Loaches Online Forum

Hey everyone,

So, we finally got all of the goodies we need for our new 75 gallon bow-front tank! We're upgrading from the 29 gallon tank that the big box "fish expert" said would be "more than enough" for my clowns who "wouldn't ever get much bigger" - HA!

Anyway, so since the new tank is going in the same place the old one was, we spent today moving the little tank just adjacent from where the new one will sit. We will wash the new one out, bring it in, place some new goodies (substrate & décor), fill it up, then let it sit for a couple days. We're hoping by letting it sit that all of the chlorine & whatever other weird things that are in tap water can settle out & so the water can get up to the right temperature. After that's all done, we will then move all of the decorations, gravel & a filter cartridge from the old tank in hopes of boosting the cycle with the existing nitrifying bacteria our little loach family is currently used to. The fish will immediately follow.

However, I have 2 questions:

#1 - Since the move today my loaches are FIGHTING BADLY! The two largest ones (both ~3-3.5") already have a couple of knicks & scrapes on them. Since the get go we've had one dominant loach (her name is Big Bertha - even though they're practically fry "she" is the largest) none of the others have every really challenged her until now. I did fast them for a couple of days because I wanted to make this little tank move as stress free as possible. We only completely removed 10 of the 29 gallons & proceeded as usual just as if it were a 30% water change. They're acting completely normal & happy & were dancing & begging for food, so I figured I'd give them a little snack, but they FOUGHT OVER IT LIKE CRAZY! I've never seen them act like that. Usually Bertha will turn practically silver & she eats her fill as the others pick here & there... once she's done then the rest of the crew will sort of move in & finish up. Seems to me like it's related to being so hungry, but when will they stop? I'm really afraid one of them will be injured badly. I mean, they're really going for it, clicking teeth, colors changed, fins up, stand-off, subocular spines in & out, CHARGE!! My water parameters are all perfect & all of the other fish seem just fine. I have the lights out & I covered the side of the tank that's usually against a wall so that they aren't startled. I just can't figure out why they're fighting or what I can do to stop it?

#2 - I'm worried about physically moving these guys. I've read all of the horror stories about netting them & them being injured because they were stuck in the net etc. How can I safely move them from tank to tank (within 10' of each other) without hurting them?

Thanks, to anyone & everyone who responds!

Amanda =)

I have a third question! LOL... sorry!

#3 - So, not right away, but eventually we'd like to add to the number of fish we have. I'm wondering what sort of tank mates would intermingle with our current tank mates?

Currently we have:

4 - Clowns
1 - Yoyo
1 - Albino Bristlenose pleco (this fish is a booger)
2 - Rummy Nose Tetras
1 -Von Rio Tetra
2 - Black Fin Tetras
2 - Long Black Fin Tetras
2 - X-ray Tetras
1 - Striped Danio

And... I think that's it?

I know the numbers are weird & that more of these fish should be in larger schooling groups, but again, thanks to that "awesome" advice we got from the big box pet store, we've made what I know now to be a large mistake with the stocking/grouping.

Even though my Yoyo seems very happy & content I really feel like he needs some buddies, no? Also, I think the clowns would probably enjoy a couple new members to their clan? However, I'm also really interested in Angelicus loaches - are they compatible?

At this point, we don't plan on upgrading our aquarium again, so please make suggestions according to the 75 gallon tank we currently have.

Thank you, again!

Question 1:
I would move the fish over much more gradually over several weeks to allow the biological filtration time to develop.
Ammonia is likely to be your biggest problem.
I'd start with the tetras.
Can't you keep both aquaria running until the move is complete?
I would not change the routine of feeding or starve them - probably the cause of the aggression.
The move will be a big shock so you will need to let things settle.
If you are committed to Clown Loaches then a larger aquarium should be planned long-term (I have 90 uk gallons, but I would recommend larger).

Question 2:
The answer is move them with as much care as possible.
The fish go crazy when netted and can easily be caught by their spines in the net - put net and fish in the water and let them seperate.
Guard against them escaping the net and dropping (onto what?).

Question 3:
I think your selection of fish is excellent although I do not personally wish to mix loach species and some of yours seem a little small to live with adult 8" plus Clown Loaches.
Basically, decide what your favourites are and if compatible they are the ones to keep.
Compatible means allowing your Clown Loaches to be the dominant fish and any tankmates subordinate.
Clown Loaches do not usually bother other fish but can be upset by more aggressive species.
A bossy fish such as a Kissing Gourami or Cichlid could be a menace, not allowing the loaches to settle.
Dither fish such as Congo Tetras or Rainbows are ideal.

I hope the move goes well and things settle down.

Thank you so much for the reply!

They really seem to have settled down a lot. Now their little battle wounds just have to heal up. I really think all of the aggression was related to the fasting. I thought that since it would probably be stressful for them to have their tank moved that it would help decrease the extra ammonia that may have been produced because of the stress. Looking back... probably a bad idea. However, the water parameters in the little tank are still great & I'm planning on waiting until they're healed up to move them. I'll probably move the tetras & the pleco, but I'm going to wait on the loaches.

Also, I plan on using the bottles nitrifying bacteria from ATM called "Colony" that's what we used when setting up our first tank & we actually never had the ammonia climb over 0.5ppm. So, we'll give that a go in combination with some of the old gravel & decor. Hopefully, it'll all go smooth!

I'm going to try to post an album from my PhotoBucket account so you guys can see the fish & the tanks. New tank doesn't have the O2 pump on & is looking barren, but that's because as we move things will all get turned on & moved over. I'll post more again once they're settled!

My pictures are all kind of cut in half - IDK why that happen?

Here's a link to the album on PhotoBucket: http://s1362.photobucket.com/user/Manda ... %20Upgrade

If you aren't going to be using your old tank soon, I would put all the stuff in your old tank into the new tank. Move everything (maybe not the gravel, unless you want it in your new tank). All those plastic plants and terracotta pots and every bit of graval has good bacteria living on them, and will also make the fish feel more comfortable when you move them over.

I would definitely suggest that you move all the filter media from the old tank into the new tank filter area. Make it fit in the filter somehow so that the established bacteria colony will be able to continue removing ammonia from the water. The bacteria will spread into the new media over the next few weeks, and after a month you could probably take out your old stuff.

I wouldn't bother with the 'bacteria in a bottle' stuff. I don't believe it works. If you can't use the filter media from the old tank (which will be mostly cycled) just do a 20% water change every 3-4 days for a month to make sure that ammonia and nitrite doesn't build up too much.

Re Clown Loaches fighting.... I love watching mine have an arguement -- Yours are probably doing it because you moved their tank, which upset the status-quo, and the #2 and #3 clown loach probably decided it would be worth competing for #1 position.

Re new tank mates: Get some more clown loaches for a total of 8 (buy some small ones). And get a few more yoyo loaches for a total of 6, or more if you can afford them (they are much smaller, and when they are in a group they ignore most other fish completely).

Re: moving your fish. Buy the finest mesh net that you can find. A large fine-mesh net will generally not catch their spines when you catch them.

Honestly, it looks like you never had enough fish in your tank to build the ammonia enough, especially if you did weekly water changes.

personally i don't like to use the bacteria in a bottle stuff, but it really does work. i will shorten the cycle time of the tank. i've seen it done many many times.

if the fish are still in the old tank, go ahead and float the new filter media in the old tank, for about two weeks to ensure the bacteria fills it up, then you can move the media and the over with little or no problems.