Loaches Online Forum

Hi guys please if there is somebody who can help & advice me. I have a 100 ltr tank, with external rena filter, which I'm told filters the tank water around 13 times per hour, I also have a air stone. I'm new to the fish world only having tank 2 1/2 months. I currently have 2 black moor & 6 fancy fish, that are still quite small, due to a room temp of 68f-70f I decided to get 2 clown loach their about 4cms & use the heater that came with filter. All was going great 4 days ago I noticed 4 white spot on loach, knowing what it was I ran & I mean to the pet shop to get a treatment, used it same day following instructions & will do 2nd dose 2day. The white on loach as gone & no other fish wher affected, I also upped the temp as I believe it helps kill the cycle quicker, turned the light off & turned airstone up to max. How ever my loachs keep graying out, the place I got them told me its cause there young, my put being they go dark 2 light, dark 2 light, he was useless. Why do they do this they are moving round, eating, & have places 2 hide, but there hiding more, I don't know what to do, before the white spot I was changind 25% water using gravel cleaner x2 week, checking water week, all is well with that. Please can someone advise me what could be wrong? Or is this typical 4 them. Please I'm so stress about it thanks.

Hi!
It`s usually called "greying out". It`s quite normal. They often do this in various situations. Exitement, fights, etc. Nothing to worry about, I would say

Hi there and welcome to the forum. Let us know where you live, at least which country (medications, good stores. . . I assume you are in the UK). There are a few problems you will need to address. I am also new to fish. I have kept them about 4 years, and I have made every mistake there is to make. I have learned everything I know from this site.

First of all a 100 liter tank is about 26 US gallons, which is much too small for the fish you have. Clowns that are given a big enough tank so they are not stunted, will grown to 12-16" and are hefty fish. It is a myth that fish grow to the size of their tank. Small tanks create deformities.

I am not 100% sure what "2 black moor & 6 fancy fish" are, but if they are types of goldfish, they are incompatible with Clown loaches on many levels. Fancy goldfish like warmer water than regular goldfish, however, Clowns like 78-82 degrees, and if the water is cooler, then the CLowns will be stressed, and stress makes it easier for them to develop white spot.

Goldfish are massive waste producers, and it is very difficult to keep the water clean enough for clowns (not to mention the goldfish). The bigger the tank, the easier it is to keep the tank water clean. Your water should be Ammonia 0, Nitrite O and Nitrate less than 20.

Could you post your water parameters? Temperature, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH and Kb? I keep a journal and record all these measurements, including if I lose a fish and why.

Could you post what your substrate is (what kind of gravel or sand)?

What kind of decorations, hiding places, plants do you have?

Graying out is normal. They do it when they are fighting, which is normal. Clowns also need to be kept in groups of five or more to help them feel comfortable and to establish a hierarchy. Clowns are also nocturnal so it is normal for them to hide by day. When there are more, they feel more comfortable and come out more often. The goldfish, should act as dithers, but I like to use Rasboras, because they school, and the Clowns take a nice school of fish to mean that the coast is clear.

Please do not be discouraged. We have all made these mistakes. I had a baby bichir in a community tank. I was told she was a flake eater. In reality she is a fish eater, and it took me a while to figure out who was eating my fish. My solution? I got another tank. Everytime I made a mistake, I got another tank. I have 9 permanent tanks, 1 Q-tank and a crawfish tank.

That would be my suggestion for you. Find a large, inexpensive, second tank, and set it up for your clowns. While you look for the new tank, put an extra filter on your current tank. That gets the filter seeded and cycled, so when you get the new tank, the filter will be ready to support your clowns in the new tank. Use pool filter sand as a substrate (Rinsed well). Add bogwood and caves for the clowns, and get a nice school of gentle fish, big enough so the clowns won't eat them. Otherwise I would return the clowns, because they will slowly die in such a small tank.

As I said, I am a beginnger and the experts may have better advice for you. But by answering my questions, they can better help you.

Ditto Starsplitter:
Goldfish (any color or body shape) get too big for your tank size, but are OK to grow up a bit in that tank. Ultimately you will need a tank that is around 50 gallons (200 liters) for a couple of Golds. The wild goldfish grow over a foot long, and the fatter bodies fish have the same mass, the same oxygen needs, the same waste production because their body is not smaller, the length has been distorted into height and width.
What species of "Fancy fish"?
Clown Loaches are not compatible with Goldfish.

I think you are seeing the problems that can happen when you try to get information from a store. All they want to do is sell you things. Whatever you want, the answer is "Yes"

Tanja and Diana have given you excellent advice. (Tanja says she is a beginner, but she knows a lot)

even if the white spots have gone, make sure you give the full course of medication once you have started it. the disease goes through stages you cant see so you need to deal with the disease at all stages to stop it from coming back.

Because you have very "dirty" fish, that produce a lot of waste, you should really be doing water changes more often i think.

loaches do grey out as normal behaviour, but you shouldnt be seeing it all the time, it could indicate they are stressed.

please post some information as Tanja asked. that will be a big help.

Tks for replys, the clown loach will be coming out & going in a huge jewel rio, once cycled. My other fish are x2 black moor, x3 fantails, X1 forget breed but its the white that gets like that growth on the head it a gold & brown colour x2 the breed begain with R. I am aware I need to prepare for a larger tank, just for them to grow, & me to learn what a joke, learn I am, learning how much I donlt know! All advice welcome Re fresh water fish, tks again to all who replyed to my question.

Does your filter have carbon in it? and one more you should have gotten a minimum of 4 CLowns in due time when they get familiar with your tank they are gona come out they are sensitive to their surroundings and try to familiarizes them selves with it.

had to ask abut the filter lol! Yeh the filter for new tank the clowns. Will.move to has carbon in it, the rena filter I have for fanices I know doesn't due to the white spot, I,ve got rid of. Its to my believe when treating for white spot you must remove carbon, my god don't tell me I know something! Is it cool to have the carbon?

Yes, you're right. When treating a tank it is best to remove carbon.