I've been fascinated with this fish since my childhood and I am sad to say I am responsible for the deaths of maybe 100 of them over the years. On numerous occasions I have tried to keep them over the years with the same tragic results. My recent attempt was going well for about 5 weeks until I made two identifiable mistakes.
I had 8 2 to 4 inch loaches in 40 breeder. I took out the heater once the summer weather started getting to 90° regularly. I would say the room where they are kept fluctuates between high 70s to mid 80s. My mistakes were I missed their weekly 70-80% water change (I usually also do a small mid week 30%) change. I also added 3 2 inch red devils increasing the bio load. 3days ago I notice the solo dyed individual (appeared to have been dyed at some point only visible dye is near where I suspected was the injection site but I observed it in a lfs for a few weeks before purchasing) laying dead and all the others laying around breathing heavily. I immediately did a water change and almost everyone seemed to recover except for one individual who passed the next day. This morning aster I thought the worst was over I woke up to two more dead. I recognize I can't afford to be relaxed with their water change schedule. I know I should also remove the devil growouts. Maybe I should leave the heater in so it can stay at 82-83°? What else should I do to reestablish the remaining loaches? I also would lake tips from anyone who has successfully kept them and grew them out to the 7inch range. I really want to keep some of these guys long term. I can even reset and start a new setup again if anyone would like to provide a blueprint for successfully keeping them.
I had 8 2 to 4 inch loaches in 40 breeder. I took out the heater once the summer weather started getting to 90° regularly. I would say the room where they are kept fluctuates between high 70s to mid 80s. My mistakes were I missed their weekly 70-80% water change (I usually also do a small mid week 30%) change. I also added 3 2 inch red devils increasing the bio load. 3days ago I notice the solo dyed individual (appeared to have been dyed at some point only visible dye is near where I suspected was the injection site but I observed it in a lfs for a few weeks before purchasing) laying dead and all the others laying around breathing heavily. I immediately did a water change and almost everyone seemed to recover except for one individual who passed the next day. This morning aster I thought the worst was over I woke up to two more dead. I recognize I can't afford to be relaxed with their water change schedule. I know I should also remove the devil growouts. Maybe I should leave the heater in so it can stay at 82-83°? What else should I do to reestablish the remaining loaches? I also would lake tips from anyone who has successfully kept them and grew them out to the 7inch range. I really want to keep some of these guys long term. I can even reset and start a new setup again if anyone would like to provide a blueprint for successfully keeping them.
