms of sluggish streams and rivers. The kuhli loach is a peaceful fish that will get along with other bottom-dwelling tank mates.
In this article, we will take a look at some of the most common diseases that affect these freshwater fish, as well as their treatments.
General Signs Of An Ill Kuhli Loach
The general signs of an ill kuhli loach are pretty much the same as any other loach, though it is important to make sure that your kuhli loaches are, in fact, ill. There are many external signs of disease in an animal that may not be actually sick at all.
A good example of this would be a fish bloated with eggs or sperm. The fish may appear perfectly healthy on the outside, but if this is a male loach it will likely not be long for this world.
Common Kuhli Loach Diseases With Their Treatment
Some of the common diseases that the kuhli loach suffer from are:
Bloating
If your fish is bloated/has red streaks on its body, there’s a good chance that it is suffering from bloating or ick.
Symptoms of Bloating
Their stomachs will become bloated with air and their scales expand to the point of breaking, allowing more air to enter. Their eyes sink into their sockets and there is swelling near the base of the fins.
Treatment
Treating this involves dipping the fish in saltwater for 30 minutes. If you choose to do this, please take measures to avoid shocking the fish during its treatment (i.e. do it gradually).
For bloating, the treatment is 10 to 20 percent saltwater at room temperature. If you are treating for ich, however, use a higher concentration of salt and take the fish out every 5 to 10 minutes, and put it back in its normal water. Repeat this several times over the course of 30 minutes.
Skinny/Wasting
Loaches can be skinny and still appear very healthy. But if you notice that your loach is getting skinnier after each time you feed it or if its stomach protrudes and its spine and ribs become visible, then there’s a good chance your fish is sick.
Unfortunately, skinny loaches are often also suffering from bloating, ick, or swim bladder disease.
Symptoms of The Skinny Disease:
Symptoms of skinny disease include a protruding stomach and visible ribs.
Treatment
Removing the fish from its main tank into a quarantine tank and then treating it with metronidazole (if bloating) or copper sulfate (if ick). If all else fails, you might want to consider feeding your loach sinking pellets to see if this helps.
Treating this can involve feeding your loach baby brine shrimp by squeezing them out of the package into the tank. This will cause an increase in water quality as well as give it more to eat.
Treating for ick is very similar to that of bloating, but instead of adding salt to the tank, you must use a medicine called Prazi. Fish can actually be allergic to salt and/or iodine, so unless they are bloated or have ick it’s best not to treat with them. If your loach is very skinny and has ick, then feeding brine shrimp may not help much since it will likely die soon anyway.
Swim Bladder Disease
The signs of swim bladder disease are often seen when your loach flips over or stays at the bottom of the tank, unable to move very well.
Symptoms of Swim Bladder Disease
Fish with swim bladder disease will be unable to submerge themselves in the water.
If your loach is unable to swim straight, stays on the bottom of the tank, or is constantly swimming near the surface of the water, it may have developed swim bladder disease. A fish with this problem will usually stay at the top or at the bottom but not able to maintain its position normally. This is caused by bacteria invading the swim bladder, which creates buoyancy problems.
Treatment
Swim bladder disease can be a difficult one to cure, but if you take immediate action there is a good chance that your loach will recover 90%. To solve this problem, raise the water’s temperature and give it enough salt to make it uncomfortable for the fish to stay underwater. Another thing you can do is feed it high-protein food to strengthen its muscles.
Ich
The kuhli loach is very vulnerable to ick just like any other loaches. But, frequently the symptoms of infestation with ich are so mild that they go unnoticed by many aquarists.
Symptoms of Ich
Fish with ick will scratch their bodies against objects in their tank, making them appear as if they have been “flagellated”.
Treatment
If you catch it early, ick can be treated with a freshwater dip. If the infestation is more advanced, however, your fish will need to be treated with medication and placed in quarantine for 10 – 14 days.
Ich symptoms look a lot like symptoms of other diseases. But they can also include white or clear spots on the skin of your loach. If there are many, it’s likely ich and you should treat for this immediately. Treating for ick involves putting salt in the tank (in some cases), raising the temperature, or using a medicine called Prazi. Please note that ick medication should never be used if the loach is bloated because it could cause serious harm (even death).
How Do You Prevent Illness In Your Kuhli Loach?
There are several ways that you can help to prevent your kuhli loaches from getting sick. Here are some easy things you can keep an eye on to make your kuhli loach happy and healthy.
Maintain Water Parameters
This means maintaining the temperature of your water, as well as making sure it is at a reasonable pH level. You should always check your water to make sure these things are in line. It is because if they aren’t you may have to buy a heater for the tank or attempt to cool it down instead.
Temperature: 75 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit
The ph of water: 5.5 to 6.8 KH
The hardness of water: 0 to 10 dKH
Feed Well
Give your loach a varied diet with foods from different sources, such as sinking pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, and brine shrimp.
Treating this involves giving your loach peas with the skin removed. It will eat them and its own waste will become enriched with soluble fiber. The bacteria in the gut of your fish actually consume this fiber. They exhale gas as a result, filling up the swim bladder.
The best options for nutritious food for kuhli loach are:
- Hikari Usa Inc AHK21328 tropical Algae Wafer 8.8-Ounce
- Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers for Catfish, Loaches, and Bottom Feeders 3.88 oz
- Ocean Nutrition Instant Baby Brine Shrimp 0.7-Ounces (20 Grams) Jar
- Omega One Freeze-Dried Blood Worms, 0.96 oz
- 200 Live Daphnia by Aqua L’amour
- Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Daphnia for Pets, 0.42-Ounce
- Hikari Tubifex Worms Fish Food (0.7 oz.) [Set of 2]
Remove Dead Fish
Dead fish can cause disease to spread through the tank so it’s important to remove them as soon as possible. The best way to do this is by using a gravel vacuum and siphoning out as much of the decomposing body as you can.
Eliminate Stress
Make sure your loach gets a lot of hiding places so that it feels safe and secure at all times. Some ways to eliminate stress in fish are by keeping them in larger numbers and fasting them regularly.
Arrange Quarantine Tank
If necessary, set up a quarantine tank where your fish can be treated before you place it back with the rest of the loaches. This will ensure that disease doesn’t spread to other fish as well as give your loach time to recover without having to worry about other fish bothering it.
Inspect Your Kuhli Loach Tank
Give your tank a good inspection every couple of weeks, looking for signs of disease or anything that might be out of the ordinary. Also, check each individual fish to make sure that it looks healthy and active. If you have more than one loach you should also pay attention to the distress calls of your fish, so you can quickly react if one becomes ill or is in danger.
FAQ:
Are Kuhli Loaches Hardy?
They aren’t necessarily “hardy,” but they are generally very easy to take care of and relatively resistant to disease. They’re also resilient when it comes to water parameters and temperature.
What Is The Lifespan Of Kuhli Loach?
Most kuhli loaches tend to have a lifespan of 5 – 10 years. This is why it’s always important to think about buying two when you get your first. They will often pair up in the same tank and if one dies the other will likely die soon after because it will grieve.
Conclusion
So, those are the common diseases that kuhli loach can get and their treatments. I hope this article has been helpful! If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. I will do my best to provide a helpful response. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Please remember that this advice is for kuhli loaches only! These species are sensitive and even small changes in water parameters can cause them to become very sick. They need a stable environment with clean water and good food. While they may appear to be “low maintenance,” they still require much more attention than goldfish, for instance.
Related articles:
| Why Are My Kuhli Loach Hiding? With Solutions |
| How To Identify If Your Kuhli Loach Is Stressed? |
| How Do You Treat Fungus In Kuhli Loach? Easy Way |
| Swim Bladder Disorder In My Kuhli Loach: Causes, Symptoms, and More |
