Loaches Online Forum

I have a group of 6 very chunky clown loaches which I have had for around 9 years now maybe a bit longer, they have been living in a 6x2x2 with many Malawi cichlids mainly haps and Aulonocara.

I would very much like to remove all the malawi cichlids and increase my numbers of clown loaches as my loaches are quite big now and are becoming a bit of a pest towards my fish, I enjoy my loaches more than my fish so I think this is the way I would like to go.

My tank is Aquascaped with the loaches in mind always has been, but I have very hard water where I live and the PH sits at a consistent 8.0, my question is as the loaches seem to be perfectly healthy in the enviroment should I attempt to replicate there water and reduce this or just leave well alone.

My tank is filtered using crushed coral and I have coral sand as substrate hence why my PH sits at 8.0 I am prepaired to make changes but dont know if I should as they have been living in these conditions for so long now.

Any advice would be most appreicted.

I find it easier to use my tap water parameters so there isn't much difference from water changes. What is your tap water like? If you decide to change the sand, do it slowly over several weeks so the fish can gradually get used to it. Sudden changes can cause problems from stirring up "crud", beneficial bacteria loss + big changes in TDS (total dissolved solids) can lead to osmotic stress or shock.

Welcome to Loaches!

Is the water in the tank hard and alkaline only because of the coral sand? Or is your tap water hard also?

I see 3 ways to work this out:

If your tap water is softer, then I would remove the coral sand from the filter and the substrate, but slowly, as Nancy suggests, and gradually acclimate the fish to your tap water. This might take at least a month, and longer is fine.

If your tap water is pretty much the same as the tank (hard and alkaline) then removing the coral sand is optional. I would remove it from the filter, but not much is dissolving into the water anyway (if the tap water is that hard) so it won't make much difference if you change the substrate or not. If you want to change the substrate, go for it.

If your tap water is hard and alkaline, but you want to make it softer and slightly acidic this is a lot of work, possible, and not too hard to do, just requires a bit of planning when you do water changes, and some equipment.

In each of these options there are more details to consider, so please post back and lets figure out what might work for you.

As for the initial question: I think it is a good idea to alter the water SLOWLY until it is more like what these fish live in in the wild. Great that they have lived for 9 years with you, that is really great!

Since your loaches are healthy and well acclimated to their present environment, I would replicate that enviroment when moving them. Sudden changes can shock fish, including loaches. I see no justification for tampering with their pH or the substrate they have grown accustomed to. Just my opinion, but fishes (which loaches are) prefer stability.

Hope this helps.

-- dojosmama