New Loaches

[Nighty]

Hi everyone i am new and i have been reading this form and learned many things over the past while which has been more than helpful. My question is i currently have a tank with 4 clown loaches that are aprrox. 2 inches in the main tank and i have 9 little loaches about an inch. The smaller ones have been in the Quarntine tank for about 3 weeks now. My question is ..are the clowns too small to be put in with the larger ones, or can i get ready to transfer them. I have pictures and more details if need but its a pretty general question.

Cheers,

Craig

[palaeodave]

Pictures and more details are always needed! Details of the fish and the size of the tank so someone can make an informed suggestion. Pictures just because we like seeing pictures

[Ashleigh]

Little loaches need regular feeds, they don't really need competition from other tank mates. What other fish are in the tank a part from the 2inch loaches?

I usually leave babies to grow up 1.75-2inches before adding to my group as I know they would struggle to get enough food, but then again mine are greedy pigs Little ones are also hard to put weight on to once they have lost it, adding them to your lot already and run that risk would not be something I would suggest.

You say they have been in quarantine? Have you treated them with anything or just observed during that time? If not, I would strongly advise to treat them for parasites before you add them to your established group.

And yes we need pictures


Welcome to LOL


Ashleigh

[Nighty]

The Main tank is 125 gallon.. 72"X18X22 inches. It currently has 4 clown loaches, 6 peppered corys, 6 dwarf otcinclus, 7 pristella tetra, and 1 red tail shark. I want the tank to be a loach tank, and in two years my plan is to get a larger main tank for the loaches. My worries with the Q tank, which the small loaches are in, are its only 15 gallons and not sure if that is big enough for them. I have not treated the new clowns with any meds.. just feeding and observing.

But here are some pics of the fishes and tanks









best

craig

[mickthefish]

first Craig i would medicate them for internal bac and worms, as these are all wild caught fish there is a chance of either being in the new ones which if introduced to your 4 other loaches things might go wrong, in other words be safe not sorry.
plus it's not a long treatment time and then certainly add them to the big tank.
the only danger fish i can see you have is the red tail shark which can be turds when around the 3 inch mark.
try dosing with levamisole bud.

mick

[starsplitter7]

Welcome to LOL.

Where are you in Florida?

Really beautiful tank. So nice you quarantine. And a 125 gallon tank instead of a 10 (like so many) is really nice.

Have any of the new loaches shown signs of skinny? I agree a dose of Levamisole would be a smart idea. It is easy to do, and takes less than a week.

Send more pictures when you add the new additions.

[Ashleigh]

Is that a recent pic of the babies? If so, they are not ready to be added to the main tank. It could just be the way the pic is taken, but especially look at the top loach, it looks waffer thin near the caudal fin, also the loach at the front, look behind it at the loach with the saddle, it looks like its slightly pinched in behind the head.
Have a look for either Wormer plus, Levamisole or Prazipro. Ideally wormer plus and Levamisole would be the best to get hold of. Treatment only lasts a week or two for the Levamisole as you will need to redose a few days after the first to cover any eggs that had not hatched while the initial dose was being given. Wormer plus only requires one dose-I have found it to be quite effective.
I have used Prazipro (chefkeith would be the best to comment on this), but i only used it in conjunction (one week one, one week the other) with the Wormer plus/Levamisole as they both treat for different parasites as far as I know.

That tank is lovely those are some lucky loaches


Ashleigh

[Nighty]

Thank you all for the advice. i have been feeding them frozen bloodworms and shrimp pellets. Any other food that would help them plump up or be better for their diet? And i will get on the medicine right away.

At the moment i am in Gainesville.

Craig

[Ashleigh]

Try some baby brineshrimp (live if you can), cyclops, daphina and any of the smaller foods. I also feed the powdered interpet and Hikari foods for baby fish mixed in with normal pellet food. If you can also get some earthworms that you are 100% no chemicals have been added to (try any local bait shops) and rinse them in some luke warm water, chop them up nice and fine they are great for getting weight on.

You could also try some blanched veg (courgette, cucumber, spinach etc) or some melon (honey dew or similar), although only leave in for 30-40mins as it is a smal tank and will stink up the water a bit. Experiment with different foods until you find something they really like.

How often are you feeding them? If you could try 4-5 smal feeds per day, its a lot better than 1/2 big feeds. Say 2 pellet and 3 frozens, but the frozens would only need to be half a large cube at each feed.

If you could get hold of an antibiotic as well, I believe Maracyn is good to use. Often when these little loaches are infested in worms, it leaves them open to secondary infection. Even if you get the parasite problem cleared they still have this to deal with. Once you have completed the parasite treatments, a few doses of antibiotic for a couple of days would be an idea. It may take a couple of weeks for treatements to be completed, but they should start to gain weight quite quickly even after the first treatemnt has passed


Ashleigh

[chefkeith]

The main tank looks wonderful. That's some great advice from Mick and Ashleigh that you're getting. I'd listen to them for sure.

[NancyD]

Your big tank is great! I agree that some treatment would be advisable along with several small meals a day. A couple of your babies look in need of some TLC & wormer, they're a bit delicate 'til 2 inches or so.