Marcos’s source, who was also named Marcus, which as luck would have it is also my sons name, picked up the Kubs Midweek and we agreed to meet at Marcos M’s house on Sunday to pick them up. At least there would be no issue in remembering names! It was great to see Marcos’s famous Clown aquarium and the hospitality shown by his household is one of the reasons I like Brazil, very generous warm people. Marcos, (my son) and I could have stayed there all day, but of course we had to get the 8 kubs home and into the Aquarium ASAP. We stay an hour and bid our farewells. Btw, Marcos’s clowns are huge! And his Kubotai. Being mature, is almost black, something I have read about but never seen in person! Very impressive!
As I was kind of not expecting the Kubs I got caught without a Q tank. I had just given away my old 30 g and had ordered a 15g Q tank which was not going to be ready until the following week. Isn’t that always the way? I made the decision that as the 65g was made especially for the Kubs I would throw them in there without a Q process.
We arrive home and get the Kubs settled into a bucket and slowly drip water in from our Aquarium, finally get the Kubs into the Aquarium by night. Once in the aquarium under subdued lighting DAMN!, it looks like some of the kubs have a couple spots on their tails. Damn it is ICH! This is no fault of Marcos’s contact, the ICH would not have been detectable when he picked up the kubs a few days ago and unfortunately a lot, maybe the majority of Loaches have it on arrival to Rio.
Six months ago I had 3 Kubs which I lost to Ich. Six Months ago it was not a real contest, I knew basically nothing, was unprepared and ICH got the upper hand quickly, pressed the winning position and it was an easy contest. ICH 1 3 Kubs 0. It was a knockout in the first round, the kubs didn’t survive 4 days. The ICH medicine I used probably killed the fish rather than the ICH despite the person I purchased it off insisting it was safe for loaches. Six months that passed I thought long and hard about the previous battle with ICH and prepared for what I knew would be a rematch some time in the future.
I read and read about ICH, (Diana’s article was very good) and then I read some more. I purchased a 9w Terminator UV filter, powered by a 200 GPH power head. I stocked up on Rid Ich . I purchased 2 additional power heads. Plus I had knowledge! I was better prepared this time but understandably concerned.
Once seeing the first spots I lowered the water volumn in the tank by about 25%, the movement was a bit crazy for the non Kubs, but better to have any eggs and juveniles stirred up and into the UV filter before they can go seeking for a host. The UV should turn over the entire tank 75 times per day, hence getting them up into the UV is going to kill most eggs and juvys. Temp in the tank was raised to 31 within an hour (normally sits at 28-29 In Rio , this is basically winter indoor temp) to hasten the life cycle of ICH. Rid ICH was added to the water at the recommended dosage daily. Twice daily light vacuuming on the areas that the circulation pumps don’t reach was done to get any eggs off the bottom before the hatch. Daily water changes of about 15% was also undertaken. I spent many hours observing the tank.
3 or 4 days go past. The ICH has not gained a foot hole, the original spots are there, but they haven’t really added too much more. I have halted its progress. As an added blessing I see 1 of the kubs out eating and he looks in good shape. The next day I see 3 kubs out eating fighting and doing what teenagers do – basically enjoying themselves by annoying all other fish in the tank – a very good sign. My confidence in beating ICH picks up. However the problem is the other 5 are not eating. I go to Marcos’s LFS and pick up some live – Brine Shrimp. Bingo 3 thinning kubs come out and chase down the tiny shrimp for a good meal. There thinness concerns me. I return to the LFS and get a large supply of Brine shrimp for $20, if this is all they will eat then it would kind of be expensive and time consuming as it is a 2 hour round trip from where I live. Will work on wheening them of live food and onto dry fish food when ICH is gone and things are looking better. Basically I put fish food in the tank first to fill the bellies of most fish that are eating well, then put the brine shrimp in 10 minutes later, this makes the brine shrimp last longer and gives the fussy eaters a chance of a good meal. Neon tetras are hilarious chasing down the shrimp, they are as big as the Neon’s head – but the neons absolutely love eating them – go nuts really.
I find a source in the center of Rio, a bit closer to me that has frozen brine shrimp, much cheaper and I can store enough for a few months to keep the travel time down. The Kubs prefer the live stuff, who wouldn’t?, but they still enjoy the defrosted stuff. I also get some frozen blood worm and add it a couple of times a week.
After about 8 days things are still looking good, there are a few remaining spots, but very few really. Three of the kubs are really thickening up nicely, very powerful and beautiful looking. I think they are competing to see who will be the Alpha loach. 3 more are looking much better although still eating nothing but brine shrimp. 1 is not eating anything and is getting painfully thin. Sadly 1 passes. I am thinking I will probably lose more but we will see.
After 12 days, I have 1 kub with maybe 2 spots, the rest look completely free, I am still treating with Rid ICH, I made the decision that I will treat for the recommended 3 days after the last spot is gone. It would be devastating to see ICH come back in force. I am now changing the water about 20% every second day and I am starting to fill the tank right back up to the top. Temp is also dropped back down to 28c or so.
I now have 4 very strong Kubs eating everything. 2 are still thin but starting to fill out a bit, still eating only brine shrimp, maybe sneaking in the odd flake or crisp. Finally the last very thin Kub comes out and starts to eat, just as my Q tank arrives. I was going to take him out and put him in the Q tank but now that he is eating I decide to leave him there. The problem with him is that in his weakened state he really is not good at catching the shrimp, hence I am guilty of putting in too much food just so he has a chance to get something. The other side to this is that the 3 original Kubs that were doing well are positively gaining weight by the day, I would not say they are fat at all but definitely growing quick!
My aquarium is setup with 2 pieces of detailed wood complete with branches etc at either end with holes drilled in them for hiding places, once has a PVC cave under it. There is a cave from one of the pieces of wood which goes to the center of the tank where I have placed another piece of curved wood that makes a cave more for decoration than anything or so I thought. All the kubs are out a lot, they tend to sit in the center of the tank either under or on top of the wood I placed for decoration, they are very comfortable being out. In fact they are out night and day all the time. I guess the theory that the more hiding places you have the more they will feel secure and hang out more. They are also mostly fearless, when I am vacuuming they don’t all move, have to bump them out of the way sometimes – gently of course. They get excited when I am around because they know they will receive food.
After day 16 or so.
All Kubs are gaining weight, the original 4 strongest are even becoming the “fat four”, even the last skinny Kub is starting to become just thin as opposed to deathly thin. I expect there is something not quite correct about him, possibly he is just uncoordinated – still has problems catching the brine shrimp although he does start to nibble on some flakes very occasionally. His keenness to eat makes up for his lack of coordination – he is not the prettiest but he is one of our favourites. ICH is completely gone, round 2 to me! I stopped treating with Rid Ich about 3 days after I am absolutely sure every last spot is gone.
What stopped the ich? – UV filter or rid ich? I would be interested to know if someone has beaten ICH with just the use of a UV filter?. The UV filter has really impressed, cleaned up the water quality a lot. Rid ICH also impressed me, the first medicine I used, which I forget the name of you could see was very heavy on all fish, you could see them straining under it affects. Rid Ich is a lot gentler, doesn’t really seem to bother the fish too much, definitely a lot gentler. The green tint in the water actually doesn’t last too long. It gave me the confidence to continue treatment until absolutely sure everything was ok.
Q Tank
I have since setup a Hospital tank, it is about 16g , has a AQ50 170g ph filter, + small 8w UV filter connected to a small pump. I have another brand new AQ70 filter 300g ph filter on standby should my now aging AQ50 pack it in. All new editions to my main aquarium are going into the Q tank. Hopefully I will not be caught out again.
Current tank setup.
Tank
1.2m length (48 inches), .4m width (16 inches) .5m height (20 inches) 240 Litros (65 Gallons I think?)
Homemade stand and hood, sand substrate. Water filled to an inch from top.
Filters + Power heads
2 x Aquaclear 70’s HOB filters, 300Gph each, total 600 Gph (clean filters once a month, one every 2 weeks. The filters are raised 2 inches above the tank for more water movement and aeration)
1 x Aquaclear 50 powerhead with Quick filter attachment. 200GPH
1 x Sarlo 1000 - 150 GPH pump that runs a Terminator 9w UV filter.
1 x Koralia 3 power head. Rated at 800 Gph (if had time over again would go for Koralia 2 or 1 – it whips up the sand if not positioned up)
Current Fish
10 Neon Tetras
10 White cloud mountain minnows (tanichy’s)
2 Honey Gouramis
1 Pearl Gourami (4 inches long)
7 Kubotais.
Current Water
27 C (80F)
6.8 to 7.0 PH (very stable)
5 to 7 Hardness
0 Nitrites or Ammonia
3 Nitrate (changing 20% water 3 times per week)
Lighting
4x 20 W standard – not too bright
Moonlights – Blue
This pic is of one of the original 3 that ate pretty much from the get go. His or her? Colorings are classical Kubotai. Always sits on these rocks at the wooden cave entrance at the center of the tank with his buddies. About 2 ½ inches.
Future plans - I will pick up Kubs when I see them to keep there numbers up to 8 or. Would love to add 6 striatas but these are just not seen in Brazil anymore.
Perhaps a few one off fish (ie that do not need to be added in a school of 6 or so) that would stay in the middle to top of the tank. Would anyone have suggestions?
Thanks to everyone for providing info here so newer members like myself, just starting out in this hobby, can pick things up a lot faster. Special thanks to Diana who really makes goes the extra mile to assist everybody with her time.
