My Crazy Loaches

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LoachOrgy
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My Crazy Loaches

Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:25 pm

I have 4 clown loaches and a giant placo. They get along well and I just moved the loaches to a 55galon aquarium. They were in a 30 gal but they keep growing and need much more space. I am currently having problems with the placo because sometimes his poop is over 24" long. I have to clean the tank quite often. I just moved the loaches and they havn't come out of hiding for two days. They briefly came out this morning. My girlfriend said the largest of the loaches(5") has a cut near the bottom of the tail. She also said that the body has a scrape that looks white. I have seen scrapes before and until I see the loach I cannot diagnose it properly. I just found this awesome web forum and just wanted to say it is great!

I find my loaches really really love oranges more than anything in the tank. the downside is, the pulp clogs the filters quite a bit. I have been reading that the loaches require two water changes a week. In the smaller tank, I would only change the water twice a month. I will now start more often but it didn't seem to effect the loaches one bit. Its so funny I can actually get the loaches to dance with my fingers as I move them around near the tank where they are sitting. They like playing hide n seek alot. I did a partial water change in this tank because my pleco had a cyst on his body. It looked to be afuzzy bloody spot that showed inner meat hanging. I put some antibacterial medicine in full dose and he seems to be clearing up dramatically. However, I am worried that the high dose of the antibacterial medicine may be effecting the loaches a bit. They are my favorite fish so I want them to survive. I am probably going to do a 50% water change tonight when I get home with distilled water.

The pleco I have is around 6-7 yrs old and is about 14" long. He seemed depressed when I moved the loaches to their own tank so I recently added them back. The pleco also seems a bit more timid now that the loaches are back in the tank although he doesn't get along with the gold fish in the tank. Is it bad if I have the goldfish alongside the pleco and loaches? I am hoping not but I know these gold fish at times secrete ammonia so I have to change the water more often because of this. The pleco and goldfish fight alot. They are both fat pigs and hog the food so I think this is the main reason.
Last edited by LoachOrgy on Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:27 pm

One other thing.

I had the loaches intermixed with smaller tetras and such. It seems they all get along but I noticed that the zebras, tetras and neons seemed to be dissappearing. So I moved the loaches out and never lost a fish again. I believe the loaches were tearing into some fish steak. Originally I bought my first loach to get rid of a snail infestation and that sucker ate all of them. Babies and all, he didn't leave one snail steak for leftovers. What an appetite. I feed them blood worms, orange, cucumber, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, squash and shrimp. They love oranges the most of all!



Here is my fish myspace if anyone want to see some pictures.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... 9415fd1c28

newshound
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Post by newshound » Thu Jan 18, 2007 1:45 pm

god I swear I made a post kinda like this a few months ago...
except all the fish were in a unheated fishbowl. :roll:
drain your pool!

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:28 pm

Hey there LoachOrgy. So, you have a MySpace page for your plec? 8)

How long have you had your tank? 6-7 years or did you get the plec from a friend? How old are the clowns? Your goldfish, too--how long have you had the goldfish and clowns together?

You are quite right that goldfish and the plec are both HUGE waste producers. That could be a problem. . .

Have you read the species index page on Clown Loaches?

Goldfish are coldwater fish (especially the common variety like yours) and Clowns are tropical fish. The two generally don't mix well. What temp do you keep your tank at?

That's it for me. I'm gonna go get a nice vodka and iced tea now... :lol:
I'll come back later. :shock:
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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:16 pm

One thing is that the loaches and the gold fish really love eachother alot! its almost like they are in love! I bought the plec when i was in college and have had it since it was about 3 inches long. he was in a 20 gal then moved to a 55 gal. he is now roughly 14" give or take. just measured him with a ruler in the tank outstretched.

My oldest clown is about 2 years old and the other 3 are roughly around 1 year old. I have a runt loach that is only about 1.5" and he hasn't grown since i bought him a year ago. its funny, he stays hidden all the time in a very tight spot and i think this is what is stunting his growth. not to mention he doesn't eat as much as the other 3.

I briefly read the species index but will read it again. The temp is roughly kept around 75 degrees. I need a new heater. When the temp is higher they seem to be alittle more active. The gold fish don't seem to mind the warmer water though. I am down in florida so it never really gets below 60 here so generally the room temp is consistantly 75-80 degrees always. The tank temp is usually around 73-76 degrees.

the loaches havn't shown signs of stress living with the gold fish for over ayear now. maybe a year and a half. in fact, the tank does get a little dirty but they don't show signs of stress. I was just initially worried when i changed tanks because the pleco makes so much waste alone. and the goldfish is a freaking dirty fish. he already ruined one tank water quality so i moved him away. I have a 70 gallon jet stream running at all times that keeps the water flowing quite well. all in all the goldfish and loaches live harmoniously together.

my girlfriends friend has a coy pond we can give her the 3 goldfish to and she said she has some smaller goldfish that live together well with the other coy.

tank roll call

4 clown loaches
3 gold fish
1 pleco
1 emerald cory
one monster pleco who never comes out

previously in the 30 gal it was 4 loaches, 3 goldfish, 2 smaller plecos. they would all crowd around the cucumber and take turns eating it. quite entertaining. and when they get oranges. wow they dance like crazy!


Thanks for the info.


zebra fish = steak to loaches so be warned, they eat them daily in my tank!!!!!!
Last edited by LoachOrgy on Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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shari2
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Post by shari2 » Thu Jan 18, 2007 3:31 pm

my suggestion?
Give the goldfish to your girlfriends friend to put in her pond.
Get a decent new heater.
Raise the temp to 80F.
Do smaller, more frequent water changes (like 25% weekly).
Keep an eye on the little guy. He may need help.

They will all be happier that way.
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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:02 pm

the little guy seems quite healthy when he is out, but i think he is just very timid.

will do thanks for the help. they definitely seem more lively with higher temps.

interestingly, when i had my first loach i also had a rainbow shark. the rainbow shark and the loach were so in love and the rainbow was about 7" long after about 3 yrs of growth. he was a beautiful fish but died all of the sudden from hole in the head disease. anyway, you should have seen them, both the loach and the rainbow shark would do some type of vibrating love dance all the time. i think they may have been playing or it could have been some type of sexual courtship the species do. I am not familiar with rainbow shark or loach mating rituals i just made an assumption. they completely looked like they were dancing. and they would be aggressive and then play hide and seek and i believe( from the way it looked) that the rainbow shark was male and the loach is female. i still the think the loach is female as well but now she is 5".

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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:06 pm

current temps are 78 degrees in the tank at room temperature. no heater. added some plants today and 3 new green corys to accompany the lonely cory. will add loaches at a later date. the ones at pets mart today looked very thin but longer than 2".

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chefkeith
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Re: My Crazy Loaches

Post by chefkeith » Fri Jan 19, 2007 4:28 am

LoachOrgy wrote:I am probably going to do a 50% water change tonight when I get home with distilled water.
I hope you know what you are doing.
You can add small amounts of distilled water for topping off your tank due to evaporation, but it shouldn't be used for water changes unless the fish are acclimated to it slowly.

What is your aquariums normal water source? Is it tap water? What is the gH, kH, and tds of your aquarium and tap water? Where are you from? If it's city tap water, I can probably track down your local water report for you.

I surely hope you know what you are doing.

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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:07 am

sure, i usually use s mixture of distilled and tap water. i use the dechlorinization liquid available at most pet stores. My loaches look good today and I gave the tank a good 2 hour clean the other day. So tonight I am only going to do a 25% water change. I live in south florida. Any information would be much appreciated. I am going to get some more pics of my tank up soon. generally in the 30 gallon i would only use about 3 gallons distilled water during the water change at most.
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1 comet
2 shinubuku comets( i may have mispelled that)
2 upside down catfish
4 green cories
4 loaches (5" alpha loach)
1 pleco. looks like he is close to 13. I thought he was 14"
1 catfish but i could not find the name of the catfish last night. will post soon.
1 small pleco looking for a new home

tank needs a bit of a cleaning but that will be taken care of tonight.

55 gallon with black tank with red rocks. go dawgs!

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helen nightingale
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Post by helen nightingale » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:03 am

Give the goldfish to your girlfriends friend to put in her pond.
Get a decent new heater.
Raise the temp to 80F.
Do smaller, more frequent water changes (like 25% weekly).
Keep an eye on the little guy. He may need help.
Shari has given you some very good advice here. i agree that you need to take the goldfish out of that tank. although they may seem happy at the moment, you will see a difference when you allow the goldfish to live naturally. you may look ok when you are very hot and sweaty, but you probably arent very comfy, especially if you never get the chance to cool down to normal temperature.

newshound
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Post by newshound » Fri Jan 19, 2007 11:52 am

IMO- you are way over stocked!
get rid of the goldfish.
get rid of the pleco unless you get another larger filter.
that side by side dance is not what you think.
it is the way a redtailshark fights.
drain your pool!

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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:01 pm

well, i watched two rainbow shark last night do the same dance and it looked like they were mating. in no way was it ever aggressive. i have seen the rainbow shark scrap and believe me it is much more aggressive than what this shark was doing to the loach. they were playing and rubbin on eachother. and the fish lived together a good year with no fighting. they would hangout and cuddle all the time.

the goldfish are getting a new home with 135 gallon outdoor pond. the pleco is my baby, hes staying.

the filter is for a 70 gallone aquarium and the aqaurium is 55 gals. he shits alot but its nothing that can't be cleaned. all plecos crap alot but ain't no way that fish is going anywhere. the smaller pleco is going to be moved once i find a home for him and then i am going to get a few more loaches.

the other filter is hard to makeout in that picture.
Last edited by LoachOrgy on Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Emma Turner
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Post by Emma Turner » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:04 pm

If you plan on keeping your fish long term, you really need to upgrade to a larger tank - sooner rather than later.

Emma
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LoachOrgy
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Post by LoachOrgy » Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:08 pm

if you read above, they were already upgraded from a 30 gallon to a 55 gallon. there is no room in the apartment for a larger tank. this one takes up half my dining room.
Last edited by LoachOrgy on Fri Jan 19, 2007 12:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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