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[Sadielynne]

Hi! My name is Paula and I have taken over the care of 5 - 45 gal. bow front aquariums at a veterans home! While I used to own a pet/fish store, I am a bit rusty on some things! I am getting that tanks into shape, as they had been neglected for a while (not sure how long), with algae growing, a few fish dying, etc. I have several questions about the tanks and about the fish! Their funds are limited to $50 a month, for the 5 tanks, so I have to go slowly in fixing them!

#1 All tanks have a powerful enclosed outside filter (don't rem the name - sorry, I work nights an my brain is dead!!) that I am currently running without charcoal (just the foam cover on the cartridge that holds the charcoal). The current is better than when I started as they had been packed with the small charcoal bits. I could hardly get it out, it was packed so tight! My first question is, can I get the larger charcoal pieces? As I remember, when I had my store, they were coming out with the smaller type of charcoal, but I would like to have it less compacted, so there is better water flow through it. Am I off my rocker??

#2 They also have a powerhead on one lift tube per tank. These are not functioning and I believe I need new impellers, which have to be ordered. I do worry about that, in case that is not what is needed, but that is the only thing that I can think of! There is just NO flow when they are plugged in. One impeller is chewed up a tiny bit on each end. I will clean each one thoroughly and see if this makes a difference, too.

#3 Now, there are two aquariums that have just basic feeder goldfish in them. One tank had fin and tail rot, so badly the fins were gone - hardly any tail fins, no dorsal, pectoral, or anal fins!!! No "meat" was affected by this, fortunatley! I treated with melafix and thankfully, it looks like the fins may be trying to grow back!! BUT, I did notice a sore or eruption on the side of one fish, so I have started treatment again. The other tank has one fish that really has an ulcer on it's side, plus a swollen area, so I have started medicating them, too. I am sure there is better meds than the melafix, but I don't have access to any. Earl May does not carry the Mardel products (I believe they used to) and I don't remember what Walmart carries. What they have is not a larger quantity, I know, so it seems the Melafix is my best bet at the present, although, there is another fungus medication by the same company that makes the melafix.

#4 This is the reason I joined this group!!! I bought 3 clown loaches and put them in a tank with a large hollow triple pot ornament for hiding and a few community fish (neons, 1 bleeding heart and another type of tetra). It was recommended on the label on the tank that you buy in groups of at least 5 and upon further research, after I got home, that a 75 gal. would be the MINIMUM size tank to go with! I know for the time being I am OK with the 45 gal. tank, but I guess I worry about having 3 loaches, versus 5 loaches!! At this point there is regular aquarium gravel in the bottom and they fish are fed a flake food and an algae tablet. Being in a smaller town (and I no longer have my store!! ), the types of food are limited.

Would someone kindly give me some feedback on this?? Is 3 loaches OK? What can I feed additionally? Will the gravel be OK, or should I consider a change to a sandy substrate, etc. when I have money available?

#5 A HUGE thing, too, is that the support on EACH aquarium (on the top) has split - broken lose from the back side and a couple tanks are bowed out a little bit!!!!! YIKES!!!! The piece going from the front to the back has cracked and pulled away!! The Marinland aquariums do have a limited lifetime guarantee, so I will be checking to find if the business manager still has a record of the purchase of the aquariums, so I can pursue replacements! If that works, I can set the aquarium up like I want to for the maximum comfort of the loaches.

I have not done any water testing, but I had cleaned, did water changes, etc. to begin with, to get the tanks looking presentable, but I imagine I should get tht done before too long! I believe soft water is being used in this home, though.

Well, that is it, in a big nutshell!! Gradually, I will be adding more fish to the aquariums, but it will be a pretty slow process, considering the little bit of $$$ that I will be working with. I was even asked if I could do one aquarium at a time!! This came from a lady that knows nothing about fish, etc. and I explained that I was basically doing that, but replacing NEEDED things - primarily heaters!!

If I could get some feedback, that would be great! I sold my store a bit over 20 yrs. ago and am probably behind times!!
Thank you, kindly, Paula

[DainBramage1991]

Since funds are tight, definitely start with the basics that cost little but have the greatest effect:
Water changes (cleaning the gravel while doing it), water quality monitoring, medicating as needed, cleaning clogged filters, etc. It actually sounds like your are on the right track as far as some of those things go. As for your powerheads, if the impeller fins are all intact, then they are likely so clogged up with gunk that they can't spin. If, after a good cleaning (making sure the impeller is free-spinning and all associated tubing is cleaned out), they still won't provide any water flow, the motor unit itself could have burned out and the entire power head would need to be replaced.

As for the clowns, they just aren't well suited for a 45 gallon tank and they do indeed do better in groups of 5 or more. They are truly magnificent fish when in a habitat that allows them to thrive, but in tanks that small they would be stunted. They are very social, and depend on the interaction of others of their own species. While I've heard of people with 2 or 3 clowns in a tank doing just fine, they really do much better in larger groups. Since $50 per month is unlikely to give you the option of a larger tank, I would suggest (however hard it is to do) bringing the clown loaches back to store and swapping them for some botiine loaches that would do just fine in a 45, such as yoyos, zebras, golden zebras, kubotais, or similar species.

I applaud you for taking on such a huge task, especially with such a limited budget. I hope it goes well for you and the fish there.

My experience is limited. Hopefully some of the more expert folks on this forum will also chime in.

[Sadielynne]

Thanks for the input! I truly appreciate it!!

The impellers move on the power heads, but rather slowly, in the initial checking. There is quite a bit of buildup in the hole where the impeller goes, so I am hoping with a little vinegar to break that up, things will improve. I worry about getting new impellers and then not having the powerheads working, at all!! I will check to see if they can be returned, but then, being a state/federal unit, buying and returning things can be a problem, I am told! Ideally, it would probably be best to get new ones, but I won't be able to do that at one time! It might be one a month!! YIKES!!!!!!

I do have a 60 gal. flatback at home and thought as the clowns grow, I could bring them home. The sad thing is, the availability is pretty sad, where I live, as a good trade off. I got these kids at Wally World - sorry, I work there! I cringe when people get whatever fish they like, because nobody knows what they are doing when they bag them up!! If I take them back there, they will surely die!!!! If I had the money, I would open a store again! Hey, maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket today!!

The other place that I have gotten a FEW fish, has HORRID tanks (a nursery/pet store)!! When commenting on the number of dead fish in one tank (I CAN'T keep my mouth shut!!), the manager says we lose fish every day!!!!! I ABOUT CROAKED!!!!! AND, told him that I had had a store and that there is NEVER any reason you should be losing fish EVERY DAY!!!!!! As I recall, he kind of shrugged. And I know they are STILL dying as the asst. mgr was scooping out dead ones when I stopped in one morning, after work. I COULD NOT LOOK!!!!!!!

So, as you can see, I am kind of on my own with this, along with my "rusty" knowledge of fish. I used to go over my "bible" of fish, practically everyday, but it has been packed away for a number of years!! Thank heavens for the internet!

Now, back to the number of 5 being ideal for the clown loaches. Is this so, as a group, there can't be one siding with another and one being left out? Kind of like people?? That does seem logical to me. Would I be creating a horrible environment if I went ahead and got 2 more, so this would not happen. And, that would be with the thought that they could come to my 60 gal., in the future? I do need to add a few more hiding spaces, but I suppose with that size tank the actual "floor" space could be the problem?

Is the gravel OK? Today they were out and about, poking around and seemed to go the algae disc, pretty quickly. From what I am seeing in people pictures, live plants are probably a must. Is that correct? Gosh, I may have to go to the "big city" to find a few things (sort of kidding!)!

When I had my store, I had gotten some formaldehyde to use when getting new fish, to kill any parasites, "junk" snails, etc. It worked great (a very little amount - like a drop per 5 gal., maybe?), no harm to fish and I didn't use it in the tanks with with crabs, snails, etc. I am considering doing this again, considering the sources of my fish and plants. I believe I had gotten that info from my book. The other reason I am giving that some consideration is the feeder goldfish that are in the 2 tanks are having issues, again, as I stated. Any thoughts on this, or is it going to totally freak everyone out!!

[Diana]

#1 Skip the activated carbon. Fill the filters with sponges and floss that will remove particles of debris. Do not dump all the old media, though, it will have a lot of beneficial bacteria. If the old media needs to be replaced then put the old stuff in a mesh bag or nylon stocking and hang it in the tank so the bacteria can start growing in the new media while still living in the old. Throw away the old media a little bit at a time over a month or so.

#2 Thorough cleaning us the place to start. Yes, vinegar is great to remove mineral build up. Are the up tubes still connected to under gravel plates?

#3 Melafix is a good one for external issues, like fin rot that is still confined to the fins. Pimafix is the companion product. Between them, they are pretty good as low level bacterial or fungal problems. However: They do not work for internal infections, which I suspect with the fish with the injury/ulcer/bad area on his side. They need clean water to work. If there is too much debris in the tank these materials will latch onto that organic matter and not the disease organisms. If the fish with the hole in his side does not improve or at least stabilize rather quickly it would be better to make this choice: Blow the whole budget getting medication (Antibiotics) for that size tank, OR Taking the fish out and treating him in as small a tank as he will fit for the more economical use of medication OR euthatizing the fish. You could probably add antibiotic food to the Melafix/Pimafix treatment and still stay in budget.

#4 OK, so keep the Clown Loaches. Goal: Take them home when they reach 4" long, and get them some buddies when some healthy fish show up at your store. Loaches are more carnivores, not really algae eaters. Go on line for fish food, it is cheaper and WAY WAY WAY better than anything you can get locally. Gravel is fine, especially if you can get the under gravel filters working again.
www.almostnaturaltropicalfishfood.com

#5 You are right, cracked or broken top support is a major issue. Is it cracked somewhere in the middle? An easy fix. Is it cracked right where the cross piece joins the front or back rim? A difficult fix. If the crack or break is in the middle the easy fix is to sandwich the crack with almost any sort of material and epoxy it. Use enough material that it probably spans up to half the depth of the tank. This does mean draining the tank enough that the bow goes away, or it can be compressed back to flat. If the crack or break is where the cross piece joins the front or back trim the difficulty is that there is not enough material to connect together to stabilize the crack. It would just pop right back off. It may look ugly, but creating some sort of brace that fits over the top is probably the best.

[loachlover77]

As for food for the clown loaches and the other fish, PLECOCAINE is really good for fish. If you would like I can get you in touch with the person that has plecocaine and sells it. My clown loaches and plecos love it. They will also eat meal worms. Also if you can get your hands on some, Aquari-sol is really good at preventing diseases. I am using it to prevent diseases with my clown loaches and plecos. You can full dose the aquari-sol with clown loaches because it is a safe product for them, unlike the meds that are out there for fish. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[Sadielynne]

WOW! What great tips! Thank you so much!

I will look for the products that have been recommended! I have heard of aquari-sol and will have to see it's available. I may have to do ordering on line and checking with the companies, before hand, to see if they will sell with someone that is tax-exempt. I know my position is a challenge, but hopefully, one that I can juggle!!

I did find out that purchases were forgotten about the other day, so I will be able to add the Pimafix! That is great!! i will try it and see what happens. Hopefully, there will be good results.

Again, thanks! and I will keep posting! Paula

[loachlover77]

I don't think that you can get plecocaine anywhere in stores or online. If not, then let me know and I will get you in touch with the guy that I got the plecocaine from. I will have to ask him if he is willing to sell some aquari-sol to you as he has a very limited supply of it and the manufacturer isn't making it anymore. It is very hard to find aquari-sol in stores and online, but if you do that is great.

Let me know and I will get you in touch with the guy I got the plecocaine and aquari-sol from. I just don't know if he is willing to sell aquari-sol as he has a very limited supply of it and the manufacturer is not making it anymore.

[Sadielynne]

Thank you, loachlover!! Why is the aquari-sol not made any more?? It seems with many meds, once you get one that works well, it's aken off the market! Sigh. I will let you know!

[loachlover77]

I am not real sure why they are not making aquari-sol anymore. I have it because I ordered it from a guy on fishforums.com and I use it as a preventative for diseases.

[Sadielynne]

Hello! I have not been on for awhile, but wanted to let you know that my loaches are doing good and growing! They are really funny when I feed them! One will take off with the algae disc in his mouth, claiming HIS prize, I would say! Also, I see that one kind of shoves the others to the side when eating! Kind of like someone elbowing their way into a crowd! There is also a pleco that vies for the food (I put in 2 discs a day) and the loaches have no fear of him, or visa versa!! They try to get the food away from him!

The other thing I noticed was they are "noisey" when eating! When reading about loaches last night, on this site, I discovered they will "click" when eating - THAT was what I was hearing!! WOW! Do most loaches do that? I wasn't reading about the clown loach at the time, and don't remember which one, so I assume it is a common trait!

I am wishing the vets home had a larger aquarium, to be able to showcase these "kids" when they get larger, but that would take someone donating one! I don't see that happening, unless I win a million dollar lottery and doing it myself!!!

One question I have, which hasn't been answered, yet, in the other forum (that is about any topic), is about powerheads vs an air pump and undergravel filter. I know the powerhead would add more current, but I have to replace what they have and we are talking $$, again! I am wondering about a larger air pump and getting the undergravel filters going, which would give me the capability of adding air stones/wands/etc. More flexibility, I guess you would say. Very seldom, in the past had I used powerheads, so I wonder if they are a necessity.

Again, I am trying to make the most of my little bit of money that I have available! It appears it is stretched a bit further than was originally stated!! I am taking care of 3 cockatiels and their expense is in that, too!!!! The woman I am accountable to wants to make sure the "taxpayers money" is well spent!! Sigh Anything done at the vets home is a positive, I would say!! All feedback is VERY positive about what I have accomplished and I hope it continues, but I can see why someone else got upset and quit the job I am now doing! when you run on a shoestring, it's a bit tough, but I will do what I can!