nuttychick74

Hi i am new to fish keeping i have had my 120 litre tank set up for 5 weeks now and currently have 8 fish, which all seem to be doing fine no probs with any of them apart from a clown loach i added last week, it has developed white spot and i have bought some treatment for it but have been told that it might not be white spot at all because clown loaches often have this, i am still treating the fish just wanted to make sure all my other fish will be ok, also i have a couple of ornaments in my tank but want to take them out and have a planted tank, any ideas on how to do this now i have already got the fish in there? Thanks x

aquarist48

Hello Nutty Chick and Welcome to Fish Lore. Clown Loaches are very susceptible to ICH. I suggest raising your temperature to 84 degrees and leaving it there for two weeks. Do two gravel vacuums each week to remove the spores that fall off the fish and into the substrate. Warmer temperatures require more oxygen so you may need to add an air stone and supply line if you dont have one currently in the tank. ICH cannot reproduce in temperatures over 82 so they die off over the two week period. I do not recommend medications to treat ICH unless it is a "severe" case. The medicines can destroy your cycle.
A link or two for clown loaches you may find helpful:
Clown Loach Coloration & Marking Variations — Loaches Online
http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-ClownLoach.htm
Best wishes and I hope you enjoy the site.
Ken

Shawnie

Welcome to fishlore Nutty Chick!!
great advice from ken but also, heres a link to read about whats going on in your tank
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm ...the tank needs to go through a proper cycle and if you added fish at the same time of the tank setup, it probably hasnt...do you have a test kit? we need to figure out the ammonia., nitrites, and ntirates of the tank very soon...otherwise, all the fish babies can get sick if you were cycled, its probably gone now with the meds you used to treat the loach...so if you can find some prime or amquel+, you are going to need to start doing daily water changes with one of those to finish up the cycle... you can cycle with or without the plants so that will be the easy part

nuttychick74

Thanks for the advice guys think i will purchase a test kit, all i have done is change a white poly pad once a week and i have done 2 small water changes and adde safe start, which i used when setting up the tank and when added new fish, it safe start should also be used once a week to mantain healthy fish, i have a jewel tank with air coming from a pipe that is joined to the filter system but i am going to add extra air, my temperature is 80 and keeps dropping over night till i turn the lights on the next day, my heater goes to a maximum of 30 and i turned it up to max but temp still wont go any higher, also when i do the water change it drops quite a lot is it ok for the fish with a sudden drop in temperature? x

Shawnie

you dont need to change the pad until its worn way down..that can take a few months...unless its the buffer pads..and those are good for 3 weeks or so...you have safe start by tetra? or is is stress zyme or aqua safe? all these different names can be confusing for sure.....look at the bottle to see exactly what it is.....I would get a new heater if its not holding a steady temp...a drop or rise in temps can cause major stress and an ich outbreak from the stress..not something you need right now for sure!!

Melissawater

What type of med were you using? I used coppersafe before realizing I couldn't use it with bottom dwellers and I noticed you have a pleco. No worries hun, I started almost the same way as you except I didn't use safestart I used something else You will get a lot of useful info here and welcome to fishlore

nuttychick74

Hi again its called king british safe water, should i use it once a wek as stated on the box? Also heater is brand new and came with the tank 5 weeks ago, how do you do a water change without a rapid drop in temperature? Is it best to fill a bucket and leave it somewhere warm overnight? A friend of mine has had a tank 2 years now and never lost any fish she does not do a water change often or even change her filters just washes them x

Shawnie

after reading on your product, it sounds similar to tims one and only product....which some members have had luck with , and most have not...nitrifying bacteria in the king british water will die off without being added constantly..so its not like tetra safe start which is a one time addition for a cycling process....

a few things to look for ...API liquid master test kit..has everything you need and will allow you to do hundreds of tests

amquel+ or prime (sometimes have to order online) to help with the ammonia/nitrites that are going to (if havent already) spike and need to be neutralized to keep the fish alive...

when you change water, use your water conditioner, and keep the tap water the same temps as the tank...whether you can finger touch it to tell, or put your thermometer in your bucket to be sure , either way the water needs to be the same temp as the tank ...letting it sit will only make it colder

you need to do daily water changes so your fish dont die from an uncycled tank..after 2 years, im sure your friends tank is cycled....but water changes are still needed as fish waste isnt good for them to live in ....

nuttychick74

Can you use a mixture of hot and cold tap water for the water changes to get it to a similar temperature? Also do you add the safe start to the fresh water in the bucket or to the tank after you have refilled? Sorry for all the questions lol i will hopefully get there in the end x

Shawnie

dont be sorry thats why we are here to help!!!
and yes you can mix the warmer n colder temps..thats how you regulate it...once you do a few changes, you will be able to tell the exact temps by finger touching LOL...otherwise, the thermometer will help until then......you dont have safe start as that will confuse members but yes you add your safe water right to the bucket...enough for the entire tank at this point as you are not cycled and the extra will help....

nuttychick74

Thanks for all your help and i will definately purchase a test kit asap

jdhef

A 120 litre tank is roughly 30 US gallons. I'm sorry to say that a Clown Loach needs a much larger tank, since they get pretty large.

You do not want to replace your filter media unless it is absolutely necessary, since that is where all the bacteria that converts your ammonia into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates lives. If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading about the nitrogen cycle, (if this works correctly you should just be able to click the underlined words). The nitrogen cycle is probably the most important think you understand when keeping fish.

Good Luck!

Diggly

seconded on the larger tank for a clown loach and they do best in schools of 5 or more else they can get stressed which can cause ick.

What other fish do you have in the tank and how long has it been set up? sorry if you have already said! I will admit to not reading every post thoroughly .

Shawnie

its all in her thread and her aquarium info

Diggly

Ive had a long day at work though

Edit: ok had a quick look, 4 tigers and an angelfish is asking for trouble - I reccomend getting at least 2 more tiger barbs.

If you could post the picture of the fish you dont know the name of we could maybe help you out with it .

Shawnie

I so understand the long days at work thats for sure ...all days at work seem to be long but the weekends fly by!

but asking someone to post already posted info, or whats in the aquarium info, is a waste of space and just can confuse a new member when they already have done the posting and filled out the information needed to try to get help ..

Diggly

Consider me told off

Has there been any improvement with the clown loach?

nuttychick74

Hi no it still has spots, its eating and playing with the other fish abd does not seem at all unwell, i just dont know if to keep adding the white spot treatment as all the other fish are fine x