need a little help

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mach2mack
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:02 am

need a little help

Post by mach2mack » Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:18 am

hello I recently discovered clown loaches this is my first post and I need a little help.this might be a little long but I dont want to leave out any info that might be needed. Ok so a while ago I got a 55 gallon tank set up completed with fish and everything.It came with some large ciclids, bala shark, and a trichogaster trichoperus( dont know common name).I had that set up for a few months with no problems.then my power went out for 5 days in a snow stom and after my hot water ran out I lost all but the trichogaster trichoperus.so i went out and got 5 neon tetras,5 fancy male guppies and 2 dalmation mollies,and had them with no problems for a few weeks.I then went on the hunt for a main atrraction and found what I would think is a medium size clown loach at a aquarium store hes about 4-5 inches.they only had one so the next day I went to petsmart and got 3 more clown loaches they are smaller maybe 2 inches and a few days latter the trouble started.the small guys are covered in little spots. I know this is common for clowns so I went to get some ich meds.when at petsmart I saw that now all of their clowns in the tank i got mine from look the same.I talked to the manager and thet gave me the meds for free.after a little over a week my clowns look the same and its starting to spread to my tetras and guppies.my tank didnt have the best filtration so I got rid of the under gravel filter switched my gravel to play sand and got a fluval 306 canister filter I also have a HOB power filter.I cleaned out the whole tank and set everything up and now after about another week of useing quick cure at half dose my little clowns are still covered with spots.I have not been useing carbon in the filters, my water looks great but I just cant get rid of the ich or whatever it is in my little loaches what should I try

oh and I know I will need a bigger tank Im going to get a 200 gallon soon

thanks

mach2mack
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:02 am

Re: need a little help

Post by mach2mack » Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:34 am

I forgot to mention I turned up the heat to 84 and have been doing 50% water changes every 3 days

Diana
Posts: 4675
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:35 am
Location: Near San Franciso

Re: need a little help

Post by Diana » Fri Feb 17, 2012 2:40 pm

I would switch meds.
Use Rid Ich, and dose it like this:
Put in half dose in the AM, and half dose in the PM. This way there is a full dose in the water, but the fish are not exposed to the very strong dosing that would happen if the full dose was added all at one time.

Daily vacuum. Ich falls to the floor of the tank to breed. The more of these you remove, the fewer new babies there are to re-infest the fish. You are not so much going for a large volume of water change, just a thorough vacuum.

Do not use Amquel or Amquel Plus water conditioner when you are using any of the dye based meds.

Lights off, unless you have live plants.

For the future, set up a quarantine tank, and ALWAYS quarantine new fish.
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As for your current fish list:
Trichogaster trichopterus is the 3-Spot Gourami. There are several color variations including Gold, Cosby (marbled blue) and Platinum (I think that is what it is called. Silvery-cream color). These are semi-aggressive territorial fish that will defend the upper area of the tank against all comers. Especially aggressive toward related fish like other Gouramis (several species), Bettas, or paradise fish. Females are usually less territorial. These guys will handle a very wide range of temperature, which is probably why he or she lived through the power outage. Warmer is better though.
Mollies are hard water fish, and can handle water that is even saltier than the ocean. Salt is optional, though. GH and KH ought to be well over 10 German degrees of hardness. They can also be a bit aggressive to each other, but are not always. Warm water (upper 70s to low 80s F) is very important for Mollies.
Guppies might try to breed with Mollies. Hybridizing is possible. They have been bred for so long that they will usually handle a very wide range of water chemistry, and temperature but if there are any problems, they are best in warm, hard water. They tolerate salt very well, but do not require it.
Neon Tetras originated in soft water, but have been bred in captivity for so long that they can tolerate a much wider range of conditions than their ancestors. Still, if they are having problems, I would try to keep them in not too warm, softer water, and no salt. (Temp about the mid 70sF and GH not higher than 5 German degrees of hardness)
These last 2 species are small enough to become prey for the larger fish. Do not allow the larger fish to get hungry enough to want to eat these little fish.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

mach2mack
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:02 am

Re: need a little help

Post by mach2mack » Fri Feb 17, 2012 3:10 pm

Thanks I'll try that

The gourami Is actually really not aggressive at all sometimes the little clowns swim up to him and bump him but he just swims away thanks for the info

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