Loaches Online Forum

here's an example from a crushed coral product from "aquarium guys":

http://www.aquariumguys.com/cacrco40.html

says it's fine for cichlids, but not regular freshwater fish since it raises the ph too high.

Wouldn't the crushed coral be a bigger problem than water from the tap? I've always been told and read that crushed coral is not good for freshwater tanks. Of course, might seem odd that they were fine before, but as someone else mentioned, the combo of the kicked up waste with the ph thrown off by ...

Well, went to PetSmart last nite. The only Eheim's they had at all were the Ecco series. No Pros. And, the Ecco series was surprisingly cheaper than the Renas (my local PetSmart tends to have huge price swings at any given time, so maybe it was just chance). E.g., the Rena Filstar XP2 (rated for 75 ...

I've been doing some reading of reviews on the Eheims vs Rena's today. I started to lean getting a Rena since they do seem quite a bit cheaper. But, many competing reviews say the Rena's are louder than the Eheims. So my question would be, just how loud? Ie, are the Rena's still quieter than a HOB, ...

Thanks for all the great input everyone. I think I'll shop around a bit and perhaps give one of the Eheim canisters a shot. Since I do have 1 quiet AC HOB still, perhaps I'll do the dual approach many of you mention. I have a pretty traditional tank stand for a 55G, the fake wood look with a middle ...

thanks for the feedback! i have been very intrigued by canister filters, but thought they'd be more trouble to keep up with. i was worried about sound and storage of the canister. how do you store the actual canister? can it fit underneath in the compartment of a typical aquarium stand, as long as y...

hello, it's me again, working on my new 55G. added a 3rd clown and he's doing great. i'm having frustrations right now with what used to be my favorite HOB filters, the AquaClears. I've used these for the last 5 years (used to have 3 smaller tanks) and generally loved them. but, when i first got the...

thanks to you too ashleigh! so it's 2-0 for the rainbows. i do think barbs are way cool, however from what i've read i'm pretty sure they would be hard on my ctenopomas. aggressive, even semi-aggressive, fish really freak them out. they are good-sized predators, but a very slow and somewhat timid de...

thanks mick. good point on the visibility issue. anyone with any other thoughts or considerations? anyone else have rainbows with loaches or ctenopomas?

OK, it's me again, the one who posted about Exodons and Clown Loaches. I took the Exodons back to the LFS afterall. They were eating the scales of my 2 ctenopomas and my Amecas, the ctenopomas are my second favorite fish after the Clowns. And, while they didn't bother my 2 clowns, I did notice the c...

Don't worry, this will be my last post on this thread...just wanted to mention the amecas have impressed me again. After 2 days, they have reasserted their place in the tank. They chase the exodons off more than vice-versa now. But in general they are all getting along.

FYI, just to post my experience so far with this combo in case anyone else is curious in the future...I got the exodons afterall the night before last. So far they are working out fine with the loaches, ctenopomas, and cories, as I would have expected. They don't even seem to recognize each others e...

Cool! Thanks Adam. That helps to hear of another successful case (I've grown to not just trust what I see and hear at the LFS's since they've lead me astray in the past...the fact they had a display tank with the combo was of course a good sign). Exodons do look awesome. I think I'll get a small sch...

I saw this really cool tetra species at the LFS yesterday called Exodons, a larger tetra. The store had them in a display tank with clown loaches and cichlids. The store owner said they're a great mid-level swimming fish that has had no problems with the cichlids and loaches. In all my internet read...

Thanks for the advice Tinman. Makes sense. And, while right now I can't see wanting to upgrade tanksize, I'm sure I'll be thinking differently 2-3 years from now. I assume loaches grow slow enough that my 2 inch and 3 inch ones won't outgrow 55G's in 2-3 years. I'll probably go ahead and get a 3rd, ...