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Post by kagome on Jan 2, 2009 14:33:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the help and advice. I'm going to have to get a new net because I keep trying to catch them to give them a bath but the net isn't long enough and they just hide at the bottom of the far end of the tank and I can't catch them! So far, the littlest loach looks much much better. His breathing is normal and he's eating. So I am hopeful that he will continue to do well. I am hoping to drive into town and get a longer net so I can try and catch the slippery little suckers.
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Post by kagome on Jan 3, 2009 23:17:25 GMT -5
I went looking for a net with a longer handle today but the only one I found was meant for a pond and so it was just way too big. The problem is that tank is on top of my entertainment center and so between the height of the tank and the height of the entertainment center I am at a distinct disadvantage when trying to net fish. There are parts of the tank I just can't reach. I really didn't think about this factor when I set this tank up. I'm just going to have to find some sort of solution. I really just can't catch them and that's not good. One of them could be really sick and I wouldn't be able to reach them. I'm going to try one of the bigger stores when I get into town next.
I ordered a butterfly loach today, well sort of. The LFS I usually get my stock through has not had any, I keep calling and they keep saying, "sorry, check back later." I know they're not the most common of fish, but I really don't think they've even asked their distributer, even though I've been asking. So I called another LFS in Pensacola and spoke with the lady who does the ordering and she told me that they have had them in the past and she will see if she can get any in for me. She'll call the distributer on Tuesday and the fish will hopefully come in Thursday. I'm really hoping she can get me one, I added that extra powerhead to the 10g and that would make that tank complete for me.
The clown loaches in the 38g seem to be doing pretty well. They were out and about today swimming around the tank in a straight line, largest to smallest. Since I have a small, medium, and a large, they looked like daddy loach, mama loach, and baby loach swimming around and I couldn't help but laugh. They were all breathing normally, no one is flashing, their color was good, and they ate very well. I am hoping that all is well. I couldn't run my numbers today because everything has been completely nuts, hopefully I will get a chance tomorrow.
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Post by goldenpuon on Jan 4, 2009 9:14:34 GMT -5
As usual, your loaches sound extraordinarily cute. lol I take it they are the favorite fish you have.
I'm the same way only with goldfish. But all my fish are gluttons and are nuts especially about food, even 2 day old guppy fry. lol You should see how my fish follow me around everywhere. lol Now I want loaches.
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Post by kagome on Jan 6, 2009 0:02:17 GMT -5
It's funny that you say that Renee, because my husband and I were just talking about how crazy I am about the Botia loaches. I have changed my mind about the 38g yet again, but I think I will definitely stick with this choice. Instead of adding some sort of Cichlid to the tank I am going to add two more species of Botia and make it a loach tank. Except for the pleco it will be an all loach tank! I think it is going to be awesome. I am going to add some of the angelicus loaches and some zebra loaches. I was thinking about YoYos but decided against them because I really want the others. I'm going to add another powerhead to kick up even more flow in the tank and that will make them really happy. Plus, with all those loaches I will never have uneaten food in my gravel ever again!
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Post by goldenpuon on Jan 6, 2009 16:43:36 GMT -5
That sounds great. Can you post a video of your loaches? I am dying to see their antics! lol I wonder if they beat my fish for silliness. XD
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Post by kagome on Jan 6, 2009 23:06:34 GMT -5
I'll try, I'd really like to get some video of the angelicus loaches because they really are silly and goofy. So far it has been difficult to get pictures of the clowns. They seem to be afraid of the camera when I put it near the tank, but the angelicus are much less skittish so I think I have a better chance with them. The only problem with getting shots of the angelicus is that they are still so small that it's hard to get them in focus. The camera wants to focus on the tank decorations and not the fish.
If I am going to make the 38g a primarily Botia tank I think I will put an additional powerhead in there to add some extra flow. I think they will really like that. It will be fairly easy to pick up some zebra loaches since they are relatively common, but getting more angelicus is going to be a pain. Apparently I bought the only three in the entire Pensacola area and no one at Petsmart is sure when they will get more in. I'll just have to keep checking back with them. I'm really hoping that the butterfly loach will come in on Thursday. I've been trying to track one down for months!
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Post by kagome on Jan 9, 2009 11:12:22 GMT -5
current 38g numbers
nitrate--20
nitirite--0
Gh--300
Kh--120
pH--6.8
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Post by kagome on Jan 9, 2009 23:39:51 GMT -5
I tested the ammonia in my 38g and it showed up as zero. I added another medicated wondershell since my biggest loach is starting to show the same symptoms the little one had before I added the last MWS. Since my numbers are good I'm worried that enough of the mold has survived that although I can't see it it's still causing problems with the fish's gills.
I took the sponge prefilter off of the intake for the filter because it was reducing the flow too much which you just can't have with the loaches. I set the prefilter on the floor of the tank so that I will still have the extra bacteria. The biggest loach is breathing rapidly even when he is at rest so I was worried that he was not getting enough oxygen. I have a small one gallon hospital tank that my husband got me but it wasn't set up. It has a small air pump and air stone that is supposed to go in an undergravel filter, so I just took the pump and stone and hooked them up in the 38g to try and put more oxygen in the water for the loaches. I'm not worried about over-oxygenating since the loaches really like highly oxygenated and fast flowing water. I was really surprised by how small the pump is, it fits in a closed fist and yet it puts out a good amount of air. It's small enough that I just set it on the back of the lid of the tank and fortunately it's very quiet. Later I think I will install a bigger pump and a bubble wand. I've never had one myself but I've always thought they were pretty in other people's tanks.
I'm really hoping that my loach will be OK. He is definitely one of my favorites and I will be very upset to lose him. It's ironic that he is doing poorly right when I get my numbers straightened put in that tank. But last time I thought the little loach was a goner and the medicated wondershells perked him back up within a day, I've got my fingers crossed that will happen again.
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Post by kagome on Jan 11, 2009 10:04:31 GMT -5
I had a real scare last night. I hadn't seen my smallest clown loach in the 38g all day. The last time this happened it turned out that the fish in question was dead and then I didn't find him until a few days later and mold grew on his carcass. I didn't want a repeat of this so I took all of the decor out of the tank to make sure he wasn't hiding or that he had died and was hidden somewhere. I took the Buddha and pagoda out and I thought that I had checked them thoroughly to make sure that no one had ridden them out of the tank. I saw the two bigger loaches and the pleco, but not the smaller one. I thought that he had died and I asked my husband to come help me look for him. We couldn't find him so I decided to put everything back in the tank. As I picked up the pagoda, there he was on the towel I had everything on, he must have ridden out on the pagoda even though I shook it and tried to make sure no one was in there. He wasn't flapping at all and I thought he was dead. My husband scooped him up and dropped him back in the tank and he took off and went and hid under the sponge filter. He just lay there gasping for a long time. I was so upset that I had to go outside, I thought for sure that I had killed him. But he seems to be doing OK today. He's swimming around and eating so hopefully I didn't stress him out to the point where he will die. I am so upset with myself. I turned the pagoda over and looked in there when I lifted it out of the tank, but I missed him somehow. I can't believe I did that! I hope he is going to be OK.
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Post by barbara on Jan 11, 2009 10:15:16 GMT -5
I didn't know this, but as long as the gills are wet, a fish can breathe. I have some jumpers, and have more than once found them on the floor, seemingly dried and dead. Added them back to the tank, and within a few hours they were back to normal. Scary when that happens, but usually they will be OK.
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Post by kagome on Jan 11, 2009 10:20:40 GMT -5
Thanks Barbara, that's good to know. He was at least still wet. The only jumpers I've ever had I found immediately and so I was worried that he had been out too long. I'm glad to know that he's probably going to be alright. That makes me feel better.
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Post by barbara on Jan 11, 2009 10:29:54 GMT -5
Lucky you! I've never found them immediately, and I was sure they were dead. But after some heavy breathing for a while, they seem fine. It's almost like they are shocked by the experience, and need a recovery time.
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Post by brenda on Jan 11, 2009 10:48:15 GMT -5
Don't feel bad kagome...at least he lived. I had the same thing happen to me. Took an ornament out and I had flushed and flushed it because I knew sometimes fish went in there, plus I could usually hear them shake if there was one in there as well. Well my white calvus was in there, I did not find her till it was too late, do you know how horrible I felt that I had killed this fish...I still feel bad, she was one of my favorite fish and to top it all of I paid $40 for her. The money wasn't the big part other then I liked this fish enough to replace it so I had to go spend another $40. Glad you found yours in time.
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Post by goldenpuon on Jan 11, 2009 11:49:10 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that happened Kagome. I've had this happen too. A long tiem ago when i was 10, I had 2 bettas but I kept the lid off thinking they wouldn't have enough air. Both jumped and I was sure they were dead. I din't think of it to put them back in. You're actually very lucky that your fish made it. Also, how you looked for him so thoroughly when she went missing shows how much you care.
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Post by Carl on Jan 11, 2009 12:20:30 GMT -5
I didn't know this, but as long as the gills are wet, a fish can breathe. I have some jumpers, and have more than once found them on the floor, seemingly dried and dead. Added them back to the tank, and within a few hours they were back to normal. Scary when that happens, but usually they will be OK. I cannot tell you how many times this has happened to me, not just with Loaches, but often Damsels in my clients marine tanks have wedged themselves into the decorations so hard that I cannot see not hear them (sometimes until it was too late). As Barbara noted, as long as their gills are wet, they will be fine; the bigger danger is injury to their slime coat, but luckily a towel is about as good as any surface to fall on an not injure this sensitive slime coat Carl
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Post by kagome on Jan 11, 2009 12:38:32 GMT -5
Thanks guys. This all makes me feel so much better. I was really beating myself up last night about this because I felt like I had done something dumb and hurt the very fish I was trying to check on. I tend to berate and flog myself mentally but I feel better knowing that this can happen even to the best of fish keepers. I think from now on I will put the pagoda in a bucket with some water in the bottom until all fish are accounted for. That way if anyone does ride it out of the tank and drops down later they will be in the water and not go completely without oxygen.
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Post by barbara on Jan 11, 2009 13:39:04 GMT -5
Don't beat yourself up over mistakes. We all make them, and they are a learning experience.
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Post by kagome on Jan 13, 2009 23:48:15 GMT -5
I have figured out a way to prevent further fish mishaps with the pagoda. Since the base is square and flush I simply take it and place it on the inner lip of the back of the tank and the middle support. So if a fish is hiding in there and goes to plop down he will fall right back into the water. So I take the pagoda out first now and if everyone is not accounted for I put the pagoda up there and get other things ready. Then when I make sure I see everyone I will move it over to the towel. Hopefully this will keep everyone safe. I decided it was time to name some more of my fish. Some people think that's weird but I like to do that. I also talk to my fish, I know that's really weird, but I just do that for some reason. The guys in the LFS think I'm totally nuts. 38g common pleco--Fudge Biggest clown loach--Spike medium clown loach--Buffy ( turned out to be a girl) smallest clown loach--Angel (do I see a pattern?) 10g blue gourami--Spot Clown pleco--Peanut (on account of his diminutive stature) 3 angelicus loaches-- ? With the angelicus it's still pretty tough to distinguish individuals, although one seems to be a little bigger. Their patterns are still very similar and they'll keep changing as they grow so I'm not sure if that's a great way to name them. I shall have to ponder this further. In the 38g, the water is no longer cloudy. Spike is still breathing rapidly. I've been gone all day so I haven't run the numbers today. Hopefully tomorrow. I'm not sure where I am going to put the new powerhead when it arrives. I think the loaches would like it if there was more flow near the bottom of the tank since the other powerhead is so close to the top. I guess I will put it behind the Buddha down near the gravel. If I leave a bit of a gap I bet they will use it as an extra hiding place, which would be really good when I add more loaches to that tank in the future.
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Post by goldenpuon on Jan 14, 2009 17:12:14 GMT -5
It's not weird tha you talk to your fish Kagome, so do I. In fact I bet a number of us here talk to our fish.
I hope Spike feels better. But how l your ammonia has been low and his rapid breathing is continuing makes me wonder if it could be another problem. I'm not sure if I have already asked this but is there any other symtoms? Also, has there been anything amiss in your tank besides the ammonia and cloudiness?
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Post by babygeige on Jan 15, 2009 15:35:34 GMT -5
Guilty! I talk to my fish too. I yell at them if they do something bad. Tell them everything's ok if they freak out...
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