clown loach water prep

[cloudgodd]

I noticed my clown loaches were not getting enough oxygen, 2 were on the surface gasping for air, and one was lying on his side breathing rapidly, so I did a water change, and added an aerator with bubble stone to the tank.

right after the water change the 2 that where at the top started swinging around normally.

Almost instantly after starting the aerator, the 1 that was on the bottom moved to the bubble stone, but he is still on his side, it does look like his breathing has slowed a bit.

However my question is how long will it take the 1 that is on the bottom to recover?

[Eyrie]

I had this happen to my clowns after a water change and it took a few hours for them to recover. Did the same as you, adding an airstone to increase the surface agitation. If you can angle the filter outlet upwards this will also help improve the gas exchange.

[cloudgodd]

thank you but the one that was on his side died the other 2 are doing well

[ey]

thank you but the one that was on his side died the other 2 are doing well

Hi cloudgodd, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I have lost clowns for the same reason when I just started keeping fish. If it happens again, you can drop the water level in your tank so that the water flow falling from the filter spray bars or HOB filter will create additional oxygen levels for the clowns.

This is a tricky one as sometimes even adding airstone is not sufficient if oxygen levels are low. It is a tradeoff when increasing the temp in the tank.

[mistergreen]

you'll have to find out the real problem that started this. How big is your tank? Do you have too many fish? Is your filter adequate? etc...

[cloudgodd]

If it happens again, you can drop the water level in your tank so that the water flow falling from the filter spray bars or HOB filter will create additional oxygen levels for the clowns.

This is a tricky one as sometimes even adding airstone is not sufficient if oxygen levels are low. It is a tradeoff when increasing the temp in the tank.

cool quick question though are to a lot of bubbles at the surface bad or good? I mean almost my entire surface is covered.

you'll have to find out the real problem that started this. How big is your tank? Do you have too many fish? Is your filter adequate? etc...

you'll have to find out the real problem that started this. How big is your tank?

Tank is 30 gal (working on 55 gal for growth)

Do you have too many fish?

I now have 4 clowns (1 inch each) 4 painted platy (.5 inch each) 1 cory (1 inch), and one Dalmatian mollie (2 inches) only using 9 inches of fish so I shouldn’t be over crowded yet

Is your filter adequate? etc...

I am running 1 30 gal undergravel with carbon filtration, and an external hang on rated for 60 + gal(sponge, bio bag, and floss)

but I think I figured out what the problem other than oxygen was I did a water test and my nitrates where 0, ammonia was .5, and PH was at 8.0 so I bought a PH buffer supposed to lower it to neutral 7.0 and they all seem to be doing well, except for the one that got a little spooked yesterday while I was doing the water change he has been hiding ever since, accept to eat.

[Diana]

Before you start playing with pH read more about the interaction of pH and KH (Carbonates). Adding something that lowers the pH is not going to work well if the KH in the water is really high. The KH will buffer the pH right back up, stressing the fish more than if the pH had remained stable.

Many fish (Loaches included) that thrive in low pH also prefer water that is low in minerals and rather soft. They like water that does not have much of anything in it. Adding something to water that already has too much stuff (minerals, salts, other things) in it does not make the water better for the fish.

To properly lower the pH you need to start with the KH. To lower the KH filter the water water through a reverse osmosis filter. This will remove almost everything from the water, leaving it very soft, too soft, actually.
Then mix a little tap water with the RO water to add back just a little bit of the minerals from the tap water.
You might find that 25% tap water and 75% RO makes the water softer and better for the fish.

[cloudgodd]

my god that cost alot is there anything cheaper? that will do a good job?

[mistergreen]

rain water is a good and cheap alternative to RO water.
Get a barrel to store the rain.