Loaches Online Forum

Thanks Tanja I like the idea of relocating the caves but can't really work that option myself. My tank is heavily planted there are basically no new positions to move the decor to! I have 3 reasonably sized pices of bogwood as the main decoration which have to be removed to the kitchen to give me ac...

To what extent should I be disrupting the caves in my tank when cleaning the gravel? Some caves that are unocupied I can lift and clean underneath although I do mess up the dug out parts that the loaches have created in doing so. But what about the caves that are occupied? Is it reasonable to lift b...

I would get an airstone in there as well if you can. Anything that ripples the surface or even better causes some splash is good. An extra water change should help aeriate the water but no real need to do to much extra, especially if this might stress the loaches more or upset the biological balance...

The red gills don't look any different really to this from the loaches pictures on this site http://www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/b/Botia_kubotai_JD1.jpg/view They all seem fine at the moment with 1 in the cave and the other 3 digging up my plants. 1 of the 3 is the one I was concerned about ...

It does sound like you do have an ich outbreak. Check this link here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php Given that you only have clowns in there at the moment I would personally go for the heat only treatment. They should not have any trouble taking a temperature of around 31C for the 10 ...

Just done another set of tests

Ammmonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 6

Very unlikely that I have a water issue.

Water changes are done reguarly, my last one being yesterday. 25-30% gets changed weekly. In truth I am not sure what my exact Nitrate reading is as I do these less frequently as tank is well planted. Last one about 10 days ago was around 12ppm and have had 3 water changes since. So should my loache...

I brought 5 Botia Kubotai loches last week (6 days ago). They were brought online so had the issue of a perhaps stressful journey and having to get used to different hardness and pH in water. I drip aclimitised them over a longer time and basically did my best to introduce them as carefully as possi...

mickthefish wrote:have you tried them on prawns yet?.

mick

No chance to get anywhere near a shop yet as am at work. I suppose frozen prawns are best from somewhere like Iceland. As long as I remember to defrost them before I put them in the tank!

Thanks Mick 4 of the 5 are out in the open a fair bit with just one of them, the largest as it happens, being more wary. He/she just likes to fit themself into the tightest hole possible and stay there, I rarely see that one out and about. I expect it is just natural on my part to worry over them so...

They are junvenial Botia Kubotai and the largest is around 8cm.

Diana I do admit that lights out still meant enough light for me to try and see if the loaches were getting any of the sinking wafers. I saw enough to see the normal mid dwellers ctaching them on the way down with others in hot pursuit. I did turn all the "room" lights out (tank is in the hall) at t...

I have a very active community with most of the fish being pretty greedy. I always find it funny when we are told to feed only as much food as our fish would eat in 5 minutes. I am sure my community would get through half a tub of flake food if I let them in that time! My Rosy Barbs, Leopard Danios ...

Just got my first ever loaches today. 5 juvenile Botia Kubotai which are absolutely gorgeous! They had to be ordered online as they had none local and they arrived 10.30 this morning. They would have been stressed from the longer journey and being packed up in a box for 20 hours or so. After getting...

Check this link out here

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php

it is the best ich treatment information I have found online.