Help Please

[pinaydyosa]

I have a tank set up that has one loach in it...orginal there was the loach and 3 goldfish ...the fancy goldfish...well over the last month the goldfish have pasted away and i couldn't figure out why i though maybe my husband was overfeeding the tank since two of them seemed to have bloated bellies...and the loach never seemed to show any signs of anything being wrong....i've had this tank a year and its 55 gallons...there are 3 lava rocks in it w/ a few other decor's....i noticed today that my lil guy has inflamation around the gills....he hasn't been acting right for about 2 wks now but until today i couldn't see any physical signs to figure out what was wrong....can someone please help me out...i don't want to loose my lil guy....what ph and all those kind of setting should i be trying to aim for....my last read was not that good but i'm not sure how to lower the nitrate/nitrite levels...and what is normal ph and all for the loach...it was reading ok levels for goldfish but now i'm thinking maybe its not good for him.....can anyone help?....are there pref. setups for loach and what other fish would be ok to put there after i save him?...i hate to see him so miserible!!!!!!!!!11

[fishy_friend]

First of all, what species is you loach? Generally speaking, most loaches require higher temperatures and a slightly lower pH than most goldfish. As for the gill infection, it's possible that your loach could have gill/ skin flukes. Goldfish often carry flukes. What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH levels in the tank? Does your loach have any other symptoms?

[pinaydyosa]

i have dojo or weather loach.....he's sluggish.....lays on its side...or sometimes belly is almost completely up but the fish is not floating at all....he's completely on the bottom...i had to get him out from behind the tube from the filter a day or so ago...he was just chilling between it and the glass...he about2.5 inc long....he's the only fish left in the tank...theres two filters for the tank.....hes no responsive if you tap the glass he usually moves if he's near the glass and you tap it...you put food and there and where he typicaly runs after it he could care less...i don't see hs mouth open and close and much as i did and his gills really aren't moving also seems to have lack of pigment at the gill area not white but like his skin just isn't there anymore.....the outer layer that is..'
gh-180
kh 240
ph -8
nitrie-0.0-0.5
nitrate160-200
i'm really new w/ the fish tank experience so any help is soooo greatly appreicated!

[shari2]

Wow! your nitrates are really high.
How often do you do water changes? I recommend one asap! And use a gravel vac. Goldfish are heavy waste producers and I'd bet there's tons of junk in your substrate.
Dechlorinate the water you add back to the tank, and match the temperature as closely as you can.

[pinaydyosa]

how do i dechorlanate the water and whats the best way to change it out?

[shari2]

In a pinch you can use any clean tubing like a piece of garden hose. Put one end in the water, have a largish bucket handy, suck the water up the hose till it hits your mouth and drop the end quickly into the bucket. Don't swallow!

Or--go to a fish/pet store and buy a 'gravel vacuum' with a larger hard tube on the end of a piece of hose. Use that instead of a regular hose. Put the big end in the tank, put the hose end in the bucket. Fill the big end with water, tip it up till the water starts to go down the hose into the bucket, then submerge it again to keep the suction going. Dig the tube end into the substrate all around and you'll see how much gunk goes into the bucket.

STOP the syphon by lifting the large end out of the tank BEFORE your bucket overflows. Use the water to water plants, or just dump it down the sink or toilet. You should remove about 50% of the water this time, since your water is so bad. Next time and on a regular basis, remove 20-40%.

To fill the tank back up get a CLEAN bucket that's never had cleaning agents or chemicals/stuff that can harm fish. Fill the bucket with water from the tap that's about the same temp as the tank. (test it with your finger-that will be close enough) Buy a declorinator such as Prime, or any number of others that will detoxify chlorine, chloramines and put it into the bucket according to the directions on the label before you add the water to the tank.

Fill the tank back up by the buckets till it's at the edge of the frame.

OR
Buy a 'Python' (ask at the fish store) and do basically the same thing, only without the buckets.

You should waterchange in this way weekly to keep the tank and fish healthy.

[pinaydyosa]

ok i cleaned the tank w/ a vacuum....and replaced the water....my tank now reads....
gh=180
kh240
ph7.5-8.0
nitrite-0-0.5
nitrate-40-80

i can touch my loach and he won't move his body is rigid and but he's still completely chillin on the bottom....should i change the filters as well?...one side is inflamed at the gill w/ slight pigment absent...ther other side shows no inflamation but has a bit more of absence of pigment at the gill...all his fins are to his body pretty much....will adding aquarium salt help any?...i do have some of that...also on his top behind his top fin it seems to look like there is a kind of skin or really thin stuff floated from his body...i'll see if i can get some pictures to show....also i've removed majority of all the decor...should i replace it or what do i do now?

[shari2]

DON'T change the filters! They contain your biomedia that converts nitrites to nitrates.

Yes you can put the decor back if it makes him more comfortable.
Is he still breathing? If he is rigid it sounds like he may not be...

[pinaydyosa]

he doesn't look like he is

[crazy loaches]

You have had this tank up for a year and dont know how to do water changes or what dechlorinator is? These are things you should be doing weekly. There are many things in the water that the filter will not remove - the only way to rid the tank of them is through regular water changes. To keep really clean water most do 50% weekly water changes. At the absolute very least a 25% change every two weeks. If you tank survives though the ordeal please do try to read up on proper care. The single best thing you can do for the health of the tank is a regular waterchange IMHO. As for dechlorinator ( or water conditioner) it is needed if you have municipal water that is treated with chlorine or chloramine, I suppose if you have good clean well water you might not need it, but not sure about that.

The python, like shari mentioned, makes waterchanges much easier, as long as you have a faucet handy to hook it into.

[pinaydyosa]

i have well water....the tank was given to me as a house warming gift so this is my first time trying to care for an aquarium...the pet store i went to the guy said as long as i got good filters and change them regular which i do....then my tank would be fine....the other stuff i didn't know about till now...thought the tools where only for tropical salt tanks

[shari2]

Oh man. The lfs guy knew you were new at this and told you to 'change your filters'???! What a dumba**. Sheesh. He should have told you to 'rinse your sponges' AND to do it in tank water so you don't kill off the biofilter. Was it a big box chain store? Wouldn't surprise me...

What happened was that every time you 'changed' a filter for a new one you removed alot of the beneficial bacteria that keeps a tank stable.

First rule of fishkeeping: Take everything a fish store employee tells you with a seriously LARGE grain of salt and double check their 'advice' with someone, (or some knowledgeable source) for accuracy. They may actually know less than you do!

No, tools are not only for marine tanks. Basic tools include:

• Gravel vac
  Clean buckets (or python-but even then a dedicated fish bucket is useful for when you need to acclimate fish, or rinse filters etc)
  Declorinator
  Water test strips or kit
  Basic medicine cabinet cause fish usually get sick when you can't get to the fish store!
  • Melafix
    Ammo loc or Amquel
    Good broad spectrum antibiotic like Kanacyn
    Levamisole HCL
    Ich medication
    Anti parasitic med like metronidazole or acriflavin
    Good heater if your fish are tropical
    Quarantine tank for if you get a sick fish or plan to add new ones --it's a small, easy to clean tank for isolating fish to make observation and medication easier and cheaper
  Don't feel stupid. You were given bad advice and got thrown into this unprepared. It takes some time and effort to learn how to keep fish, but in the end, it's very rewarding.

[crazy loaches]

thought the tools where only for tropical salt tanks

I have heard similar to this before. Marine tanks often do need bigger and better equipment and care. But thats a lot to do with the fact that a full blown marine reef setup probably has several hundred or even thousands invested in livestock alone, and those folks are often more into the hobby than your 'average' aquarist. But when it comes to a cheap tropical or goldie tank folks dont care as much since they can just flush em and start over. But thats not very fair on the fish, just because they may be cheaper or easier to maintain doesnt mean they require no maintenance. This forum, and other forums, are full of those who are very knowledgable about the hobby. But sadly enough the 'average' aquarium owner still thinks a monthly 25% water change is sufficient and you can stock a bunch of tinfoil barbs and neon tetras in a 55g tank. Most chain retail petstores like petsmart or petco often spread misinformation and employ any kid needing a job and not very knowledgable about fish (not all are like that, but many). And besides that, thier main goal is to sell you stuff they make a profit on anyhow.

As far as your filters go it really depends on what filter it is and what media is in it. Do you know the brand? Model? I always try and get a filter that has mechanical filter pad ahead of any bio filter media, that way you can rinse the filter pads in the sink that get clogged without harming a lot of beneficial bacteria. Having to rinse them in tank water is a bit more tedious than spraying them with high pressure from the sink, but required if its your only media I suppose, or if you want to rinse your bio-media. Or if you have a dual unit, or mulitple filters you can clean them on opposite weeks, so that you only kill of a portion of your beneficial bacteria.

Aquariums are sometimes given as gifts. Sometimes thats ok but often given to those who dont particularly want them and all thier hassle. Its like giving someone any other pet. Would you give someone a dog if they have never had a dog and your not sure if they would like it? Or a lizard? If its something you want, great... but I'd be fixin to step up the maintenance. I'd assume it is something you like, as you have come to loaches.com and gone through the setting up an account and posting...

So, if your wanting to continue with fishkeeping, one of the first things I'd suggest (like shari did) is a Python water change system. Will make changing water much simpler. You connect it to a faucet (buy the length accordingly) and it has a gravel vac tube you put in the tank, and the sink will create suction so it drains the tank while you move it over the gravel to suck settled crud up. The with the same device you can refill the tank (after setting the water to about the same temperture). For one of these look at: Python
If you have a local petsmart you can print out thier online price and bring it in, they will pricematch themselves, lol. And a good water conditioner is Prime, Prime
And thier API master test kits are good too: API Test Kits

If you dont have a local petsmart I'd do most of my shopping at bigalsonline.com they have just about the cheapest prices on everythign and will pricematch any other company. Prime there is about half that of petsmart for example, Prime And sign up an account thier and collect VIP points, and double points on wednesday and thursday, of course thats probably more for those who are always ordering stuff, like me.