75 Gallon Tank Recommendations to start treating my fish better... it is long, but I would love advice

So, this is long but please bear with me. I am aware I didn’t treat my fish the best historically, in my ignorance, and I am looking to do better. I feel badly about this, so please be kind in your replies.

History: I got a “free” 20 gal fish tank including some fish off Craigslist because I have cats and thought it would be entertaining to them. That was in 2009. It consisted of mollies and platys. I bought a “Spotted Cory Catfish” from Walmart, subsequently couldn’t find him, and presumed he was eaten... until I did my once-every-year cleaning (I KNOW I KNOW) and he was found again... 4” long living in a volcano decoration. It was a pretty bare tank with one volcano and one plastic plant.

I discovered my “Cory catfish” was actually an African Featherfin squeaker. And the cats loved him. He prompted me to upgrade to a 46 gallon bowfront. I took away the volcano and bought two caves so he couldn’t hide from my cats... and the cats liked him so much I bought a second one. One per cave, good! (I KNOW...)

I didn’t really know it then, but I did not take good care of my fish. They died, they got replaced. I thought that was... you know, just what cheap little fish did. My big guys were fine, so my tank was all good, right? There were some very hearty survivors in that tank. As they got replaced, I replaced them with “cooler looking” fish. Like a single clown loach from Petsmart. He was the only clown loach in his tank when I bought him. I thought they were OK alone and my 46g tank would be like moving into a mansion for him! After all, he was there in a small tank, alone, in the Petsmart. He had cool stripes. The cats would like him. They said he would get along with my other fish. Ok, sold. I KNOW I KNOW.

A few years ago, I started thinking. I put more effort into caring for the 46 gallon tank. I decorated it, got more plants, actually cleaned it more than once a year.

Then I cared more and more. My cats get the best money can buy, my home is tailored for them with a dozen cat trees, toys, whatever they enjoy. Money is not an issue. Time is my biggest constraint, I work a lot. So their pets, my fish, should get more too. I started researching my fish. What do they like, what is their ideal environment? I bought my FIRST test kit (OMG I know)... my water was HORRIBLE, really a miracle my fish lived. Leading to much guilt and to where I am today.

Obviously I discovered my tank was overstocked. I overfed majorly. The catfish like caves and the loach needed more space, and friends. They deserved a better substrate than my sharp gravel, which was cruel on my bottom dwellers’ barbels.

Where am I now?
I have a 75 gallon tank with CaribSea sand substrate. They have various decorations and hidey spots, a large bubble wand for aeration and many plastic plants (I tried live plants but killed them). I have an API Filstar XP L canister filter, a big aquarium heater, an AP300air pump and an LED with moonlight mode on a timer (this is a huge change to the small hang-on-the-back filter I never cleaned, the 10 gallon air pump, and the light I always left on before).

My fish:
Clown Loach x1 - 5.5”, 8 years old, had been solo until recently... he is fun and playful, always schooled with my Australian rainbowfish until he got friends

Clown Loaches x4 - small, recently purchased to school with big loach, now they are a family, what personality the loaches have in a school. Wow. Big loach is like their mama fish, they play and dig and dart. Quite a comedy.

African Featherfin Squeakers x2 - 6”+ each, one is 11, the other is 9ish, they each have their little territories and they often chase eachother around, love swimming through the bubble curtain

Bosemani Rainbowfish x4 - two are about 3 years old and adult, 4” ish, two are new additions and still small

Silver Dollar x3 - 1 is about 5 years old and a big guy, two are small (a bit bigger than a quarter). the big one schools with the rainbowfish, not his smaller friends, so I do intend to get two more little ones very soon.

Recently purchased to add/use but haven’t set up yet... Eheim spray bar, Coralife Turbo Twist 3x UV sterilizer, Mopani driftwood, TDS meter.

I now test my water every 2 weeks (sometimes weekly), alternate what I change out in the canister filter, do partial water changes of about 20% monthly (or more frequently if my nitrates get too high). My tank has good water flow/current, which the fish seem to love. My water parameters average...
Temp 78-80
pH 7 to 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate has been a struggle lately, I try to keep near 0 but have had a few major spikes... added nitrazorb to my filter alongside the bio chemzorb and am now around 50 and dropping, phew

I have loads of biochem stars, biochemzorb, StressCoat, AmQuel Plus, various stuff to kill algae, some clarity stuff I haven’t used.

My question:
1. Recommendations? What do I still need to do better here? I may have kept fish for over a decade but I am really a noob.
What products do I need to buy?
2. My big, old loach is often pale. Not always but often. His young friends are so very dark and contrasting. He seems very active and happy, especially with his new friends. He is playful, loves digging in the sand. He has always been more pale as an adult. He has not grown in size in many years. Is he permanently stunted in growth? Is the paleness a bad sign? He is head honcho of my entire fish tank, I have read that the dominant clown loach is often paler, I have read they go pale from stress too.
3. What can I do better with diet? I feed tetra flakes once daily (a pinch they eat in a minute or so), some sinking pellets, occasionally dried bloodworms and shrimp. Should I introduce vegetables? Maybe peas? My clown loach is a food hog and a little fat I think.
4. I am really trying to not overfeed, especially with a light sand substrate. It has made the waste visible and taught me to be better about cleaning. Should I fast my fish, how often?
5. Is there anything I can or should get my fish? Like snails? I know my loach, at least the big guy, will eat them. Anything that will... you know, help with the poop situation?
6. I would like some small, colorful fish but I need to be mindful of my catfish situation. They are getting big, huge mouths, and they have historically opportunistically eaten small fish... and especially fry when I had livebearers, man they loved eating them. I would love a few guppy but I suspect they would end up a snack... Recommendations?
7. Is my tank overstocked, or could I have a few more small fish? Recommendations on a fish my large catfish won’t eat, will get along with my current fish, preferably also bright and pretty for the cats?
8. Is this enough space for my clown loaches? At least for now (I have eyeballed and may consider a 125g in the future)? I have read SO MUCH that conflicts about my loaches. People with a larger school than mine in a 55g, people saying 75g is too small. All the conflicting info is confusing.
9. Any questions I should be asking? Any tips/tricks I should know to make life easier? Any product recommendations?
10. Both of my catfish have sort of white spots in the same line down their sides. It happened to both as they aged. For a while they had some wear on their bony plates from scraping on things, but it has healed. In the newest tank, with more space and less scrapes, side spots seem to be diminishing but only yay much. Some of the line of white spots stays. They have been like this for years now. It has not seemed to affect them (or other fish). Is this normal? The big clown loach has a spot in some of the photos, this is a scrape that happened when he managed to get himself shoved in something too small (is why the mangrove root now had plants plugging the top). Anything I should do for either?

Pics are mostly of newest aquarium setup, but some from older one to show the fish. Regards and thank you!
Also a few pics of the catfish, on the white spots from Q 10 in particular. (Mostly taken in old aquarium).

 

Glad to hear you are now trying your best for the fish too!

1. Your tank is still overstocked so I'd be trying to do weekly 50% water changes. That should really help on the nitrates.
2. The loach has simply slowed on growth. It may be stunted but keep in mind that once fish reach adulthood their growth slows tremendously. It should still grow but not much/fast. As for it being pale, very light substrate can be the cause for that. Fish will try to match their surroundings, like being darker on dark substrate
3. The silver dollars may appreciate veggies like Roman lettuce or broccoli. I'd feeding a mix of pellets/flakes for the surface feeders and things like sinking shrimp and algae pellets/wafer for the bottom feeders.
4. I fast when I feel lazy. Did I have a long hard/busy days? I think I'll skip feeding. This happens about once a week, sometimes twice.
5. Adding extra flow will help kick up the waste that settles. Maybe get one of those wave makers and point it so it circulates around to the "dead spots"?
6. I'd not add any more fish for now. If anything I'd go with more rainbows to up their numbers. Plus adding more rainbows should help the other color up too.
7. No more species should be added IMO.
8. The clowns grow super slowly once they hit about 4in so while an upgrade should be in the future they are ok for now.
9. Maybe look into the Python water changer hose to make life easier?
10. The white spots along the lateral line could be the result of lateral line errosion. There is a lot of conflicting info on that so maybe google that yourself. Basically it could be the result of poor water quality and poor nutrition. It doesn't look terrible right now but something to try to keep track of and adjust for. I start with more water changes and feeding more of a variety for them.

 

It looks great! I'm glad you have gotten more into the hobby and really care about your fish!

 

Welcome to Fishlore! Your tank is pretty cool!

It is always nice to see a story of development with the urge to still do better by their fish. I know myself, and others, learn new things every day. Even being on the forum for years. There is always something new to learn. Welcome again and we can assist you in any questions you may have!

I agree with the 50% weekly water changes!!

 

'When we know better, we do better'. Sounds like you are on the right track, and doing a great job! I was where you were at years ago with a tank, a lot of us on here have been there. I agree that you are probably fully if not overstocked, and good water changes weekly would be a good idea if you aren't doing that already.
I still learn new things all the time in fishkeeping. There is always more to learn. Keep up the good work, you've come to the right place for lots of good advice!

 

Welcome to the forum! I love the “i know i know” comments on everything sounds like you’ve got some good answers. One important note is to remember not to do too much too fast, as sudden changes can cause shock/stress and illness, but it sounds like yours have faired quite well in their journey from the bad tank to the good tank! I’m sure you’ve read all about the nitrogen cycle by now but I always like to ensure everyone knows this: don’t wash the filter media in tap water. Only use old tank water because the tap will kill your beneficial bacteria. Very pretty set up you have

 

Glad to hear you are now trying your best for the fish too!

1. Your tank is still overstocked so I'd be trying to do weekly 50% water changes. That should really help on the nitrates.
2. The loach has simply slowed on growth. It may be stunted but keep in mind that once fish reach adulthood their growth slows tremendously. It should still grow but not much/fast. As for it being pale, very light substrate can be the cause for that. Fish will try to match their surroundings, like being darker on dark substrate
3. The silver dollars may appreciate veggies like Roman lettuce or broccoli. I'd feeding a mix of pellets/flakes for the surface feeders and things like sinking shrimp and algae pellets/wafer for the bottom feeders.
4. I fast when I feel lazy. Did I have a long hard/busy days? I think I'll skip feeding. This happens about once a week, sometimes twice.
5. Adding extra flow will help kick up the waste that settles. Maybe get one of those wave makers and point it so it circulates around to the "dead spots"?
6. I'd not add any more fish for now. If anything I'd go with more rainbows to up their numbers. Plus adding more rainbows should help the other color up too.
7. No more species should be added IMO.
8. The clowns grow super slowly once they hit about 4in so while an upgrade should be in the future they are ok for now.
9. Maybe look into the Python water changer hose to make life easier?
10. The white spots along the lateral line could be the result of lateral line errosion. There is a lot of conflicting info on that so maybe google that yourself. Basically it could be the result of poor water quality and poor nutrition. It doesn't look terrible right now but something to try to keep track of and adjust for. I start with more water changes and feeding more of a variety for them.

I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to write a great reply, I appreciate the advice! And thanks to others for being kind, non-judgmental, and even complimentary as well. I am pleased with the progress so far, but I have so much left to learn. Hope you don’t mind a few more questions please

2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 - got it, understood, thank you!

1. I will do larger water changes more frequently! Going to be honest... it will take me some time to have the discipline to do 50% every week, I will work on this. It’s a long story but I have to hook the siphon up to my shower (upstairs, no spigot, water faucets are fancy, can’t connect... it’s a process). Will there ever come a point where I don’t need to do it that much, and if so, how will I know when that point is? Or is this life with an overstocked tank? How overstocked am I? Bad enough that I should consider setting up the old 46g bowfront and move some to it?

5. My flow really kicks up what’s on the bottom EXCEPT in/under the decor. Which is where they chill... and poop. The little dugout below the mangrove root, inside the big log, inside the bell. I have a powerhead I actually removed... after much fiddling with placement, it didn’t seem to do much for that, and the places where it did, it kicked up my sand in a baaaad way, like a “clog the canister filter” way. I also have a gravel vacuum but I didn’t appreciate how impossible it would be to use when I made the switch from that rough red gravel to sand. Thoughts? Do I need to lay things out better? Was my sand a poor choice (not sure what “good” or “normal” sand is, I have CaribSea Super Natural Moonlight, it is VERY fine grain, seriously, a fraction of a mm)? Should I get a better filter (or maybe add a second one, I have a Filstar XP S that is not being used)?

6. OK, no more fish. I’ve read silver dollars are more timid and need a larger school... but my big one schools with rainbows, and I don’t want the small duo to be unhappy/stressed. They seem happy... but I once thought my clown loach was happy alone, so what do I know. I care about this more than color etc. (Sorry, am still trying to break that “shiny and pretty for the cats” mindset).

10. Lateral line erosion! I will go down the google hole tonight. For a laugh... for a while I thought they had ich and my fish were just unbothered super fish. I guess they are super fish, they survived me for years. It was much more pronounced once, it’s much less now... but I’d like to see it GONE and them perfectly healthy and happy. Until recently it was “drop in a TON of flakes good luck getting whatever flakes make their way down”... no wonder they ate other fish and my water was so bad. I am sure I caused it, hopefully I can fix it

 

Loaches grow very slow and then they grow a little bit fast for awhile, then slow down. Remember that, while the clowns will eat pretty much anything, they are carnivores, they need a lot more protein than most flakes provide. I recommend getting Repashy for them, and bug bites for everybody, more bloodworms too. Maybey even considers making your own gell food for them. Even Repashy contains fillers and chemicals that your fish don't need.

If you still have plastic plants, I would swap them for silk.

No animal can clean up poop. If water changes arent quite enough. the Eheim quick vac may be a good investment, you can suck up the scum mid-water change.

 

Welcome to the forum! I love the “i know i know” comments on everything sounds like you’ve got some good answers. One important note is to remember not to do too much too fast, as sudden changes can cause shock/stress and illness, but it sounds like yours have faired quite well in their journey from the bad tank to the good tank! I’m sure you’ve read all about the nitrogen cycle by now but I always like to ensure everyone knows this: don’t wash the filter media in tap water. Only use old tank water because the tap will kill your beneficial bacteria. Very pretty set up you have

I have been struggling with “not too much too fast”. Wonderful tips you have given... all things I have only recently learned, and a great reminder, especially about cleaning in tank water! The first time I read it, beneficial bacteria sounded so weird to me.

I have read about the nitrogen cycle (including here when I signed up)... I wish I knew years ago. I’ve never cycled a tank. My acclimation method for new fish was to dump the fish and the water they came in right into the tank when I got home. And I used to wash all my stuff in bleach with a quick tap rinse and just do a full water change... for that once a year clean.

When I first thought the catfish’s spots were ich, I treated my tank. With copper sulfate Petsmart recommended. Including the clown loach. My survivors are quite a miracle. It hurts my heart to think about all the stress and death I caused in ignorance.

Not trying to deflect blame, but it also bothers me that I never heard any of this from MANY visits to Petsmart (no one said anything about me buying one loach, or gleefully coming in to buy fish over and over, returning dead ones in the 7 day warranty period frequently)... very sad. Do they not know, do they care that little, or are they worn down from the average fish owner caring that little? All sad.

 

Do you add dechlorinator when you do a WC ? I would do a 25 % WC per week, skip 1 day of feeding (I like to skip Sundays) and feed a little less at meal time to reduce nitrates. Bio-home media is also said to reduce drastically nitrates. They’re expensive, you need lots of it (2-3 kg for a 75 gallons) and they take 4-6 months to work but apparently they do work.

Instead of using the python to empty your tank, you could use a pump like the Marineland Maxi-jet or other to push the water into your faucet, or bathtub or whatever. All you need extra is tubing, very cheap at home depot. Someone made a video about it on Youtube. I can try to find it if you’re interested. Then if you can fill your tub, you can do it the other way to fill your tank. Or just use a bucket for the 15-18 gallons or so (25%) which would about 5-8 buckets to carry.

If you want to go all in, get real plants. You would need another substrate ideally under the sand but it would be worth it. Plants help diminish nitrates.

About the moon light, is it on all night ? Is so I would not use it. Fish need rest from light during the night. I personnally don’t use this mode at all.

A good brand of food is Northfin. Fish really love it and it’s very good quality food.

Keep up the good work !

 

Not trying to deflect blame, but it also bothers me that I never heard any of this from MANY visits to Petsmart (no one said anything about me buying one loach, or gleefully coming in to buy fish over and over, returning dead ones in the 7 day warranty period frequently)... very sad. Do they not know, do they care that little, or are they worn down from the average fish owner caring that little? All sad.

I think it’s a bit of all the above. When i first set up my 10 gal, I had no knowledge of anything either. The petco saleslady was an older lady with grey hair, and I asked her what fish are good beginner fish for a 10 gal for my first tank. She said “is it cycled?” And when I asked what that meant she got very rude and didn’t explain at all, told me to go look it up and then sold me 5 different types of tetras (two of which are known to be aggressive and not community fish!) so I think in her case, she was burnt out on the people who just didn’t care and she stopped trying to teach anyone at all.
Other times I’ve talked to petco people and called them out on saying something incorrect to me and they say something along the lines of “idk i’m not a fish person” or “fish isn’t my normal zone to work in”.
Even my LFS have given incorrect information or told me they have no idea on some things (almost no one knows anything about aquatic plants even though they sell them!).
I have run into this same issue with all my exotic pets. The sugar glider and hamster, as well as when i worked in an exotic vet clinic. We’d get tons of reptiles in sickly because of improper environment with the owners saying “well this is what the store told me to do”.

It’s on us, ultimately, to do the research. These people are salespeople, they usually aren’t trained in anything but how to make a sale. It doesn’t make them bad people - we just live in a consumerism world. They’re only doing their job.

 

It’s on us, ultimately, to do the research. These people are salespeople, they usually aren’t trained in anything but how to make a sale. It doesn’t make them bad people - we just live in a consumerism world. They’re only doing their job.

Agreed. Ultimately it was 100% my fault. They were my pets to be accountable for. People lack knowledge, have incorrect info, are burnt out. It’s only human. I asked questions, but not enough. I mostly got non-answers, wrong answers, or blown off. I didn’t even realize it at the time. I have a tendency to overthink, so I would think “oh, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal, I must be doing it again”. I have done cat rescue for years and gently educated so many innocent ignorant owners. I think this bothers me so much because I really, really should have known better.

 

Algae-killing chemicals...they often kill or maim fish. There are many horror stories. Don't use them.

 

Do you add dechlorinator when you do a WC ? I would do a 25 % WC per week, skip 1 day of feeding (I like to skip Sundays) and feed a little less at meal time to reduce nitrates. Bio-home media is also said to reduce drastically nitrates. They’re expensive, you need lots of it (2-3 kg for a 75 gallons) and they take 4-6 months to work but apparently they do work.

When I do a water change, I use API stress coat. I used to just, uh, squirt some in before and after I was filling the tank. Now I measure it out, dose my buckets THEN add to the tank. Is that the same thing as dechlorinator? (Forgive my ignorance.)
Is biohome media significantly different and superior to something like my Biochem stars & nitra zorb I currently use? I don’t care about the cost, or if it takes some time. If it is ideal for them long term, I’d do it.

Instead of using the python to empty your tank, you could use a pump like the Marineland Maxi-jet or other to push the water into your faucet, or bathtub or whatever. All you need extra is tubing, very cheap at home depot. Someone made a video about it on Youtube. I can try to find it if you’re interested. Then if you can fill your tub, you can do it the other way to fill your tank. Or just use a bucket for the 15-18 gallons or so (25%) which would about 5-8 buckets to carry.

I learn something new!!! I googled “marineland maxi jet water change”. There are youtube videos! This is fascinating. I need this. My tub is much further than my shower, but this plus tubing and bathtub use to refill could make this very possible. I am a smaller woman, the big water changes have been hard for me. This looks amazing. THANK YOU!

If you want to go all in, get real plants. You would need another substrate ideally under the sand but it would be worth it. Plants help diminish nitrates.

What sub-substrate would be most ideal? I was looking at Seachem fluorite before I got the sand. This superfine sand is really such a mess/pain, it seeps into everything. But the fish clearly love it (playing, digging, flipping, and their mouth barbs are gorgeous), so the annoying sand stays. I really want real plants. The fish loved liked them when I tried before (they died fast last time, but I can do better this time.)

About the moon light, is it on all night ? Is so I would not use it. Fish need rest from light during the night. I personnally don’t use this mode at all.

No. It has an app, I have it set for certain settings at certain times. The brightest setting is just so bright. I use a 70% brightness for the day, then moonlight for a few hours morning and evening, and fully off at night. I noticed my catfish are very nocturnal, so I started doing this for them.

A good brand of food is Northfin. Fish really love it and it’s very good quality food.

Keep up the good work !

I started looking. They have so many varieties! Any you might specifically recommend for my fish? And thank you so much.

 

What sub-substrate would be most ideal? I was looking at Seachem fluorite before I got the sand.

Seachem flourite or Eco-complete are often the preferred choice for planted tanks. You could mix in a little sand with it, to help plants with small roots grab on better. That’s what I had in my planted tank and it worked well. You will need a complete fertilizer like Thrive-C (for tanks without CO2) and root tabs that you can buy or make cheaply yourself with Osmocote plus (look up Youtube videos).

I started looking. They have so many varieties! Any you might specifically recommend for my fish? And thank you so much.

I think they have one for community fish. You need to select the appropriate size pellet for their mouth. For my cichlids, I give 2 mm but small community fish like neon tetras and the like would need smaller, probably 0.5 mm.

 

Loaches grow very slow and then they grow a little bit fast for awhile, then slow down. Remember that, while the clowns will eat pretty much anything, they are carnivores, they need a lot more protein than most flakes provide. I recommend getting Repashy for them, and bug bites for everybody, more bloodworms too. Maybey even considers making your own gell food for them. Even Repashy contains fillers and chemicals that your fish don't need.

If you still have plastic plants, I would swap them for silk.

No animal can clean up poop. If water changes arent quite enough. the Eheim quick vac may be a good investment, you can suck up the scum mid-water change.

Looking into all of the above. I will buy some Repashy and Bug Bites. I got a recommendation of Northfin from Dechi as well. Maybe dumb but... in my cats, I can’t do sudden food changes without causing them upset stomach. Is there anything I need to worry about like that with fish or can I just try away and see what sticks? I didn’t know gel foods existed, so... I need to Google this more. Interesting.

I have a battery operated Eheim vacuum but it’s been hard to use with the sand. Which is such a shame. If I do more regular water changes I could do this though, when I stir it up...

 

I have a battery operated Eheim vacuum but it’s been hard to use with the sand. Which is such a shame. If I do more regular water changes I could do this though, when I stir it up...

If you buy the Marineland Maxi-Jet to to do your WC, you can also use it as a polishing filter (you need to buy the Aquaclear quick filter power head attachment that will fit on your Maxi-Jet) or a power head that you can use to create water movement. This will lift detritus off the ground and help your filter get to it.

I just bought one and was experimenting with it today. So far using it as a polishing filter is my favorite way. There is a venturi that attaches to it and it has a valve to regulate the amount of air, thus reducing or augmenting the amount of bubbles. That thing is a beast. I bought the 1200 L for my 46 gallons (will be upgrading to a 75 gallons soon) and at full speed, it looks like there is a hurrican in the tank... I have to turn it down almost to a minimum, at least until I upgrade and my fish get used to it. But I looked at the media and it’s already started picking up my fish poop after a few minutes. I learned that from watching videos too...

 

Algae-killing chemicals...they often kill or maim fish. There are many horror stories. Don't use them.

Good to know. I will chuck the AlgaeFix.
I bought the Coralife Turbo Twist 3x UV sterilizer for algae and overall water quality/clarity. New tank is below a large skylight so the algae has started to become more annoying (I spend time each week to scrub it to keep it good for them). I hope to install the UV sterilizer this weekend! Wish me luck!

If you buy the Marineland Maxi-Jet to to do your WC, you can also use it as a polishing filter (you need to buy the Aquaclear quick filter power head attachment that will fit on your Maxi-Jet) or a power head that you can use to create water movement. This will lift detritus off the ground and help your filter get to it.

I just bought one and was experimenting with it today. So far using it as a polishing filter is my favorite way. There is a ventury that attaches to it and it has a valve to regulate the amount of air, thus reducing or augmenting the amount of bubbles. That thing is a beast. I bought the 1200 L for my 46 gallons (will be upgrading to a 75 gallons soon) and at full speed, it looks like there is a hurrican in the tank...

I have some basic, junky powerhead I used to use. I will look into this polishing filter idea. I want something nice and reliable if I replace it. I haven’t heard of this or tried it yet. My issue with it was that I switched from gravel to a very fine sand... and it kicked up my very fine sand in a horrible way. Like, clogged my canister level. How do you avoid this?

 

have a tendency to overthink, so I would think “oh, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal, I must be doing it again”.

i feel this so hard lol

What sub-substrate would be most ideal?

I personally feel plants can grow in any substrate. If you have bottom dwellers like you do and they play in the sand, please don’t change to anything else (especially eco complete which is inert, extremely expensive, and erodes barbels on fish) they deserve sand!. I have plants in sand right now. My swords are in sand and grow just fine even though some consider them “root feeders”. I don’t even use root tabs - just thrive C which is a liquid all in one fert. Most common plants can be grown in a tank in any substrate with just thrive c and no co2. The growth might just be slower. I used to add root tabs and saw no difference at all, so I stopped wasting my money.

Along the same lines as wasting money, live plants (especially floating plants) use nitrates and naturally lower levels. A good, heavily planted tank never has nitrates. You can also look up how to grow pothos (a ground plant) by putting it’s roots into the tank. This plant removes nitrates like crazy!

I prefer not to buy all these extra manmade / chemical products when there’s a natural way to accomplish something. Besides, it gets expensive! All I have is my Prime conditioner.

Edit to add: i had a hard time vacuuming sand as well. If you buy a smaller tubing it isn’t as powerful and the sand will fall down while the dirt gets sucked up. If you’re emptying the water into a container, you can also decrease the sucking power by lifting the container higher. Gravity tricks

 

Looking into all of the above. I will buy some Repashy and Bug Bites. I got a recommendation of Northfin from Dechi as well. Maybe dumb but... in my cats, I can’t do sudden food changes without causing them upset stomach. Is there anything I need to worry about like that with fish or can I just try away and see what sticks? I didn’t know gel foods existed, so... I need to Google this more. Interesting.

I have a battery operated Eheim vacuum but it’s been hard to use with the sand. Which is such a shame. If I do more regular water changes I could do this though, when I stir it up...

I looked up the Northfin food just know, as i am serching for somthing better for my Acara cichlids, But even the Cichlid formula is not wat i was looking for, Fish meal times 3, and whole weat flour "not digestible filler, and a multitude of ingrediants that I just read were not very heathy. And I will look for the article. https://puregoldfish.com/food-ingredients/, Ok, I didnt see too many big offenders, But I still prefer more natural ingredients when possible. I have not made my own gell food yet, I will use tilapia, cricket flour, fresh garlic, spirulina, and 3-4 vegitables.

You are right about swapping cat and dog food. But the only thing you need to worry about with fish is that they won't get use to new food, or even see that it is something for them to eat right away. But if your Loaches are anything like mine, they will tear it up and the other fish will follow there path.

A problem i see for you - silver dollars are mostly herbivorous, while clown loaches are mostly carnivorous. I suggest sinking food for the carnivorous, floating food for the silver dollars.

 

You can keep nitrates down by having a heavily planted tank, but unfortunately your silver dollars will eat any plants you put in.

With your stock the only option is staying committed to water changes.....

See if you can get a water reservoir setup somewhere convenient and then pump the water to your tanks through long airline tubings (you can even use a programmable outlet to set a timer on the water pump). That's what I do for my 75 gal. If I didn't have that I would be too lazy to do water changes

 

Maybe dumb but... in my cats, I can’t do sudden food changes without causing them upset stomach. Is there anything I need to worry about like that with fish or can I just try away and see what sticks?

Fish are built to eat anything edible they find in their habitats. Most will eat anything small that moves, or in the case of some cichlids/silver dollars, anything green. They don’t really care much as long as they can eat it. Basically, they’re built for variety. No issues for them, they might just need some time to get used to new foods.

 

You can keep nitrates down by having a heavily planted tank, but unfortunately your silver dollars will eat any plants you put in.

Another hopefully not too dumb question... In addition to more water changes, still beneficial to buy live plants, even knowing that the silver dollars are just going to chew them up? Or is this a “more hassle than it is worth” situation?

Also... love it re: the airline drip & reservoir.

But if your Loaches are anything like mine, they will tear it up and the other fish will follow there path.

LOL... yes. The big loach is a PIG. He will attempt to eat anything. He loves my sinking pellets (Wardley Shrimp Pellet formula). He zips around the tank snatching them from the catfish one by one and stashing them in his mangrove root den. They are too large for him (bought for the larger catfish). So he rotates through his horde over and over, sucking on and playing with each pellet. I bought him smaller of the same pellets, nope. If the big pellets are also being fed, he beelines for them. Apparently it tastes better if you steal it and play with it? The new school is only a week in the tank, still growing into their personalities but they are already animated eaters.

Fish are built to eat anything edible they find in their habitats. [...] Basically, they’re built for variety. No issues for them, they might just need some time to get used to new foods.

Thank you for the explanation. I figured this was the case (their habitats are not static in the wild, of course) but didn’t want to assume.

 

Wow, what does a tank that only gets cleaned once a year even look like? Could you see the fish?

So, I am 5ft and I do weekly 60% minimun water changes on 112, 43, 12 and 5 gallon tanks, so believe me I know the struggle! I was doing it with ye old buckets and siphon when I was 9 months pregnant; it was killing me! I know you said you have fancy taps so there is still a chance it won't work but here is what I did:

I got one of these of my kitchen taps; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hozelock-L...r&qid=1609232044&sprefix=hose+pipe+tap&sr=8-6
And some regular old garden hose piping. To start the suction to take water out of the tanks, I put one end on the tap and the other in my tank. I turn the tap on and turn it off again just as the water starts coming out of the end into the tank; then disconnect from the tap and then it starts pulling water through straight down the drain. Then just wait until you've removed enough water.

Then to refill, I have a very scientific method of temperature matching; I put my finger in my tank water (all my tanks are the same temperature) then put it under the running tap. When they feel the same, I put prime straight into my tank to dechlorinate water as it goes in, then reconnect the hose pipe to the tap, turn it on, and there you go.

I know many people disapprove of putting the dechlorinator into the tank and adding straight tap water but with all my tanks and their size it is the only feasible method for me. Its never caused any cycle or fish problems.

If the connector won't work with your taps, maybe consider a fluval FX6 cannister filter; it has a little tap on it you can connect a nose pipe and put the end down the drain or in the garden or wherever then open the valve and it drains the water out for you. Wont fix the refill issue if you can't connect anything to your tap though.

I have silver dollars too and its true they destroy plants. Even anubias which is meant to taste gross. Do you feed them algae wafers? They play American football with them; one dollar grabs the wafer and swims off with it with the others in pursuit, then they take turns snatching it off of eachother, dropping and catching it. It is hilarious to watch. Also zucchini; they love it. Any vegetables really.

Edit: IMO no, there will never come a time when you don't need to do 25% bare minimum water changes every week. When you slack on the changes, fish get sick. Relying on nitrate readings to determine when to do a WC isn't a great method either (again IMO) because your tank is a mini ecosystem, there a things building up in there that you can't test for. Clean water is what is best for the animals, they're living in there 24/7 after all. There are such methods out there that involve heavy planting and low stocking but I remain a skeptic. Also I hate live plants anyway.

 

I have some basic, junky powerhead I used to use. I will look into this polishing filter idea. I want something nice and reliable if I replace it. I haven’t heard of this or tried it yet. My issue with it was that I switched from gravel to a very fine sand... and it kicked up my very fine sand in a horrible way. Like, clogged my canister level. How do you avoid this?

I’m not sure but you can position the nozzle with a swivel as you like. The water effect is meant to create a circle going down and up into the filter. So the stronger part of the jet is up near the surface and then it’s decreasing so your sand might not be affected, or very little.

I’m sure someone’s tried it with sand. I have aragonite so it’s not moving.

 

So, this is long but please bear with me. I am aware I didn’t treat my fish the best historically, in my ignorance, and I am looking to do better. I feel badly about this, so please be kind in your replies.

History: I got a “free” 20 gal fish tank including some fish off Craigslist because I have cats and thought it would be entertaining to them. That was in 2009. It consisted of mollies and platys. I bought a “Spotted Cory Catfish” from Walmart, subsequently couldn’t find him, and presumed he was eaten... until I did my once-every-year cleaning (I KNOW I KNOW) and he was found again... 4” long living in a volcano decoration. It was a pretty bare tank with one volcano and one plastic plant.

I discovered my “Cory catfish” was actually an African Featherfin squeaker. And the cats loved him. He prompted me to upgrade to a 46 gallon bowfront. I took away the volcano and bought two caves so he couldn’t hide from my cats... and the cats liked him so much I bought a second one. One per cave, good! (I KNOW...)

I didn’t really know it then, but I did not take good care of my fish. They died, they got replaced. I thought that was... you know, just what cheap little fish did. My big guys were fine, so my tank was all good, right? There were some very hearty survivors in that tank. As they got replaced, I replaced them with “cooler looking” fish. Like a single clown loach from Petsmart. He was the only clown loach in his tank when I bought him. I thought they were OK alone and my 46g tank would be like moving into a mansion for him! After all, he was there in a small tank, alone, in the Petsmart. He had cool stripes. The cats would like him. They said he would get along with my other fish. Ok, sold. I KNOW I KNOW.

A few years ago, I started thinking. I put more effort into caring for the 46 gallon tank. I decorated it, got more plants, actually cleaned it more than once a year.

Then I cared more and more. My cats get the best money can buy, my home is tailored for them with a dozen cat trees, toys, whatever they enjoy. Money is not an issue. Time is my biggest constraint, I work a lot. So their pets, my fish, should get more too. I started researching my fish. What do they like, what is their ideal environment? I bought my FIRST test kit (OMG I know)... my water was HORRIBLE, really a miracle my fish lived. Leading to much guilt and to where I am today.

Obviously I discovered my tank was overstocked. I overfed majorly. The catfish like caves and the loach needed more space, and friends. They deserved a better substrate than my sharp gravel, which was cruel on my bottom dwellers’ barbels.

Where am I now?
I have a 75 gallon tank with CaribSea sand substrate. They have various decorations and hidey spots, a large bubble wand for aeration and many plastic plants (I tried live plants but killed them). I have an API Filstar XP L canister filter, a big aquarium heater, an AP300air pump and an LED with moonlight mode on a timer (this is a huge change to the small hang-on-the-back filter I never cleaned, the 10 gallon air pump, and the light I always left on before).

My fish:
Clown Loach x1 - 5.5”, 8 years old, had been solo until recently... he is fun and playful, always schooled with my Australian rainbowfish until he got friends

Clown Loaches x4 - small, recently purchased to school with big loach, now they are a family, what personality the loaches have in a school. Wow. Big loach is like their mama fish, they play and dig and dart. Quite a comedy.

African Featherfin Squeakers x2 - 6”+ each, one is 11, the other is 9ish, they each have their little territories and they often chase eachother around, love swimming through the bubble curtain

Bosemani Rainbowfish x4 - two are about 3 years old and adult, 4” ish, two are new additions and still small

Silver Dollar x3 - 1 is about 5 years old and a big guy, two are small (a bit bigger than a quarter). the big one schools with the rainbowfish, not his smaller friends, so I do intend to get two more little ones very soon.

Recently purchased to add/use but haven’t set up yet... Eheim spray bar, Coralife Turbo Twist 3x UV sterilizer, Mopani driftwood, TDS meter.

I now test my water every 2 weeks (sometimes weekly), alternate what I change out in the canister filter, do partial water changes of about 20% monthly (or more frequently if my nitrates get too high). My tank has good water flow/current, which the fish seem to love. My water parameters average...
Temp 78-80
pH 7 to 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate has been a struggle lately, I try to keep near 0 but have had a few major spikes... added nitrazorb to my filter alongside the bio chemzorb and am now around 50 and dropping, phew

I have loads of biochem stars, biochemzorb, StressCoat, AmQuel Plus, various stuff to kill algae, some clarity stuff I haven’t used.

My question:
1. Recommendations? What do I still need to do better here? I may have kept fish for over a decade but I am really a noob.
What products do I need to buy?
2. My big, old loach is often pale. Not always but often. His young friends are so very dark and contrasting. He seems very active and happy, especially with his new friends. He is playful, loves digging in the sand. He has always been more pale as an adult. He has not grown in size in many years. Is he permanently stunted in growth? Is the paleness a bad sign? He is head honcho of my entire fish tank, I have read that the dominant clown loach is often paler, I have read they go pale from stress too.
3. What can I do better with diet? I feed tetra flakes once daily (a pinch they eat in a minute or so), some sinking pellets, occasionally dried bloodworms and shrimp. Should I introduce vegetables? Maybe peas? My clown loach is a food hog and a little fat I think.
4. I am really trying to not overfeed, especially with a light sand substrate. It has made the waste visible and taught me to be better about cleaning. Should I fast my fish, how often?
5. Is there anything I can or should get my fish? Like snails? I know my loach, at least the big guy, will eat them. Anything that will... you know, help with the poop situation?
6. I would like some small, colorful fish but I need to be mindful of my catfish situation. They are getting big, huge mouths, and they have historically opportunistically eaten small fish... and especially fry when I had livebearers, man they loved eating them. I would love a few guppy but I suspect they would end up a snack... Recommendations?
7. Is my tank overstocked, or could I have a few more small fish? Recommendations on a fish my large catfish won’t eat, will get along with my current fish, preferably also bright and pretty for the cats?
8. Is this enough space for my clown loaches? At least for now (I have eyeballed and may consider a 125g in the future)? I have read SO MUCH that conflicts about my loaches. People with a larger school than mine in a 55g, people saying 75g is too small. All the conflicting info is confusing.
9. Any questions I should be asking? Any tips/tricks I should know to make life easier? Any product recommendations?
10. Both of my catfish have sort of white spots in the same line down their sides. It happened to both as they aged. For a while they had some wear on their bony plates from scraping on things, but it has healed. In the newest tank, with more space and less scrapes, side spots seem to be diminishing but only yay much. Some of the line of white spots stays. They have been like this for years now. It has not seemed to affect them (or other fish). Is this normal? The big clown loach has a spot in some of the photos, this is a scrape that happened when he managed to get himself shoved in something too small (is why the mangrove root now had plants plugging the top). Anything I should do for either?

Pics are mostly of newest aquarium setup, but some from older one to show the fish. Regards and thank you!
Also a few pics of the catfish, on the white spots from Q 10 in particular. (Mostly taken in old aquarium).

Looks like ur tank is pretty good - a word of advice is that u can get some really cool looking fish but they tend to require more care so just make sure u can provide them with that - iy does seem like a lot if fish but in my opinion, if none of them seem stressed and they dont get ill too easily dont let it stress u out - just maybe dont get anymore for a while

 

Another hopefully not too dumb question... In addition to more water changes, still beneficial to buy live plants, even knowing that the silver dollars are just going to chew them up? Or is this a “more hassle than it is worth” situation?

Also... love it re: the airline drip & reservoir.


LOL... yes. The big loach is a PIG. He will attempt to eat anything. He loves my sinking pellets (Wardley Shrimp Pellet formula). He zips around the tank snatching them from the catfish one by one and stashing them in his mangrove root den. They are too large for him (bought for the larger catfish). So he rotates through his horde over and over, sucking on and playing with each pellet. I bought him smaller of the same pellets, nope. If the big pellets are also being fed, he beelines for them. Apparently it tastes better if you steal it and play with it? The new school is only a week in the tank, still growing into their personalities but they are already animated eaters.

Thank you for the explanation. I figured this was the case (their habitats are not static in the wild, of course) but didn’t want to assume.

You can try some tougher plants like anubias, java fern, water lettuce etc. I wouldn't bet on them surviving silver dollars tho

 

Wow, what does a tank that only gets cleaned once a year even look like? Could you see the fish?

So, I am 5ft and I do weekly 60% minimun water changes on 112, 43, 12 and 5 gallon tanks, so believe me I know the struggle! I was doing it with ye old buckets and siphon when I was 9 months pregnant; it was killing me! I know you said you have fancy taps so there is still a chance it won't work but here is what I did:

I got one of these of my kitchen taps; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hozelock-L...r&qid=1609232044&sprefix=hose+pipe+tap&sr=8-6
And some regular old garden hose piping. To start the suction to take water out of the tanks, I put one end on the tap and the other in my tank. I turn the tap on and turn it off again just as the water starts coming out of the end into the tank; then disconnect from the tap and then it starts pulling water through straight down the drain. Then just wait until you've removed enough water.

Then to refill, I have a very scientific method of temperature matching; I put my finger in my tank water (all my tanks are the same temperature) then put it under the running tap. When they feel the same, I put prime straight into my tank to dechlorinate water as it goes in, then reconnect the hose pipe to the tap, turn it on, and there you go.

I know many people disapprove of putting the dechlorinator into the tank and adding straight tap water but with all my tanks and their size it is the only feasible method for me. Its never caused any cycle or fish problems.

If the connector won't work with your taps, maybe consider a fluval FX6 cannister filter; it has a little tap on it you can connect a nose pipe and put the end down the drain or in the garden or wherever then open the valve and it drains the water out for you. Wont fix the refill issue if you can't connect anything to your tap though.

I have silver dollars too and its true they destroy plants. Even anubias which is meant to taste gross. Do you feed them algae wafers? They play American football with them; one dollar grabs the wafer and swims off with it with the others in pursuit, then they take turns snatching it off of eachother, dropping and catching it. It is hilarious to watch. Also zucchini; they love it. Any vegetables really.

Edit: IMO no, there will never come a time when you don't need to do 25% bare minimum water changes every week. When you slack on the changes, fish get sick. Relying on nitrate readings to determine when to do a WC isn't a great method either (again IMO) because your tank is a mini ecosystem, there a things building up in there that you can't test for. Clean water is what is best for the animals, they're living in there 24/7 after all. There are such methods out there that involve heavy planting and low stocking but I remain a skeptic. Also I hate live plants anyway.

My once a year cleaning days, the tank honestly didn’t look that bad (shocking I know). If it got enough algae, I’d give it the 5 minute scrub. It had an under gravel filter back then so.... I guess the poop goodies went out of sight out of mind. The once a year clean was SO gross. It had a slight tea tinge to it (which I didn’t even notice, my house then was soooo tacky 70s and had brown and yellowish butterfly wallpaper) and an odor when the lid was open. It wasn’t anything that would have embarrassed me if, say, company was over though.

Yeah, my fancy taps don’t have the screw ones like that. Blegh. I wish. I did the good old manual suck of a hose to start the siphon (my penance for letting my fish live like that, I am gagging over the memory). The draining is less of my issue... the filling is my bucket lugging nightmare

The FX6 looks so fancy (and pricey)! I happened across my two Filstars on a fish replacement shopping trip, clearanced on an endcap. The S was $23 and the L was $30. I had no idea which I needed. I tried to ask, but the lady was rude/condescending and I was uncomfortable. They looked cool, seemed cheap, and I thought “maybe this is better for them”... so I bought both and intended to return one, but when I saw how much canisters and parts are I kept both for parts or just in case. Finding them and having to google stuff is what started me on my “maybe I should care more”. I gather they aren’t top of the line but they have both been really solid filters, no issues, easy for a nervous idiot like me to use and maintain.

HUGE props doing the WCs 9 months pregnant. OMG. I cant even imagine this!! I, too, used your highly scientific temperature match method before I bought a thermometer!

Looks like ur tank is pretty good - a word of advice is that u can get some really cool looking fish but they tend to require more care so just make sure u can provide them with that - iy does seem like a lot if fish but in my opinion, if none of them seem stressed and they dont get ill too easily dont let it stress u out - just maybe dont get anymore for a while

Thank you for saying this. I do stress, there’s a lot of guilt. My survivors are hearty. I hope they are healthier and happier now. Seeing my loach in a bigger tank and with a school has been an eye opener. He is a new fish. I can’t believe I made him spend 8 years alone, telling myself my sad, small, dirty fish tank was like a mansion to him... ugh. No more fish for a while for me. I need to properly care for what I already have.

 

Welcome!! Looks like you’ve got lots of great advice. Yes more water changes are needed. Yes build up to 50% a week. Your fish will appreciate it. Don’t think thats lateral line disease. Mine is also around that age living in weekly water changed tank and has those spots.
It is amazing what type of water fish can live in.

 

Welcome!! Looks like you’ve got lots of great advice. Yes more water changes are needed. Yes build up to 50% a week. Your fish will appreciate it. Don’t think thats lateral line disease. Mine is also around that age living in weekly water changed tank and has those spots. It is amazing what type of water fish can live in.

What a handsome fellow! What is his favorite food, if I can ask? I wish I could get better new pics, the big white chunks have become minimal for mine now. They used to be so much worse, like a stripe of chunked on white out. Hopefully mine finish getting to a point like yours... barely noticeable.

 

I feed many foods. California black worm flakes are the standard. Shrimp pellets algae wafers. He eats anything.

 

Okay I have a refilling hack for you, but be warned it is a bit ghetto.

Take a plastic bottle (eg coca cola bottle) and tape the hose pipe into the mouth of the bottle. Cut a hole in the side of the bottle and slot the head of your tap into it. Secure with tape as necessary. The contraption looks like this;


I filled my daughters paddling pool like this last summer before I got the adaptor. You could put the hole in the top of the bottle instead if that works better for your taps.

And if this still wouldn't work with your taps, post a photo of them because I will figure out a way to make it work

 

Okay I have a refilling hack for you, but be warned it is a bit ghetto.

Take a plastic bottle (eg coca cola bottle) and tape the hose pipe into the mouth of the bottle. Cut a hole in the side of the bottle and slot the head of your tap into it. Secure with tape as necessary. The contraption looks like this; View attachment 754016

I filled my daughters paddling pool like this last summer before I got the adaptor. You could put the hole in the top of the bottle instead if that works better for your taps.

And if this still wouldn't work with your taps, post a photo of them because I will figure out a way to make it work

My taps (well, literally everything in the house, including shower and bath, taps, kitchen) are all Moen Hensley. Nearest is my kitchen sink (15 feet) then my spare bath which has a tiny little sink and a standing-only shower (30 feet). I stuck this fish tank in a really inconvenient spot, smh.

Right now, for WCs, I take the entire head off my shower and hook my spihon thingie up to that every time. Which is super annoying! Because then I have to redo the plumbers tape to put the shower head back on. Half the time I just use buckets instead.

I could totally use the kitchen sink with your ultra-scientific approach, which I have dubbed the BAB (big a$$ bottle) hack.

I also have a large, deep sink which I have tried to use as a reservoir (but shied away from after, you know, the hose popped out a few times and water sprayed everywhere.