SteveR's Aquarium Thread

[ballinouttacntrol]

Cool! Let me know if you do as I'd love to see pics of that setup.
Thing about loaches is a huge one is literally priceless. They can get to 15 inches but would probably take about 15 years. Because it takes so long they are valueable fish. I would never sell though...They can live 40-50 years!

They do grow, slightly faster to 6 inches but still way slower than most fish. It certainly helps if you make the tank "theirs" and feed 3x a day small amounts.

Well when i make the jump, i'll be sure to come to you with all my questions as you probably have first hand experience with anything that could come up.

 

[ballinouttacntrol]

i have 5 loaches that are 4 to 5 inches..so far 4 years... but they are great to own.. i just hate when a big guy suddenly comes down with the skinny disease...after all those years of slow growth and good health.. you watch them shrink and become skinny.. just horrible..

That sounds horrible = (

 

[SteveR]

i have 5 loaches that are 4 to 5 inches..so far 4 years... but they are great to own.. i just hate when a big guy suddenly comes down with the skinny disease...after all those years of slow growth and good health.. you watch them shrink and become skinny.. just horrible..

I hope I never get that problem!

 

[Red Devil]

I hope I never get that problem!

i hope you don't either... it is downright sad...
It's a form of parasitic worm that lives in the intestines of the fish and uses uf all the nutrients before the fish can get any. there are a lot of meds for this..but you usually don't spot it until he is bad... and very hard to get the guy out of the tank... so you can treat in quarenteen tank..

 

[SteveR]

i hope you don't either... it is downright sad...

I'm thinking Liz, that the only way this disease could happen would be introducing another (loach) with a parasite that then infects the rest. Hopefully my plan of adding nothing else and keeping everything tip top should prevent it, as I'd hate that.

 

[Red Devil]

I'm thinking Liz, that the only way this disease could happen would be introducing another (loach) with a parasite that then infects the rest. Hopefully my plan of adding nothing else and keeping everything tip top should prevent it, as I'd hate that.

i agree it is usually transmitted from another clown.. i think the mistake i made was not taking the sick one from a year ago out right away.. when that one died it probably hosted the parasite to this one.. so this one is coming out and i am going to try and treat it... you have to be careful what meds you use because clowns have no scales.. this is how it is"Skinny disease" is common in clown fish. i found this info... As you may have guessed, a symptom is loss of weight, but also a physical characteristic called "knifeback" is observed. The sickness is caused by an intestinal parasite called "spironucleus" (this organism is also believed to cause "discus disease"). If your clown loach is eating and acting normally, but losing weight, this parasite may be the cause. There are a variety of medications that are said to work for this sickness. "Spirohexol" from JBL in tablet form to cure the fishes of "Skinny Disease". Others have used Sterazin from Waterlife or Flagyl (Metronidazole) which may be more work to get your hands on since it's a prescription drug in some countries.. just do not buy any skinny clowns.. only fat ones

 

[SteveR]

Good advice Liz. I'm a huge advocate of water quality vs meds. Infact I think I've used meds once in 4 years. Salt/heat/water quality is what I've used to treat various loach problems, although I can count on my hand how many time's I've had problems, rarely. Loaches are pretty damn rewarding, their personalities to me aren't matched by any other fish.

 

[Red Devil]

Good advice Liz. I'm a huge advocate of water quality vs meds. Infact I think I've used meds once in 4 years. Salt/heat/water quality is what I've used to treat various loach problems, although I can count on my hand how many time's I've had problems, rarely. Loaches are pretty damn rewarding, their personalities to me aren't matched by any other fish.

A bunch of clowns in your tank only mean one thing... theres going to be alot of action and fun.... they are a happy fish

 

[SteveR]

A bunch of clowns in your tank only mean one thing... theres going to be alot of action and fun.... they are a happy fish

Agree 100%!

 

[fg4608]

Steve,

Nice tank, awesome clowns!

You have me a little discouraged though. I am in the process of getting a 130gal tank ready that I bought used (complete glass disassembly & re-build, but that's another story...). Any way, I currently have 6 Bala Sharks which I was planning on increasing to 12 and then add a 6 clowns as well. I really do not want to get rid of the Balas since I have them already. Do you think it would help if I turned the numbers around and went with 12 clowns and 6 balas? My tank will also be planted with plenty of driftwood and probably a diy 3D background in which I can incorporate hiding places etc...
Or is it just a moot subject regardless?

Thanks Beforehand!