Need help keeping clown loaches

[PATSFAN69]

I bought 10 clown loaches a few months ago and now every one of them has died . I want to get more but I don't want to keep killing them . I have a 135 , standared gravel ( small blue pebbles ) filtered by 2 Rena XP3's , I have 5 small peices of drift wood and 4 larger pots for hiding places . I do a 30 - 50% water change every other week and clean the gravel every 3 days witch takes out about 15-20 gallons of water . Anything stand out as of what I am going wrong ? Thanks in advance for the help !!

[ewurm]

Check your temp. I have found they do better in higher temps, maybe with a little salt to prevent disease.

[rallysb1tch]

I can't seem to keep clown loaches either. Ask JD_MAN he has like 894696348953486 of them in his 180 gallon tank.

[ewurm]

Let us know what your water parameters are, and what you are feeding.

[is300zx]

also what other fish are in the 135? did they just wasted away or did they seem to have died from a disease? clown loaches are actually pretty easy to keep. the only thing is they are very prone to ich so quarantine new arrivals is a must if you have loaches in the tank.

[Asian_Redtail_Catfish]

From my experience with Clown Loaches, you should not buy them very small or where they look skinny..If you see some at the store really skinny and the others are not, the clowns would get skinny later and waste away..Those are in bad heatlh..Also, they are prone to Ich, so before you put them in, you should raise the temp in your tank so they will not get Ich..Heat will kill Ich, no matter what..Well basically, clowns can be kept alive..It is just the stock you choose from the store that make the difference..

And, a cycled tank like always will keep fishes alive..

[fishmaven]

Don't buy any clown loaches unless you see them eat first. Avoid skinny ones showing their lateral line. Small loaches are even more sensitive to temp changes and other problems. Mid 80s would be good. Sliced bananas about the thickness of a dime would keep them fat. Until you know they're eating the bananas just throw 1 slice for every 2 loaches. Other bottom feeders will eat the bananas too.

[ewurm]

I have never tried feeding bananas. I will try that, thanks.

[JD_MAN]

List your water params., tankmates, and what you were feeding them.

I have been very lucky with all of my loaches and haven't had any major problems. I keep their tank warm and the diet varied. They never stop begging for food. Mine are in with a large mix of fish that have somehow worked out, including angels, discus, fronts, and several different plecs.

I also never use any chemicals in my tank at all. I only use aquarium salt when needed.

[bmxer4ever]

I bought 10 clown loaches a few months ago and now every one of them has died . I want to get more but I don't want to keep killing them . I have a 135 , standared gravel ( small blue pebbles ) filtered by 2 Rena XP3's , I have 5 small peices of drift wood and 4 larger pots for hiding places . I do a 30 - 50% water change every other week and clean the gravel every 3 days witch takes out about 15-20 gallons of water . Anything stand out as of what I am going wrong ? Thanks in advance for the help !!

I've managed to keep my Clown Pack alive and well this year, but only after learning a few lessons.

First off, my tank water parameters are;
PH 6.8
Ammonia 0mg/l (ppm)
Nitrite <0.3mg/l (ppm)
Temperature @ 78

Rocks, gravel, driftwood, plants.

I feed flake, algae wafers, frozen bloodworm and catfish pellets, which they seem to love(and they DO like banana!).

So far so good, but I reckon that this is not much different to what you've been doing.

Do you have good aeration and a current in the tank? Loaches like moving water and aeration helps get rid of dead spots near the bottom of the tank where nitrites can accumulate. (same place loaches like to live.)

The other problem you may have encountered is "knifeback".
Did your loaches get all skinny before they died? Looked like they were eating, but didn't put on any weight? Looked like you could see their skeleton through their skin?

Knifeback is a bi@tch. (The skinny ones described at lfs probably had knifeback).
Didn't know what it was at first and lost a loach - next time I knew better. Luckily it is treatable. It's caused by internal parasites - worms I think - and you can get rid of it fairly easily. I use Waterlife STERAZIN - 10 day treatment course - and it has worked so far. Put the affected loach in an unlit isolation tank while treating him and he came out fine.

A lot is said about loaches being very sensitive to medication, but I have found that, as long as you stick to the instructions, they seem to be fine (usually a half dose is recommended for Clowns). I do stick to Waterlife products for treating whitespot and knifeback with loaches, but I don't think that will have anything to do with it, it's just a product I trust.

[fishmaven]

I'm reluctant to use or recommend anything I can't find the specs on. When I did a search on sterazin all I got was what it's supposed to do and how to use it. That's rather like defining a word using the word. What is/are the active ingredient/s ?

[PATSFAN69]

I figured out my problem !! Rookie move , When I do my water changes , I use the outside hose and the water temp changes from the normal 82 down to 66 . I guess the rapid temp change and the smaller loaches is not a good combo . I will have to start carrying bowls of water back and forth from the sink:nilly: Thanks for the help everyone !!!

[davo]

that is almost def. it. they are so sensitive to temp change

[ewurm]

I figured out my problem !! Rookie move , When I do my water changes , I use the outside hose and the water temp changes from the normal 82 down to 66 . I guess the rapid temp change and the smaller loaches is not a good combo . I will have to start carrying bowls of water back and forth from the sink:nilly: Thanks for the help everyone !!!

Temperature is never appreciated by your fish.

[shoefreak03]

I figured out my problem !! Rookie move , When I do my water changes , I use the outside hose and the water temp changes from the normal 82 down to 66 . I guess the rapid temp change and the smaller loaches is not a good combo . I will have to start carrying bowls of water back and forth from the sink:nilly: Thanks for the help everyone !!!

how fast are you filling up the tank??? if you let a small flow back into the tank, the temp should go down more than 4-6degrees.

[Gr8KarmaSF]

I figured out my problem !! Rookie move , When I do my water changes , I use the outside hose and the water temp changes from the normal 82 down to 66 . I guess the rapid temp change and the smaller loaches is not a good combo . I will have to start carrying bowls of water back and forth from the sink:nilly: Thanks for the help everyone !!!

if i were you i would also invest in a python, it attaches to your sink and can easily adjust your water temp to match your tank temp. water goes directly from the adjusted water of the sink into your tank.

[bmxer4ever]

I'm reluctant to use or recommend anything I can't find the specs on. When I did a search on sterazin all I got was what it's supposed to do and how to use it. That's rather like defining a word using the word. What is/are the active ingredient/s ?

I'm reading the bottle right now and the only ingredient listed is "contains formaldehyde"!
It may be that the active ingredients are like a trade secret - so not listed on the label. Try having a look at the website -

http://www.waterlife.co.uk/index.htm

I've emailed them before and had good advice. All I can say about the product is that it works with Clowns. I've got a happy little guy in my tank right now who probably wouldn't be alive without it.

[bmxer4ever]

I figured out my problem !! Rookie move , When I do my water changes , I use the outside hose and the water temp changes from the normal 82 down to 66 . I guess the rapid temp change and the smaller loaches is not a good combo . I will have to start carrying bowls of water back and forth from the sink:nilly: Thanks for the help everyone !!!

Uh.....66? No wonder they died. Do you guys not use any tap water conditioning to remove chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals from your water???
I'd never fill my tank/do water changes straight from the tap without conditioning it first. I've seen what happens when you don't....
This is an interesting point.

DO any of you condition your water???

I use a drop of Stress Coat from API in every bucket of water for changes. Stress free fish....

[awault]

I've had good luck keeping my loaches at 80 degrees and do 25% water changes weekly. Feeding a variety of brine shrimp, mosquito larvae and tropical flakes.

[JONP]

I've learned some early lessons all due to knife back. I've now had a small group of 3 for 2 plus years. They are in with 30 yellow lab in the 1 - 3 inch range and another 20 or so electric blue ahlie fry roughly the same size as my labs. Tank is 100 gallon and I also have a gree phantom, common and a black dot pleco in the tank. Water stays around 81 degrees with ph at 7. I do water changes about 1 a week at 15 percent and do use aquarium salt always. As far a diet they eating flake food, sinking shrimp pellets, blood worm, brine shrimp and sinking pellet. A huge mix of foods but that it takes for all the fry especially since some are meat eaters and the labs eat mostly veggies. I also drop potato and squash in for the plecos and the loaches eat that too. I agree with the above comments I think they should always have rather fat bellies.

Good Luck with your loach keeping