possible sick clown loach, seeking help

[bhcolex50x]

Hello all,

I appreciate any help in advance

I have a 4 clown loach in a cichlid tank, I've had every fish in the tank a minimum of 7 years, nothing has been added to the tank as far as decor since roughly june, I did a 30-40% water change about a week ago and I usually do this once a month and overhaul clean 1 of the 2 filters every 3-4 months which I did one of them at the same time as the last water change.

The tank is 75gallons and it has 2 Eheim 2217/600 classic filters rated for up to 159gallons each. The tank consists of 4 clown loaches, 3 different species of plecos, 1 large synodontis ocellifer, and 1 4" Moba Frontosa. Total fish length of 40-45" between the 9 fish.

The clown in question has been in my tank 9-10 years now and is the largest and oldest of the 4 at probably 5" in length. He's extremely bloated, this happens from time to time and as long as it goes away in a few days I normally don't think much of it but this time he has what looks like a large bulge coming from his anus that seems to just be hanging out there. I'm attaching pictures. He is breathing a little heavy but that is nothing new, all the loaches seem to do that off and on when the lights are on, the other tank mates seem to be breathing normal.

I feed them omega one super color cichlid pellets and have for as long as I can remember. I did recently add omega one veggie rounds (10-14 days ago) because I was a little concerned the 2 larger pleco's might not be getting enough to eat.

I'm going to attach several pictures, I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks is going on.

Thanks,
ColeIMG_7653.jpgIMG_7654.jpgIMG_7652.jpg

[imagirlgeek]

I’m just throwing out a wild guess here, but maybe a bit constipated? Before I looked at the pics, I thought I’d see a prolapsed rectum, but the color looks like poop. Am I seeing this right? Have you ever offered them peas? Also, epsom salt is a natural laxative that you might try. It’s magnesium, not really salt, so it shouldn’t cause any problems with the loaches.

Another thing I’m seeing in your pics that I think it worth mentioning is that he doesn’t look like he’s feeling bad. His fins aren’t clamped and the color looks good. Are you seeing any behaviors indicating otherwise?

[jughead]

I was thinking epsom salt too

[Ogrodii]

Definitely something wrong with his digestive tract I don’t think it’s parasite related if it’s happened before. I’d say treat him with some epsom salt if he sorts it out go lighter on the feeding.




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[bhcolex50x]

first off thanks for the quick responses everyone

I too am wondering about constipation

"Another thing I’m seeing in your pics that I think it worth mentioning is that he doesn’t look like he’s feeling bad. His fins aren’t clamped and the color looks good. Are you seeing any behaviors indicating otherwise?" when the tank light is off he seems about as active as the other 3 clown loaches in the tank. His colors look a little faded but all 4 of them seem to rotate who has the darkest colors with 1 or 2 at a time looking a little faded or washed out.

I will pick up some epsom salt today and try it this afternoon

I'll keep everyone posted thanks!