Advice required for novice

[4onthemove]

Hi

Two weeks ago I took tropical fish up as a hobby when I was given a 120 litre tank with the following fish: -
1 Red tail black shark (about 5” long)
1 Clown Loach (about 3.5” long)
20 Guppies (range from 0.5 – 2” long)

To move the tank, 75% of the water was taken out. The following day we bought a new tank (160 Litres) and filter (XP1) as the old tank looked grotty, and the filter case was all broken. By the end of the day the fish and old water was transferred into the new tank with new dechlorinated water. The tank has plastic plants at either end and several hiding places (terracotta pots, logs, canon)

Questions
1 I have read that clown loaches shouldn’t be kept alone. When the water condition is better I was thinking about adding another two clown loaches. At my local aquatic centre the clown loaches are around 2” long. Will the old clown loach be ok with this or will he (I don’t know the sex of the clown loach) feel threatened?

2 I only see the Clown Loach in the morning (6:30-7:00) and not during the evening (6:00 – 10:30). So when I feed the fish in the evening he is not around. When I feed the fish in the morning, he comes to the surface and grabs the flakes (the flakes the original owner gave me). Is this ok?

3 I have bought some Tetra mini tablets, but when I drop them into the tank, the clown loach seems to sniff them then and goes away. Is this the wrong food, or will it take time for him to except this as food? I have also tried the tetra delica brine shrimp that comes in a 3g packet, but that just sank to the bottom and none of the fish seemed interested in it. Although it was gone the following morning, so I don’t know if it was eaten.

4 I have done 2 water changes each week, removing 25% of the water, but the nitrate still seems to be high. I then tested my tape water and found it to have a nitrate level between 25-50ppm. I have read that java moss is great at lowering the nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. It also doesn’t require much light. It seems that the java moss can soon cover the entire floor of the tank. Is this a good thing for the Clown Loach, or should I keep half the gravel exposed.

5 Any other tips to help me with my new hobby

[starsplitter7]

Hello there,

You are very smart to wait until you get the water sorted. Once it is sorted, you do need some friends for the clown. Size doesn't matter. They will find a boss and develop a pecking order. I have one small one and three large ones, and they get along just fine.

Consider getting a larger tank in the future as clowns can reach 16".

The guppies and the loaches need different living environments. I would clean up the other tank (vinegar works well), and put the guppies in the other tank after you quarantine the new loaches there. They like harder water and the loaches like softer water.

Flake is a good base, but you should vary your diet for the fish. They will eat the food at night. I would try shrimp pellets, frozen blood worms, frozen spirulina brine shrimp, sliced cucumber and zucchini (blanched), algae wafers, . . . I feed my fish a rotating diet of about 15 foods.

You might want to post a picture of the Red Tailed Black Shark, because that fish may be a good match for the loach or not depending on the actual species. Some "Red Tailed sharks" are loaches.

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/ya ... ia-modesta

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-RedTailShark.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_shark

Use the smaller tank as a quarantine tank, so you don't make your other fish sick. You should quarantine for about 2 weeks to a month. You can out another filter on the tank which will improve your water quality and get the filter primed to be used on the Q tank.

[Diana]

25 ppm + Nitrate in the tap is not a good water for the tank or your family. I would get a filter that removes the nitrate.

Live plants can help a lot with water quality, but they do best when they are growing really well. Java Moss is slow growing no matter what, and is not that great at removing nitrogen or anything else. In low light it will just sort of sit there, not really growing. When plants are making new tissue they incorporate nitrogen and many other elements in the new growth. If the plants are not growing they do not remove much of anything from the water.

"Flakes" is a shape of fish food. It says nothing about the ingredients. Look for whole fish and shellfish, spirulina and other algae and other good ingredients. Avoid fish meal and grains.