Loaches Online Forum

Ok, so I have been having some issues with my 75 gallon tank and I was wondering what I could do to better it aside from getting rid of fish. My nitrate levels in the tank have been very high (around 60-80ppm) despite constant water changes and gravel cleaning. I have clown loaches that have been displaying signs of potential ick (flashing occasionally) which freaks me out as I have an older clown loach that I dont want to lose. Anyway, I think the illness may be from the poor water conditions. The tank is filled as follows...

3 dwarf gouramis
1 baby molly (probably a little less than an inch)
5 clown loaches (one fully grown, 4 of them about 2-3 inches)
1 Zebra loach (got this guy from a friend, not sure how old he is... he is about 3 inches long.)
4 golden dojo loaches
1 Albino Pleco

The calculator on AqAdvisor has my tank at a stocking level of 92%, which I know is on the high end and when my clowns grow more, I will need a larger tank, but for now the stocking should be ok.

as far as filtration is concerned, I have two double filters on the tank. One is a Emperor 400 and the other is a Tetra whisper 60. The aquarium is filled with live plants in an attempt to keep the nitrate levels lower and I maintain them well. Does anyone have any suggestions that I might do to improve my tank conditions? I am still relatively new to the hobby of fish keeping as my oldest fish is just over a year old. I have never had a tank this large before and am frustrated that after having it up for nearly three months, my cycle is still not completing. Any help would be appreciated.

A few thoughts:
- how big is the "fully grown" clown? Clowns can grow to 16 inches.
- what and how often are you feeding? This is the initial source of your high nitrates.
- how big are your water changes and what are the nitrates before and after?
- if you're reading nitrates then your tank is indeed cycled; your filters don't remove nitrates.

Austen

Test your tap water for nitrates. Be sure your test kit is good, not expired. Strips or liquid? Don't worry about ich unless you see it. Fish will flash for many reasons. It could be irritation from high nitrates. Providing there's no nitrate in your tap water more water changes and less feeding are your remedy.
I would suggest that you trade the gouramis, molly, and dojos for more zebra loaches(botia striata?) and maybe a barb or danio species. Look into the requirements of these fish and you'll learn why. Best of luck!

cycle is still not completing

Really? What are ammonia and nitrite levels?

High nitrate usually suggests that the nitrifying bacteria are doing their job of turning the ammonia and nitrite into nitrate.

Look up each fish.
Write down their optimum water parameters (GH and temperature) and the acceptable range.

Then set up your tank to stay in a sort of middle-of the road position.

It is impossible with your fish list!
You have hard water fish and soft water fish.
You have warm water fish and cool water fish.

Separate these fish into at least 3 different tanks:
Warm, soft water: Clown Loaches, Dwarf Gouramis
in between: Zebra Loaches, most Plecos, but which one do you have? Albino Bristlenose? Other?
Cool, soft water: Dojo Loaches
Warm, hard water: Mollies

To get the nitrates lower do larger, more frequent water changes.
Improve conditions for the plants so they are really growing fast.
Feed less.