More neverending questions from the curious newbie. :P

[angelfish83]

Thank you for the positive post Helen ^_^
I was quite embarassed seeing I actually had done quite an amount of research on the dojo loach before I purchased it- the information I was steadily recieving was that they preferred temps between 74-82 degrees.
Then again, I would trust the opinions here over any other. I've seen the photos the people here have taken personally of their fish and read many posts of how they're taken care of. I knew this would be the best place to ask.
I'm at the 55 now, watching Indie J be a glutton and thrash the bloodworms near the top of the tank. And they say catfish go crazy during feeding time.
I know most about weather loaches- evidently not enough, but I know less about Kuhli's. All I truly know is they take what I deem a regular loach diet- bloodworms, brineshrimp, tubifex, sinking pellets, etc... (Anything else I should look into picking up? Keep in mind, I'm in the maritimes of Canada, there isn't much available to me! )
Their preferred habitat and temp, the basics. Are there any details or comments/bits of advice anyone has to offer on caring for them? angelfish recommended I keep seven of them- am still waiting on that pet shop call. So, any info I should know? I'm all ears!

If you want the food only on the bottom get a piece of well washed PVC or rigid clear plastic tubing and just dump your food down it. You can put it exactly where you want it on the bottom this way and no mess.

So is that you in your Avatar picture? It has to be you or something that represents you, ie or Mark's worm thingy that I haven't figured out yet...

Some of us have gone for a quasi-rediculous back page of a book about the author type pose...

[helen nightingale]

Some of us have gone for a quasi-rediculous back page of a book about the author type pose...

but its not quite as silly as Fatboy Slim's i'm #1 so why try harder fatboy avatar

[shazam26]

Hmmm, good tip angelfish! That'll definitely be a bonus for my poor Kuhli- can be a bit shy, but I expected that of a Kuhli on its own. Timid, but brave enough to share a meal with my rainbow. ^_^ And a cave, for that matter. It's strange. My rainbow chases my serpaes when they come near the cave (like you'd expect, of course) but it'll submit the cave to the kuhli and sleep just outside of it sometimes if the kuhli is in there. Not that it's afraid, I've seen them chilling in there together many a time.


C'est moi! I was Kylie Minogue at a dress-like-a-celebrity party
Though I guess I should take a moment or two to consider my wardrobe, I never had to buy new makeup or a costume to be her.

[angelfish83]

Ok now I get the glove. Right on.
Well good luck with the fish and keep asking questions, even after you feel you've gotten it right.

There's always something else to learn...
Some of us are cursed with bad luck and things we can't figure out. I hope this doesn't happen to you. The more anal and on top of everything you stay the better. It wouldnt hurt to get a master test kit for extra fun boring water testing @ home

Something with pH/gH/kH/ammonia/um/nitrite/ate would be good, and if you're extra nerdy or well to do you can throw in oxygen co2 copper etc etc etc... But the basics are good enough. Even the gH kit is fairly unnecessary.

Stay on top of everything. Especially if you have heavy poopers. most bottom feeders are. The more obsessive and anal you are with it and the more often you change the water and monitor everything the better. This is a hobby where OCD may actually be a benefit in some ways

AND perhaps the most important piece of advice in all the hobby:
NEVER rely on one single person for all of your information. There are no fish gurus. Nobody knows everything. Few people know half or more of everything. Even the most insanely knowledgeable fish store people can't be expected to know everything. Nobody does. There is no way one person can have detailed information about all 3000+ commonly kept tropical species, 200 medications, 500 foods, 1000s of pieces of equipment, it just doesn't all fit in one person's brain.

If you want to know about tanks, ask someone who really knows hardware. Loaches, ask someone who is a loach nerd, cichlids... that's a tricky one because most people who keep cichlids are completely off their rocker in the worst way and many of their forums are crazy pissing contests and the like... If you ever get into large (10"+ fish) those people are meeeeentallllllll. People into smaller things like Angels and Discus tend to be pretty centered...

May the fshorce be with you

[helen nightingale]

shazam, you are so lucky you can spend lots of study time studying your fish. that really is the best of both worlds and it means that you can probably spot a problem early on, if you are looking at them quite often. a bonus for the fish too.

i hope you dont mind this, but id just like to check something with you. did you mention you have quite chloriney water? or did i dream that? i just wanted to make sure you knew that you shouldnt put extra dechlorinator in the water, to compensate for the water being bad. people often dont realise that dechlorinator can irritate the gills, as on most bottles it is described as very good for the fish, some have aloe vera in, some have other bonuses, etc, and has no warning not to put extra in.

good luck with trying a mail order food company. it sounds like where you study is quite strict in some ways, but relaxed in others. when i was at uni, there was no pets for anyone, except horses. we didnt have our mail checked, but i know what you mean about having a mail box the size of a toenail i am sure that some fish food is a fairly sensible thing to have posted, compared to what your post sequrity could get to inspect sometimes But then, live bloodworms in the post may not quite be what they expect.

[Martin Thoene]

Ladies and gentleman......I have moved the rest of this tpic to the Freshwater Forum.....you were kind of drifting OT there

Martin.

[angelfish83]

I thought any conversation that contained the word 'loaches' somewhere in it qualified for the loaches forum.

[Martin Thoene]

It's all down to the percentages....like hate

I thought you two would be 'cosier' over there in the quiet room

Martin.