Common Clown Loach Diseases

The clown loach is said to be a 'scaleless' fish, which isn't entirely true. Their head's don't have scales, but they're body's do. However, the body scales are so small and faint that without closer examination a clown does appear to be 'scaleless'. The fact that clown loaches are more susceptible to disease than other aquarium fishes may have to do with the faint body scales and no head scales. Most commonly, the clown loach is susceptible to Ich.

Ich is short for Ichthyophthirius, also known as "white spot disease". It is a parasite that can attack nearly all aquarium fishes, but you'll find that the clown loach is often the first to be attacked. Why this is, I'm not sure, but it may have to do with the clown's scales. There are medicines that you can administer to the clown fish and there are some naturopathic methods that have worked for many people. The problem with medicines is that whatever causes the clown loach to be more susceptible to Ich also makes them more sensitive to medicines. Often the dosage for clowns is half that for other fishes.

Another common affliction of clown loaches is "skinny disease". It is also caused by an intestinal parasite. A simple way to diagnose this ailment is watching the clown's eating habits. If the clown loaches in your aquarium are eating healthy amounts of nutritious food, but are still losing weight then they may have "skinny disease". Again, there are both medicines you can buy and a few natural ways to try to deal with the problem.

In most cases I've found that the best medicine is prevention. If the clowns are fed properly and their environment is to their liking and the water quality is optimal they should rarely become sick. It is recommended that 25% of the water is changed every week or even more often if possible. The challenge is keeping the water quality roughly constant while changing the water. The clown's are very susceptible to swings in water temperature and water quality. When you think about it, clown loaches are the wimpy fish in the aquarium that easily get sick and are afraid of change. However, they're some of the most fun fish you'll encounter and that's what makes having them so much fun.

Bjorn Allpas writes about his hobbies and activities. This article is regarding his interest in tropical aquarium fish, like the Clown Loach. For information on this entertaining fish visit http://www.ClownLoachFish.com