my two clown loaches that i have had for around 3 months dont seem to be eating at all since i got 1 more clown.the new clown is fine eating more than his fair share,the new 1 is bigger than the old ones i think they have deppresion or somthing since i added the new 1.they used to swim around the bottom of the tank cleaning and having a good time now only the new 1 does this.the two old ones just sit around and i think they are losing wieght how can i get them to cheer up and do what they used to do i am worried because they havent eaten for about a week now and seem to b getting skinny.....help please
David Clown Loaches are nocturnal, they feed best at night. Feed them just before you turn the lights out. Try giving them some frozen or fresh brown worms or even some snails. They always welcome new Clowns to their tank so that didn`t stress them any.
David welcome to fishLore!!
Converting your 50 litre tank to gallons thats about 13 gallons and that tells me your tank is WAY over stocked. It is fine for the six tiger barbs and six harlequins.
Both the clown loaches and the redtail need caves and places to get away from other fish and the bottom of your tank is too small for that. Further overcrowding by adding another clown is most likely what's wrong with the first two.
Clown loaches and the redtail black shark get very large.
Carol
hi there..thanx for the warm welcome um im kinda new at this fish keeping stuff ive been doing it for aout 3 months give or take a few weeks.my uncle sold me the tank second hand,so 1 wasnt to sure about the size of the tank he tells me its actually a 64 litre tank....its 80cm long 40cm deep and 30 cm height i measured that myself so that is certian.but im no mathematician so if u could change that to litres u would no the actual size.i do have 3 caves that i made from rocks and pond stones and afew live plants that they can hide in but the clowns all seem to share the same cave, the shark too.i think they are all good friends there just not eating.... so far i havent fed them anything but flake food but i crush some of them them to make sure it reaches the bottom for them,through the tiger barb and shark frenzy can you by worms and snails at the pet shop?or can you just get worms from the garden..i dont want to get rid of any of them so is 64 litres a big enough tank, or am i going to have to by a new bigger and better one
Even at 25 gallons thats not big enough for 3 clown loaches and a redtail black shark.
Davis - If you go to the top of the page and click on FishLore.com: Tropical Fish Information a page will come up with lots of buttons on the left hand side. click on aquarium calculator and you can check your tank size. The measurements your giving and the litre volume don't match.
My 2 clowns grew very fast the first year. From 1-1/2 inch to 6 inches in one year and have since slowed down. but even in the 75 G with a 7 inch Rhino Pleco they have room issues at times and will be going into a larger tank.
Carol
my uncle must have been wrong too.i checked in the aquarium calculater and it worked out to be 22 gallons ,idont know if this is uk or us gallon.i havent tried the diferent types of food yet.i work back shift and havent had time to get to the pet shop yet.my next day off is on sat so i will go then.what about brine shrimp do they like themi have one of those gravel fillters and an air stone in the tank with all the bubbles coming from it, thats powered by an external rena fillter...and ive also got the filtter that i got with the tank that sits inside and thats rena too.i dont know what the power of the fillter is.but i think butterfly is right im just going to have to make more room for them. so i think while im at the pet shop i might just have to price a few much larger tanks ive mesured my room and i think im looking at somthing about 150cm long 40to50cm deep and 30to40cm high...would that be enough room for them? i am getting quite fond of my new fish and dont think i can part with them,so that is the only answer.my clowns are like little puppy dogs the way they stand on there back fins and wave there front fins at me.. ..so money is no object i have had a look at the prices on the internet but i dont like the idea of buying a tank that i havent actualy seen in person..i think it will cost me between 250 and 400 pound to get the full set up, not including plants decorations etc..hopefully this will have plenty of room for them and maybe another small fish or two.. im sure they dont have a disease or anything. they just got lazy all of a sudden and stoped eating thanx for all your advice evryone,i will try the diffrent live foods and hope that it helps while i set up a much bigger better tank
Clown Loaches love shrimp pellets, frozen blood worms, and other sinking food.
your measurements still calculate out to about 50Gallon. A 75 G would be a good investment with a larger tank in the future.
Carol
then shrimp pellets and blood worms it is..i will get them tomorow,i have caught them eating a little bit so that is a good sign..how big roughly is a 75 gallon tank i am limited for space and i think the max length i can go to is about 170cm, width and hieght can be anything from 40 to 60cm.hopefully i will get the tank tomorow too,i know it will take some time to get the tank ready for my fish so the sooner i start the set up the better.. cant wait to get it.. im excited
David my 75G is 48 inches x 18 inches x 24 inches which calculates out to approx 122cm x 46cm x 61cm. if you have room for bigger that would be fantastic. Happy tank hunting.
This was posted at a site I very much trust, it will help you set your tank up fir your loaches http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/phpB...pic.php?t=7436
Carol
thanx carol for all your help i think 75g will be the minimum size tank i will get,depending on price i will go as big as i can.that link u posted was good too, will help out a lot,very informative.also has enyone ever attempted to move a half full 22 gallon fish tank before because im going to have to move furniture around in my room to get this new tank in,and the tank has to be moved.im planing on keeping the old tank in the living room for the next few weeks until the new tank is ready for them but im a bit weary of moving it with the fish still in there i dont want to catch them all,as i done this last time i changed the water and i think it stressed them out a bit :is there any danger of the tank breaking if i pick it up half to 3 quarters full feeding them just before i turn the light out seems to have worked a little they are gaining wieght again and becoming more active i think they will survive until the bigger tank is ready what does it mean when the clowns start swimming into the gravel and turning at the last second and hiting the gravel with there sides is this happy healthy behaviour for a clown loach? just one more question for now,would it be a good idea to put some of the old water that i take out of the tank i have and start filling the new one with that?? that would give me some good bacteria and stuff like that.? right??any way 1st things 1st,today is the big day.i will let u know what i get and maybe take some pics when it is up and running..thanx again for all your help,and giving me the perfect excuse to get a new much bigger tank.not only will my clowns love it my shark and barbs will love it too....great site by the way,fishlore rules.
Glad your enjoying the site What your clowns are doing is called flashing. Thats a good indicator you need a significant water change. If you have to move the tank with water in it, take all the water out you can. Tanks with water in them are very heavy, and that may vause them to leak. As long as you keep up the big water changes they will be ok until the bigger tank is ready.
You will be amazed at the change in your fish once they get used to the new tank.
My clowns think they have to be fed by hand every morning, and this morn my husband was laughing because the biggest one swam up into my palm to eat. (guess he thought he could get all the food for himself that way ) Keep us posted!! good Luck!!
Carol
hi there well i went and blew my budget on the weekend.ended up geting a tank five feet long x 20 inches wide x 2 feet tall... ..my fish will love it,but i have to wait 2 weeks until i get it as it is being custom made..i moved the old tank into the living room,boy was that stressfull not just for my fish but me too.. ..i also got bloodworm,TIGERBARBS LOVE BLOODWORM !!!! .how am i ment to feed my clowns without overfeeding the tiger barbs.my clowns wont hand feed like yours yet..couldnt find shrimp pellets anywere,so i got golden sinkers instead because it has a picture of the clowns on the packet but they dont seem to like them. ..what about freeze dried shrimp i can get that but wasnt sure if they will eat it..i think i will try a few snails and see if they will eat them.im a bit worried about my black shark now as well,do clowns get teritorial as i got a new cave for the fish and i think my shark and my clowns both want it as there own,but the shark always ends up outside in the old caves and now he doesnt seem to be eating.. ..any advice on what to feed the shark.dont think he likes bloodworms as he hasnt tried to eat any of them.i will take some photos of my old tank and my new one when i get it so that u can see the diffrence...just hope that they are happier in the new tank becuase i have just spent a fortune on it..my fish are spoilt rotten
That calculates out right at 124 Gallons. Your Clowns and shark will love all that room!!!!
Before the clowns would eat from my hand my angels would do exactly what your tiger barbs are doing. Being little pigs!!! So when I started dropping food in two places the clowns got the idea and started eating while the angels were destracted. Also they and the shark may eat better after lights out since they are more nocturnal feeders. Most fish love blood worms so much it's hard not to over feed. Just a few about 2-3 times a week will do.
Just make sure their water is super clean until the new tank gets here and is cycled and they should be ok. This new tank would be the perfect excuse to use Bio-spira to cycle your tank if you can find it.
Carol
hi there... well i think my smallest clown is a lot better now he is eating and is the most active fish in my tank now but silver, my 1st ever clown who i have had since i started keeping fish and my personal favourite , is just eating enough to get by other younger clowns are outgrowing him ,he doesnt seem as happy as he once was.. hopefully my new tank will snap him out of it.. tried droping the worms in 2 different spots and this worked well thanx for the advice, at least they got to taste them this time..but my shark is getting realy skinny..i tested my water and it is perfect according to the test strips they dont test for chlorine or ammonia though...my straight from the tap readings r good to 0 pH, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates, 0 GH and 0 KH.that is good stright out of the tap isint itmy tank water readings are 10-20 nitrates, 0 nitrites, 6 GH genral hardness, 3-6 KH carbonate hardness,and 0 pH...according to the instructions that came with the test strips,these are good results can you explain to me more about what Bio-spira is and what it does?how do i post pictures on the site i have taken a few of my little tank so that u can see how they are living now..cant wait to get the bigger tank.. i will take some more photos when when its set up thanx again for all your advice..
That's everything and anything you will ever want or need to know about bio spira. The stuff is fantastic when you know your batch is fresh, and you follow the directions to the letter. I've used it 3 times with great results.
Congrats on the new tank! That is awesome! Try soaking your flakes in a little garlic juice to intice your shark to eat. Garlic is a natural attractant to get fish to eat. Also, it is absolutely necessary for you to get a decent testing set up when you can. I know you've incurred a lot of expense getting this new tank, but you could really use an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master test kit right now. It will provide all the tests you need to know what's happening in your tank. Those strips are horribly inaccurate, expensive, and they don't even tell you your ammonia level. I will look around and see if I can find a place that will ship to the UK.
i just tried to send a picture but they are too large,the maximum photo size is 400kb..how do i make my photos smaller so i can send themi put one on my profile but its a bit small.thats a picture of silver..Thanx gunnie u sound almost as excited as me about my new tank ..i just hope that my flooring is strong enough to take the wieght of all that water i will get a better test kit next time i go to the local aquatic centre, im becoming a bit of a regular at all these pet stores..so is bio-spira some kind of experimental super bacteria or somthing..maybe some of the stores i have visited will have it in stock i will ask there.GARLIC ? are you sure??wont that hurt the fishes eyes
good morning all well i couldnt reduce the size of the pics ..but i did manage to work out how to put them in the members fish picture gallery ..so if you want to see the pics they are in there..thanx again for all your help..
thanx for that butterfly.i do try to make the tank look as natural as i can..only 4 more days until the big one arives i cant wait to get it up and running..i have asked at a few pet stores and none of them have ever heard of bio-spira..on my first tank i used stress zyme to put bacteria into the filter and that seemed to work ok so i think i will just stick to that method,also i will use some of the gravel from my old tank..would it be a good idea to put the water from the old tank into the new one when im doing water changes on the little tank? or is that a bad idea. that link for shrinking my pics didnt work by the way..but thanx anyway
Sorry about the link unfortunately I typed it wrong. Its www.showyourphotos.com Since the water its self doesn't have very much beneficial bacteria I wouldn't save it or use it in hte new tank but the gravel is a great idea and will hepl it cycle faster.
Carol
ok im just testing to see if my re-sized photos will work...this is a picture of sharky before he stoped eating,at the momment he is skin and bone very worried about him now i tried garlic.... no joy the other one is just a good photo i thought,its 1 of my tigers and a few harleqiuns..i will save the rest of my photo resizes for when i get the new tank..thanx again butterfly..anyone got any other ideas on how to get my shark to eat??
why o why did my little fishie die well im sad to say that my shark didnt get to see the new tank.he has gone to the gigantic fish tank in the sky.got home from work last night and he was nowere to be seen.normaly i wouldnt think much of it but somhow i just knew that there was somthing wrong,so i lifted the top off the cave and there he was.he just floughted to the top all lifeless and curled up.what would make a fish starve himself to death ? i dont understand it....i think it was because he was the only shark in there and he had no friends the same as him,he got on well with my clowns but im sure he was a bit lonley..they say not to put 2 of them in the one tank but im not to sure now.or maybe it was becuase he was unable to establish his own teritory with the clowns sharing all the caves with him..im at a loss as to why i might get another shark when my new tank is ready but i dont want it to happen again,so maybe another clown instead would be a better idea..i will see when the time comes..rest in peace sharky you will be sadly missed..
well tomorow is the big day,my new tank gets delivered at 11:00 o clock..cant wait. ive seen the new tank in the shop it was ready on saturday but couldnt be delivered until tomorow because it was the guys day off..its huge i got a new shark when i was down there,he is a a lot bigger than my last shark but isnt as aggresive this one is running away from my tigerbarbs instead of chasing them away....i also got some sterizen its a paracite and worm treatment,and it is just what the clowns needed.. 24 hours after starting the treatment my clowns seem the happiest and healthiest they have been since i started this thread...there zipping around the tank diging and clicking away and eating plenty. hopfully this has done the trick.i decided to try this after reading a lot about wasting away disease in clowns,i think that is what they had as all the symptoms matched my fishies behavior..just a little to late for my old shark, im sure this treatment would have cured him too..ive ordered a freshwater master test kit too,as none of the shops i go to had any in stock just saltwater ones,i get that on wednesday..so i will take some pics of the new tank as soon as i get it and you can all see how much potential it has before i start decorating it and setting it up..thanx again for all the help esspecialy butterfly.. .
PS All tanks should have bubbles...fish LOVE bubbles ..
Your most welcome!!! Glad your clowns are doing well! Their probably anticipating the bigger tank also
Yes fish seem to love bubbles and they can't hurt unless it makes the water to rough. My 55G has a heavy curtain of bubbles across the back and my Kuhlis get in them and swim circles. they are so funny.
Carol
Just an FYI, red tailed black sharks don't like the company of their own kind, and tend to not like any other fish with the same body shape. And while they can get along with other fish when young, as they grow and get older, they get a LOT more aggressive and will harass other fish to death and/or can chase them out of the tank if there's an opening (I speak from experience).
Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads 
my two clown loaches that i have had for around 3 months dont seem to be eating at all since i got 1 more clown.the new clown is fine eating more than his fair share,the new 1 is bigger than the old ones i think they have deppresion or somthing since i added the new 1.they used to swim around the bottom of the tank cleaning and having a good time now only the new 1 does this.the two old ones just sit around and i think they are losing wieght how can i get them to cheer up and do what they used to do 
um im kinda new at this fish keeping stuff ive been doing it for aout 3 months give or take a few weeks.my uncle sold me the tank second hand,so 1 wasnt to sure about the size of the tank he tells me its actually a 64 litre tank....its 80cm long 40cm deep and 30 cm height i measured that myself so that is certian.but im no mathematician so if u could change that to litres u would no the actual size.i do have 3 caves that i made from rocks and pond stones and afew live plants that they can hide in but the clowns all seem to share the same cave, the shark too.i think they are all good friends 
so far i havent fed them anything but flake food but i crush some of them them to make sure it reaches the bottom for them,through the tiger barb and shark frenzy 
can you by worms and snails at the pet shop?or can you just get worms from the garden..i dont want to get rid of any of them so is 64 litres a big enough tank, or am i going to have to by a new bigger and better one 
..so money is no object i have had a look at the prices on the internet but i dont like the idea of buying a tank that i havent actualy seen in person..i think it will cost me between 250 and 400 pound to get the full set up, not including plants decorations etc..hopefully this will have plenty of room for them and maybe another small fish or two.. 
but im a bit weary of moving it with the fish still in there 
.how am i ment to feed my clowns without overfeeding the tiger barbs.my clowns wont hand feed like yours yet..couldnt find shrimp pellets anywere,so i got golden sinkers instead because it has a picture of the clowns on the packet but they dont seem to like them. 