clown loach swim bladder problem perhaps?

[loachees]

last night i transferred two of my clown loaches and two of my angelicus botias to a newly cycled 75 gallon tank without acclimating them. (i know... definately a bad idea) for an hour they seemed to be doing fine, but then my larger clown, about 4 inches, began having trouble swimming and bumping into rocks. he would lie on the bottom then swim around on his side and run into the filter intake and rocks.

i didnt want him to hurt himself on the rocks so i put him in a large tupperware container i floated in the top of the tank and put an airstone in the containter to keep it airated.

i think this may be swim bladder disease. is this whats wrong with my clown loach?

i read online that you could feed defrosted frozen peas without the casing to help "cure" the problem. is this the proper way to help him?

any feedback is greatly appreciated! thank you!! jessica

[Diana]

Hi loachees, welcome to Loaches.

Given the history of the very recent move I would not suggest swim bladder infection, but rather a water chemistry change. Temperature change can cause shock, too. If the GH, KH and TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) of the new water is not very similar to the water chemistry of the old tank, especially if the new water is softer, lower TDS, then the fish can suffer osmoregulatory problems. Check the water chemistry. Put the fish in a bucket of water from the old tank while you adjust the water chemistry in the new tank.
To raise KH use baking soda. 1 teaspoon of baking soda added to 30 gallons of water will raise the carbonates by about 2 German degrees of hardness. and raise the pH a little (not usually a big problem)
To raise the GH you can use Epsom salt if you have some. If you have to go buy something go get some Seachem Equilibrium. It is a complete mineral blend that is better than Epsom salt (Which is just magnesium).
If the TDS is too low in the new tank I would also use Seachem Equilibrium. I have used salt (Sodium Chloride) for some species of fish, but not for Loaches.
Mix whatever you need in some tank water to dissolve it and pour it into the stream coming from the filter to help disperse it. If you can figure out form the directions how much to use, then use just a little less, because a tank does not really contain as much water as its name suggests.

When you are ready to move the fish back drip acclimate them:
Cut a length of air tubing that reaches from inside the tank to the bucket. (It is OK to set the buckets on chairs so you use less air tubing). Tie a loose knot in the air tubing. Get a siphon going running tank water into the bucket. Tighten the knot in the air tubing to slow the water flow to about 1-3 drips per second. Let this run until the water in the bucket has doubled in volume, then net the fish out and put them in the tank.

Keep the buckets warm (The same temperature as the tank). You can wrap them in towels if the house is cool. If the buckets are still cooling off too much you can stand the bucket in a container of hot water.

[loachees]

thanks for such a quick response

the original tank's parameters are pH 8.0, ammonia 0.25, nitrite 0.50, nitrate 5.0.

the new tank's parameters are pH 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0.

my clown has already been in the new water for over 12 hours now. do i need to acclimate him back into his old water? thanks again!

[Diana]

The ammonia and nitrite are a worry.
Do you have tests for GH (General Hardness) and KH (Carbonate Hardness)?
No, you do not need to acclimate him back, but seeing the problem with the nitrogen products it may be better to simply change the water chemistry of the new tank with the fish in it.
This is a slower procedure.
But lets see if this really is the problem.

pH is not a good substitute test for GH, KH or TDS.

[loachees]

no i do not have a test for gh or kh.. perhaps i should get some.

after i made the last post.. i left the house for a few hours to run some errands.. meanwhile my boyfriend came home and thought it would be a good idea to put the clown back in the big tank. when he told me what he did i was very worried, but when i saw the clown.. he was doing perfectly fine and no longer bumping into rocks!

i am extremely excited to say he is now swimming around like his normal happy self and eating well!!!

in the future i will slowly acclimate any other fish i decide to transfer or add to any tanks.

thank you very much for your quick advice!

[Diana]

Two ways you can do this, and you can combine methods, too.

Alter the old tank's water parameters
Since the tank the Loach is currently in has a nitrogen problem, (Ammonia, nitrite) do frequent water changes. Get the GH and KH tests and make the new water match the tank where you want to move the Clown Loach. With each water change the current tank will become more like the other tank. When the two tanks are very similar you can move the fish. This might take a couple of weeks, and this is fine. It takes the fish a while to alter his metabolism.

Drip acclimate.
Put the fish in a bucket with the original water.
Cut a piece of air tubing to fit from new tank to bucket. (The bucket can sit on a chair to save tubing)
Tie a loose knot in the tubing.
Clip the tubing into the new tank, into the water.
Start a siphon running water through the air tubing into the bucket.
Tighten the knot so the drip rate is between 1-3 drops per second.
Run the water into the bucket until the volume has doubled. Then net the fish and put him into the new tank.
This works when the two water types are similar, but perhaps not exactly the same.
Keep the bucket warm. If the room temperature is really cold you could stand the bucket in a pan of hot water. If it is not quite that cold you can wrap the bucket with a towel.