# Escapologist loach now has red patches



## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

My weather loach has spent the night on the carpet for the first time. Luckily I found him fairly quickly and he can't have been out of the tank more than 10 hours, though he managed to travel nearly 20 feet! He was very dirty and a bit stiff though still wriggling so I've put him back in the water and now he's resting.

What worries me is that he's now got some red patches on his belly and fins that definately weren't there before. Are they just sores from the carpet? Is there something I can do for him or will they clear up on their own?

The carpet was spray-treated against fleas and mites a month ago. The loach is a little under a year old and to my knowledge he's never been ill before. None of the others in the tank are showing any sign of illness or infection.


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

Seems to me you're lucky he survived at all, after being out of water for 10 hours. I'm not sure what the exact ailment is, but while you are waiting for others to reply, try putting in some medication that has aloe in it, and dimming the lights for him.


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

kicksilver said:


> Seems to me you're lucky he survived at all, after being out of water for 10 hours. I'm not sure what the exact ailment is, but while you are waiting for others to reply, try putting in some medication that has aloe in it, and dimming the lights for him.


+1 Give him some stress coat and thank god he is alive.
I have 4 of these guys and have never had it happen to me but hear about it frequently.:fish5:


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## Manafel (Sep 4, 2011)

When a fish jumps, their slime coat gets badly damaged, and they become more susceptible to bacterial/fungal infections. Be sure to keep the water super clean and put some melafix/stress coat in to help his slime coat. I would keep a very close eye on him until he heals. Good luck.


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## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

Thanks for the advice guys. He seems to be getting his energy back and the red patches are clearing up but now his fins are peeling. None of the other fish in the tank are aggressive but I've quarantined him anyway to reduce stress and given him melafix. I don't know whether he's caught an illness or is just still suffering from dehydration. He's eating normally but not digging through the sand or burying himself, he seems like his whiskers might be sore. I've also put a towel over the tank to darken it (the quarantine tank doesn't have its own lighting system) since I read that loaches are nocturnal and thought it might be more comfortable for him. I don't want to lose him, he's my favourite! D:

No signs of illness or infection on the other fish.


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## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

*Update*

Update on my loach:

He seems to be doing a lot better now, most of the dead skin's fallen away and though his fins are quite tatty I think they're healing. They look better than they did a few days ago, certainly! He's eating healthily and moving around a lot more, I moved his favourite rock into the quarantine tank with him and he spends most of his time hiding under it but now he comes out for his pellets. I'll carry on giving him melafix for the time being.

I'm still worried about his whiskers though, they were curled up when I first found him and now the upper set seem to have fallen off. I tried to look it up online and general consensus seems to be that they'll grow back in time but in the mean time I'm worried because it makes it hard for him to dig, forage, bury himself etc. I certainly don't want to put him back in the main tank until he's fighting fit again because he usually has to compete with a fancy for his food (the shrimp like it too but they always take one pellet each and then spend most of an hour trying to eat it).


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## Manafel (Sep 4, 2011)

glad to hear that he is doing well! I would keep him in the QT tank for a little while longer... if his whiskers take too long to grow back, I would go ahead and put him back(since he seems to be doing a lot better and is eating at all)


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## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

Manafel said:


> glad to hear that he is doing well! I would keep him in the QT tank for a little while longer... if his whiskers take too long to grow back, I would go ahead and put him back(since he seems to be doing a lot better and is eating at all)


OK, I'll bear that in mind. I don't want him gone for too long anyway since it took the fancy a really long time to get used to him. Maybe a maximum of 10 days? Apart from the surface damage he seems quite well now.


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

Glad to hear it, if my fish get sick they die, I've never had them recover regardless of what I do to help them. I suppose I'm a terrible fish doctor.


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## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

kicksilver said:


> Glad to hear it, if my fish get sick they die, I've never had them recover regardless of what I do to help them. I suppose I'm a terrible fish doctor.


That happened for my first few as well, I suppose it just takes experience to be able to spot symptoms and know what to do about them. Also a good forum community willing to help out! Don't be afraid to ask for help, I think these guys' advice probably saved Lewie's life.


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## Red (Jun 13, 2013)

*Newest update*

Just 'cause it might be useful to somebody, and also I'm grateful for all your advice:

It's now been a week since my weather loach went on his little adventure. His tail fin and whiskers had fallen off completely but now they are most definately growing back (his whiskers are already about 1/3 of their original length again). He's regained his energy though he still seems quite nervy, and he's started burying himself and foraging for food again. He still looks very sore at the tips of his fins where the new skin is growing and the old is still coming away, so I'm giving him a daily dose of melafix and daily water changes. He'll be surprised to find a new, bigger tank to move into when his wounds close up completely. One with a very close-fitting lid, I might add!


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