ICH, i got it.

[glenna]

YeaH!!!!

That is GREAT!!!

I HATE ich, and it makes me happy when I see another case eradicated (we hope, pray, !!!!).
To me, keeping the treatment going after seeing no spots for a couple of days is the hard part. My clowns seemed to tolerate full dose ich with a temp of 82F without a problem, and for over a MONTH. Still, I apologized every time I put it in the tank. I hated to "poison" my fish, but eventually it worked, and they seemed no worse for the wear.
I bought quinine the last time, because the cure rate seemed pretty slow, but never needed to use it. I hope I never get the chance because ich is an ugly illness.

What is your next plan with the tank , now that you have gotten this crisis?

[clint]

Thanks for the interest Glenna, Well its a 90g, i have in the following

5:3 boesemani's rainbow
2 red irians rainbow (immature 3")
3 turquoise rainbow (immature 1.5-2")
1 yellow rainbow (immature 2")
1 rainbow shark
4 denison barbs (1 immature 1")
5 zebra loaches
7 yoyo loaches
4 clown loaches(immature 2-3")
7/8 oblonga kuhlis
9/10 pangio kuhlis

At this point i think the tank is stocked, I have a good balance between loaches and rainbows and a nice flash from the barbs. I might even be a bit overstocked? But i do have 2 marineland 350 (1 pro with the bio wheels) canisters running this tank. With weekly WC's of 50% my nitrates stay around 10 so i know i'm not heavily overstocked. I couldn't justify putting in more fish until i see how the tank runs once the bows i have grow to maturity. I have to consider maybe 125-180g in the future if i'm going to keep the clowns.

[glenna]

I see a bigger tank in your future.... but you will have to see.
I LOVE the fish combination you have chosen and it is, in fact, the same one in my 125g( except I am still saving for the denison barbs). Of course, you and your beautiful tank are partly to blame for that. I always worry about the MATURE size of the fish, but I think that as long as you keep the water quality as good as you apparently do, you have time to see what happens.
OH, by the way, I DID end up stealing your stacked rock wall for my 75G. I just finished hardscaping and am waiting for the water to settle. It does not look nearly as nice as yours, but is a HUGE improvement over what I had. I will post some pics as soon as I get the camera fixed. This weekend, hopefully.
Do you find the denison barbs difficult?
Do you feel that they add a lot to the tank?
I think they are REALLY beautiful fish, but have heard they are somewhat finicky. I was kind of waiting until my tank was REALLY stable to add them.

[clint]

Firstly, i'm still ICH free and temps are back down to around 78/79.

Secondly Gleena i'm glad my tank has inspired someone. I look forward to pics. All the stacked stone increases surface area and any loaches will use the space to their advantage. I'm a bricklayer so playing with stone is second nature to me.

Lastly the denison barbs? I find them easy to keep, they have grown 2/3", a little more in my tank and are near full grown, cept my little baby one. I don't think they are finicky as much as shy feeders. They don't gulp their food down like the bows/loaches do, their dainty almost. I have found they too like cocktail shrimp, blood worms, thawed brine shrimp, on top of the flake and wafer food i feed.

I think they recognize me more then the bows do, they come right up to the glass when i approach the tank. Are they worth the price? I don't know. I do know i enjoy watching their unique shape, their gracefulness, i am reminded of bala sharks when i see them swim. If only Balas stayed at 6" like these guys do. I like their flash of color and that too is unique with their gold and white bodies, black line then the splash of red on the fin and lateral line. Not to mention the dabs of yellow on the tail.

I don't think they are delicate this is the second bout of ICH, my last. They have survived my elevated temps, salt the first time and meds the second time. I'm not overly crazy with tank maintenance, sometimes i go a couple weeks between WCs, although as a rule i try for weekly WCs. Sometimes my cans don't get cleaned as soon as they should. I introduced these guys about 2 weeks, maybe a month post cycle last spring. The tank is 1 year old this month. The 3 are some of the oldest fish in my tank and i've only been doing this fish keeping thing a little over a year long, so they have survived any newbie mistakes. The only thing i did really well was cycle the tank correctly with ammonia. I seeded it with a mech pad from my 20g. It was completely cycled in 2 weeks.

The only thing special i do is fed well, as you know both bows and loaches are greedy fish. I make sure the barbs get their share as well.

[glenna]

Thanks Clint!
Now I am excited about getting some!
I will have to go to the LFS about an hour away, but the manager there is really great, ....he will order what I want, and if it is not in VERY good shape when it gets there, he will discount the price. He is also willing to teach me things about the fish and plants I have chosen. I can tell he really LOVES fish and aquariums, so to me it is worth the drive.
I plan on going up this weekend. Keep your eyes out for pics soon!!

[clint]

I have a LFS, but i too have to drive a good hour to go to the best fish store i know. Which is where i got my barbs from and my big boesemanis from. I look forward to some of your pics happy shopping.