Loaches Online Forum

i have 2 clown loaches...
Mr. Loach - The bigger one
Loach Jr. - The Smaller One

Although their names are lame i really love these guys! Recently, i bought a new loach from the same place i got Mr. Loach, he was bigger than both of them, but he didnt make it sadly...he only lasted about 2 days and then he kinda started doing this thing where he couldnt seem to control his swimming properly, and he had these rings around his eyes...they just didnt look right. In the end he didnt make it. That was a few weeks ago, and now Loach Jr. is starting to show these symptoms!!! Mr. Loach is ok though

Does anyone know what the problem could be? The tank temperature is approx 81 degrees, which im going to increase slightly if needed (i just bought a better heater) i do a 25% water change approx every week. The tank is 20 gallons.

Any help is appreciated

If you could answer a few questions, someone here may be able to help:

What are the water parameters in your aquarium? Ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte & pH?
How long has the tank been set up for?
How long before you added your Clowns?
What other fish are in the tank?
Are the fish showing any other symptoms, such as fast breathing, red patches etc?
Have you added any chemicals to the tank recently (treatments etc)?
Did you quarantine your new fish before adding it to the main aquarium?
How did you go about acclimatising the new fish to your aquarium?
Have you been back to the store to see if they have had any problems with the batch of Clowns that you bought your fish from?

Answers to these questions will help us to build up a picture of what might be going on. By the way, hopefully you are aware that a 20 gallon tank is far too small for Clown Loaches.

Emma