RIP ALPHA LOACH!

[loachmom]

Well, I've taken some pictures of my rocks, and they kept very still for it.

This is what they looked like after I boiled the waxy coating off. Hope this is not too boring.
I think you can see the rusty streaks quite well.






Each of the dozen rocks I bought have some sort of streaking in them.

[linarite]

Loachmon,
I have shared these pics with another geologist friend of mine and we would suggest not using some these rocks in your tank for the following reasons:

1. The rock in pic 1 does appear to be under going some sort of weathering that is causing oxidation of the iron-rich minerals. The water in your tank is supplying the O2 for this. This release of minerals will change the water chemistry in your tank. Maybe not bad but will make keeping things under control a little more difficult.

2. While we can't get a really good look at the veins in pic 2 and 3 they do appear to have a possible CaCO3 origin. This will dissolve when exposed to water and release Ca into your tank. Ca will change the pH and kH. Again, making that balance hard to maintain.

3. Not really sure what pic 4 is but looks to be possibly a bad marble or calcite. Test this rock by trying to scratch it with a kitchen knife. If you can scratch the rock then I wouldn't suggest using it in the tank. If you can't then most likely this one would be ok to use.

The rocks in pic 1,2 and 3 are suspect

This is based on our opinion as geologists. You know your tank and know what is going on with your fish. You will have to decide what is working for you and what is not. I would suggest using something labeled for tanks only. I hope this helps and if you have any other questions about the rocks please let me know.

Good Luck

[loachmom]

Thanks Linarite,
It's reassuring to get an opinion from someone who knows more about this than I do.
I actually have not used these rocks in my tank yet, and now I don't plan to. My daughter has gladly claimed them as her own.

I bought them at Walmart and thought they would be perfect tank rocks. LoachOrgy also bought similar rocks from Walmart, and I was wondering if maybe they were anything like mine and might be contributing to his loach losses.
Thanks for taking the time to give such a detailed response--I really appreciate it.

[LoachOrgy]

well, i may remove these rocks from my tank and do some more tests as well to see if it changes anything.

[linarite]

LoachOrgy,
In one of your earlier post you asked about the time for the rocks to break down - this does take time to happen. Over several months this slow release of minerals will build up in your water. What you want are rocks that show no sign of cracking or of being "healed" by another mineral (see the veins that I mentioned earlier) Take a look at the type of rocks commonly found along a river bed or stream - plain, somewhat ugly, brown or black, heavy or dense for the size of the rock and hard - basically chert.

So removing the rocks might remove a source of extra things in your tank that could be playing with the general chemistry of the water. I hope this helps you as I know this has been a tough one to deal with. Please keep us posted on how things are going.

Loachmom - sounds like you just might have a future scientist on your hands - most likely a geologist. Sound just like how I got interested in the subject.

[LoachOrgy]

tapwater: 7-13-07 3rd test of 3 day test sitting out in a 3 gallon bucket
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 7.1
3)kh: 40ppm
4)gh: 60ppm
5)nitrate: 0
6)Nitrites: 0

tank water:7-13-07
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 7.0
3)Kh: 20ppm
4)gh: 60ppm
5)nitrate: 0ppm
6)nitrite: 0ppm

[loachmom]

Loachmom - sounds like you just might have a future scientist on your hands - most likely a geologist. Sound just like how I got interested in the subject.

Linarite, I told this to my daughter, and it put a sparkle in her eyes.



LO, I really hope you soon get to the bottom of this. I'm sure it's been tough.

[linarite]

Tell her to keep exploring! There is a lot out there to learn and discover.

[shari2]

Ah LO, I'm sorry to have read this. Been away for several weeks.

How many are left and are they still all active? Water clear?
Very tough times.

[mikev]

Lunarite,

Thank you for the rock explanation...

More things to worry about... I have this type of rocks in a couple of hillstream tanks, and some rocks certainly have rusty veins in them.... Dddarn.

[linarite]

Glad to help.

We all learn from discussions like this. Believe me I have no problems picking the brains in this group when I think I'm having troubles.

[ckk125]

loach bloat...i think you would like to see this.

http://www.my-mac.net/forum/viewtopic.p ... lown+loach

[LoachOrgy]

shari my alpha and 2nd largest loach are dead. the runt loach is dead and flipper died along with the 3" upside down cat. the water is clear and i have added my rena x3 to the tank. i have one rena x3 and one ac70 with another ac70 jethead. i also threw a bubbler in there and have been changing the water daily for about 6 days.

spot, george, vincent, and morpheus are still alive and they are as playful as ever. i have only been feeding them very litle since yesterday. i am going to try some salad shrimp today. they have been through hell.


thanks for the link chen.

[LoachOrgy]

tapwater: 7-15-07 5th test of 3 day test sitting out in a 3 gallon bucket
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 7.1
3)kh: 50ppm
4)gh: 80ppm
5)nitrate: 0
6)Nitrites: 0

tank water:7-15-07
1)ammonia: 0
2)ph: 6.9
3)Kh: 30ppm
4)gh: 100ppm
5)nitrate: 10ppm
6)nitrite: 0ppm

[Icewall42]

I just realized that I could have been very wrong... that might have been a case of velvet, and the bulging a symptom of internal bacterial infection. I'm sorry if this ruined anything I thought what my clown had some eyars ago was velvet, since the Super Velvet Plus cured it very quickly.