Clown loach - autopsy - swim bladder?

[Bully]

Hi Bully,

My LFS is one of three Maidenhead aquatics (Radyr), the fish guy in Cardiff Market (nice supply of fish and have been the healthiest I've bought compared with the other 2) and when in an emergency Pets at home Cardiff Bay. My favourite is Maidenhead because of there huge selection, though I've had most success with fish surviving from Cardiff Maket. His Clown Loaches are a bit older and better established so you don't have to worry about them being underweight and wasting away. Though Maidenhead had some lovely fat clowns last time I went.

I frequent MA@Radyr often, usually to get live foods I haven't tried the chap in the market though, will have to go have a look one day

The ph from the tap is neutral, I think I've been suffering from 'old tank' syndrome and too many nitrates, it was getting converted to nitric acid. That combined with my low kh meant my ph reached 6. I corrected ti by doing a realyl thorough clean and water change (found an area behind a rock where all kinds of mulch had been collecting. I added bicarbonate of soda to up the kh and the ph is now at a respectable 6.5.

That's why I asked the questions, I had a feeling that acidification with a low kh was responsible.

Hi Ashleigh, I will certainly up the water changes. I'm not sure on my tap water readings but I will take them tonight. Hopefully I will have really helped keep the nitrates down with the big clean last night. I intend on changing more of the water in a few days.

I had read you shouldn't vac your sand too much because you lose your beneficial bacteria, thats why I only used to do it alternate weeks. However, I read today that those bacteria that are beneficial are actually sticky and vaccuming the sand wont get rid of them as they stick to the substrate.

Here's what I do, every 3 days I change approx. 40% of the water. The first 25 litres changed are always vacuumed from the substrate to ensure it's clean. As my water is so soft I have to work that little harder to ensure acidification doesn't occur To make this job easier I use a slimline water butt and gravity feed it to the tank. In the near future though I'm going to get a water-butt pump to make the process even quicker

You may notice a change in your fish once you start refreshing their water. Water changes also help remove other compounds such as pheromones, so you may will see some growth in your fish.

Any ideas about where to place a second filter in a tank? If I place it on the other side I may end up with a whirlpool of fast rotating water, and if I place it on the same side I'll have a jet powered current that I don't think the angels will appreciate.

Thanks everyone.

The loaches will appreciate the flow as Ashleigh has stated. If you have the funds then I would invest in an external filter. These are excellent methods of filtration, and you're going to need something substantial in any case if you're upgrading to a 7' tank in the near future