Loaches Online Forum

Alot of plant experts say that if you go planted with a new tank you can add fish immediately without worry of ammonia or nitrite spikes.

So I usually just add a few big clumps of Java Moss if I'm setting up a small quarantine tank for new fish. The java moss consumes ammonia quickly.

here's a link to a thread I did on the back-flushes-

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?p=755654

For the back-flush, I got the idea from here- http://www.2cah.com/netmax/diy_projects/vac/vac.shtml there are 2 ways to do it- http://www.2cah.com/netmax/diy_projects/vac/back2.jpg or http://www.2cah.com/netmax/diy_projects/vac/back2b.jpg I went with the 1st method, but don't have/need the return va...

For my 400+ gallon, 5 tank water-bridge system, I use 9 canister filters and interlink 2 of the canisters with other tanks. IMO, it's extremely important that each tank can have it's own cycled filters. Now I can easily quarantine individual tanks if I need to. For weekly maintenance I've added some...

Excuse me for being naive but what does the CO2 system do?? :shock: It's for plants. Plants need CO2 for photosynthesis. Adding CO2 also drops the ph and reduces O2 levels. I use a Ph controller to make sure the CO2 stays at a safe level. Planted Tanks are in a completely different world of knowled...

Your possibility list wouldn't just be for Clowns would it? It's for clowns, based on my clowns specifically. Last night, I quarantined about 20 clowns in the tank with the new sand substrate. I think the clowns are a lot happier already. I haven’t seen my clown loaches school around in big groups ...

Midman- is there much of a ph difference between your tap and tank water? Are there chloramines in your tap water? Here’s my list of possible causes so far – Consensus- Just freckles / normality connected to melanin Other Possibilities- Jagged gravel impressions/bruises Fighting scars Sudden ph chan...

Well Emma, that puts a wrinkle in my theory. I bought the pool filter sand already though. I'll quarantine a few of the worse affected clowns. Like I said before, most of the spots went away in about 2 weeks the last time I tried this. I think this will work for one reason or another, not sure which...

I think this matter deserves further investigation. Random freckles is too unscientific for me to end the subject. I'll test the jagged substrate/loach pile squishing theory. What I'll do- I'll change the substrate in my river tank and shut down the water bridge to quarantine the tank from the rest ...

Getting squished in a loach pile might actually be what's causing the black spots on my clowns. The gravel I've been using has jagged edges. I'm thinking if a clown loach is wedged between some slate and gravel, the jagged edges from the gravel can press into the body leaving an impression. If their...

Nice Clowns. It does look like the same kind of spots that mine had when the spots 1st started. If it is just a pigmentation, I wonder what causes it? Some of my clowns have it, but some don't. The black spots seem to more on the clowns that grey out or that have been fighting. Here's another pic ht...

$400 + 140 shipping. That's an expensive fish. I'd love to have them though.

here's another pic of the bigs clowns at their website-


and the one at aquabid-

Emma or anyone else- Do you have any pics of the clowns with these black spots?

I'm starting to think the black marks are battle scars from fighting. It seems that the clowns that fight the most have the most black spots. The small clowns that never fight are black spot free.