Why hello there, fine folks of Loaches Online. I am KamikazeBen, a newcomer to these parts. Over the past two or so years, the 55 gallon tank that I got for free from a friend has gone from a Bolivian Ram tank, to a very diverse tank, to a...well, not as diverse tank. I accquired the tank in high school, when I worked at (argh.) Petsmart, which contributed greatly to my initial fish fanaticism. Then, off to college I went, leaving the maintenance to my father, who has experience in the hobby, Its current stock is something like this:
31 Neon Tetras (The "Tetracloud" as my dad calls it.)
3 very, very fat Corydoras catfish.
1 rotund (you'd be a pig if you had a buffet like this, too) bristlenose plecostomus.
3 Botia Striata, zebra, tiger, whatever they were called at the LFS loaches. They are great, and are very active, constantly snuffling.
1 Angelicus botia (b. Kubo?)
5 Clown Loaches, three extremely fat, but shy four/five inchers, and two relatively new "store-fresh" friends, who are much more active, and
1 Giraffe Catfish
Over the time I've had this tank, I've had fish come, go, bought some, sold some, some fish died, my Bolivian Rams try incessantly to spawn, and basically a year and a half of me being a fervent new enthusiast without any real patience or sense of direction. Filtration on this tank has been provided by an impossible-to-kill, but very aged Eheim 2213 Classic cannister filter, as well as a supplemental Aquaclear 250 which hangs on the front, and an emperor 280 Bio-wheel, all of which are at least examined every week, accompanying the weekly 60% water change.
And so, after making the decision to stay home this semester, in light of the well-paying full time job, I've got my fish to look after. And spoil.
To say that I need a lot of help and direction is rather an understatement. Weeks after reading the River manifold article, and having needed an implimentation for my twin Penguin 1140 powerheads, I built one, and buried it, and today it functions wonderfully, giving something for my botia to play in. I consider it the first step on my road to recovery, this curious piece of undergravel innovation. If I didn't have a planted tank, it wouldn't clog up so dang fast, but, such is the price I'm going to pay, for now at least.
So folks, my goal is this:
Provide a good home for my loaches right now, trimming the fat in any area that I need to, and, dear god almighty, spending a good chunk of my first paycheck on at LEAST adequate filtration. (I'm eyeing the EHEIM Professional II Cannister. It's expensive, but I think my fish deserve much better than a jury-rigged combination of three filters, and I'll be leaving the 2213 running as a backup.) and slowly build the tank up to something glorious and planted.
Like I said, I was very impatient with this tank, adding and subtracting things a LOT at first, but I like to think I've evened out, and I'm going with the flow.
Things I need to know:
- Will the Neon Tetras be appropriate to keep in a loach tank? Simply, is there any harm having such a big number of them? My father loves them, and quite frankly, the schooling dynamics are hypnotizing to watch.
- Is there anyone that I need to get rid of? I'll put it simply: I love the clown loaches the most. They are my darling little nocturnal children, and I seek to have a decent group of them in varying sizes before I (hopefully in the NEAR future) make the jump to a 75 gallon or larger sized tank.
- Yes, I am a fool by fishkeeping standards, and you are welcome to laugh at me, or point out my greivous present errors. Just post advice as well, if you can bring yourself to.
- Is there a specific kind of food that you all feed your loaches? I've been feeding them as varied a diet as I can of off the shelf prepared foods, supplementing with frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, as well as watermelon and cucumber that I rubber band to a rock every two or three days.
- Why the heck do Clowns like watermelon so much, speaking of which? I have never seen so much dancing and clicking in my LIFE.
