Ugh, I screwed up. And there's a clown fish.

[Squash]

Hey guys, my name's Josh, I run a fish tank in a residence hall at KSU, and I am not a cruel person. However, I am very stupid when it comes to fish. I took this position because no-one else would, and despite getting alot of enjoyment out of the tank, I'm probably not the best man for the job. Having said that, here's the problem.

Today I went to the aquarium looking for a fish that would take care of the poop amasing in the pebbles on the tank floor. I asked about a zebra loach, as I'd heard its name in that context. Well, I must be talking about a clown fish, as that's just another name for a zebra loach. And yes, the clown loach will clean up after the other fish, and is a lively, solitairy, addition to my tank.

Wrong.

I went online, wondering why I hadn't seen my new fish all day, and I was very rudely suprised by what I read. I don't want this fish to die, but I don't know how to make it work. I have pebbles instead of sand, I have one clown loach instead of 5, and a weekly 50% water change isn't really possible in this tank.

It's a 70 gallon tank with the following fish:
5 Red eye tetras
3 lemon tetras
1 black phantom tetra
1 ropefish
1 pleco
1 albino red tailed shark
4 angel fish
1 clown loach

[janma]

Today I went to the aquarium looking for a fish that would take care of the poop amasing in the pebbles on the tank floor.

Don't get a fish to do you're job, because cleaning the tank is. And fish don't take care of "poop", may stir it up into smaller particles but they don't eat it.

[Blue]

Today I went to the aquarium looking for a fish that would take care of the poop amasing in the pebbles on the tank floor. I asked about a zebra loach, as I'd heard its name in that context. Well, I must be talking about a clown fish, as that's just another name for a zebra loach. And yes, the clown loach will clean up after the other fish, and is a lively, solitairy, addition to my tank.

Welcome to LOL.

Squash, no fish should be looked on as detrivores. They need a good dietary menu. What pleco do you have? Assuming this is a common plec which anyway has always been the unlucky case among those new to the hobby, a 70 gallons is still too small for one considering its potential size and amount of waste produced.

Be careful with your ropefish. It may soon consume some of your small specimens if not isolated immediately. You'll need another tank to accomplish that. The clown loach needs more than just being kept singly. These are quite sociable fish and if you cannot upgrade your tank in a few years, then consider returning the clown loach to your store and stick with smaller species which are found in Species Index of this website. Look for the following:
Botia almorhae, Botia dario, Botia histrionica, Botia kubotai, Botia rostrata, and Botia striata

a weekly 50% water change isn't really possible in this tank.

You'll need more than that. Do your water change at least thrice a week.

[Diana]

5 Red eye tetras- get a few more, they are schooling fish
3 lemon tetras- get several more, they are schooling fish
1 black phantom tetra- get several more, they are schooling fish
1 ropefish- return it, they get big, and are escape artists, and will eat the smaller fish.
1 pleco- if this is the common pleco return it. They are sort on like a cow in the backyard: poop machines. If you have algae issues a Bristlenose Pleco is much better. Give him a cave or two.
1 albino red tailed shark- with a cave or a piece of driftwood as his territory this guy should be fine. They can get aggressive with other shark shaped fish.
4 angel fish- If they pair up for breeding they might terrorize the tank. Watch out for this, and have a separate tank ready. I had a pair in a 6' long tank that were OK; they claimed only about 18" of the tank, the other fish (Including a third Angel) could use the rest of the tank. In a 3' long tank the mated pair (same fish) claimed the whole thing; the extra Angel was hiding in a corner when I saw what was going on.
1 clown loach- Return this guy. The other Loach species suggested above stay smaller so you can get several without overloading the tank, if you want Loaches. They are interesting fish, and do a good job of hunting snails. Many are bottom oriented, some use caves. Make sure there are plenty of caves so the Loaches and the Shark can choose their space.

If 50% weekly water changes are not an option here, then smaller stocking level is all that is left. Keep fewer fish, smaller fish, less messy fish.
Feed less, be sure you are not overfeeding.

Instead of three schooling species, keep only two species, maybe just one species, but bring the quantity up so you have an actual school. Aim for a dozen or more of one species. Look at the smaller Loaches. Get rid of the Pleco.

[shari2]

Hi Josh,

Good on you for taking the job anyway. I know what it's like in a dorm, and at least you are making the effort.

Couple of questions:
How do you do water changes? Do you, can you? Is the tank in a hall or in a lounge?
If the problem with water changes is strictly lack of time, I can't really help you. On the other hand, if the problem is lack of time and because it's a pain hauling buckets, etc. I have a suggestion.

Get a Python gravel vac. They aren't really expensive (but I know student budgets can be small-maybe take up a collection ), you can get them quite long--long enough to reach to a sink, or toilet--and you won't have to haul buckets, splash water and take forever to do a water change. Whip it out, plop it in a sink or toilet and vac up the bottom as the water goes down the drain. Then, hook it up to a sink, adjust the temperature, and refill the tank after you add some dechorinator. Easy peasy. On a 70g tank you could get a water change done easily in less than half an hour. (much less!)

As for getting a fish that will clean your aquarium for you enough to eliminate water changes? There's no such animal.

If you want an easy maintenance, fun and relaxing tank, follow Diana's advice. Increase the size of your tetra schools, get rid of the pleco and the ropefish. , get an ancistrus or two (bristlenose pleco-they stay small and eat algae), and watch the angels. If they pair up, they will get feisty.

If you want to keep a few fish with serious personality, get 3-5 yoyo loaches. They will eat snails if you have them in the tank, though.

If you enjoy the tank, but don't have much time to put into it, keep it simple. You want compatible fish, easy care, and minimal aggression between species. Return the clown loach if you can. Return the plec and the ropefish. If you can't return them to where you got them there may be a local fish store around who would take them and offer you store credit. Make a couple of phone calls or stop in at a local shop and chat up the owner/manager.

Best of luck to you, and good on you for doing some investigating!

[Squash]

I promise, the lack of water changing isn't due to not putting in the effort, it's because I'm leaving in a few days, moving out, and I don't trust anyone else to put the time into the tank it needs, that's why when the fish store told me there was a kind of loach that would actually clean the tank I jumped on it.

Update: The clown loach is doing great. He's eating the rope fish's beef heart and has spurts of activity. The lemon and phantom tetras are now one school of four, so I still have hope for the red eyes and lemons/phantom working it out.

[shari2]

Maybe they should let you take the tank with you!

[Squash]

Further update: All the tetras are now in one big diverse school, and clown loach is eating, and very active.