Need some Clown Loach Help Please

[daleteekz]

Need some help please:
1. What is the point/benefit of adding aquarium salt to freshwater tanks?
2. I just bought a fish which came from a tank with aquarium salt, mine does not have any. Is there anything special I need to do in order to acclimate the fish?
3. The fish was already breathing heavily at the store, and so far has not really gone so well in my tank. So I have put it back in the bag it came in and am floating it in the tank with the top of the bag open. I am out of ideas at the moment.
4. It is a clown loach if that makes a difference.

 

[djlamonica]

You can add aquarium salt to fresh water to help cure parasites such a ich. Some people will always add salt but from my research there's no proven benefits to adding it to a healthy tank. (article in PFK a few months back)

Ive never done anything special but that's just my exp. And havent done any research on that.

Clown loaches being scaless are more sensitive to water conditions and disease depending on the amount of salt they were using it cold have been affecting him negatively. It sounds like you have a sick fish I would get him out of the bag immediately as heavy breathing is a symptom of many things including ammonia levels being high. I'd drop him in your water and monitor making sure all your levels are in check. Or simply ate him back a choose one that looks healthier.

Lss put him in your tank and monitor nothing you can really do or ammonia or nitrate poising besides providing an environment with good water parameters.

 

[AConrad]

float him, add some water to the bag, make sure the tank he goes in has lots of flow.

Edit: Clown loaches almost always breathe very very quickly. Also aquarium salt is usually added for disease prevention or for slime coat. Theres salt in every system of water! I actually dose with salts that have other trace elements similar to the areas of fish im keeping.

 

[BuffaloFish]

Sounds to me like a possible overreaction. The fish is stressed with the move. Acclimate appropriately, and see how he's doing in a day.

Note also that keeping one clown loach is often thought of as torture, as they are highly social. So once you determine that he's healthy and that your tank is large enough to house adult loaches, get him at least four more friends!

Sent from my PG86100 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[daleteekz]

Thanks for the help guys. He was already breathing heavier than normal at the store. He looked a little skinny, so I thought he was just underfed.

I already have 9 clowns, 5 pakistani and 2 zebra's. When I did have him released in the tank in full, he did not go and school like they normally do. He ended up floating at the top, pretty much pressed up against the top of my overflow. So i kinda panicked and put him back in the bag with an airstone.