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I have never had much success with CL's. I love the things but they keep getting sick and dieing on me. Because of my current debacle, I now know what the problem is - I changed the water too quickly. In the past symptoms have included flapping gills, lack of appetite and sluggish activity. My tank was only half full up until about a week ago when I added quite a lot more water. Now the fish is sick. In the past when my CL's had gotten sick, it had been during a small water change but obviously even those amounts were too big.

Anyway, I have had this very same CL for 2 and a bit years now and he has gotten sick before. He is the biggest and currently the only CL in the tank so he's tough. Are there any solutions to curing a fish that is stressed because of a large water change/addition? Are there any tricks to get him eating again?

PLEASE HELP ME SAVE THIS OLD FELLA!

Hello,
I too love Clown loaches and have found them VERY diffcult to keep and am constantly vigilant

check all water levels and make sure you haven't had a mini cycle thing, i would add "Cycle" to help anyway

then leave the lights off for a day and feed very nice (live?) food, something to really spark his appetite.I know some people use garlic and Keith has an excellent selection of food in his profile.

let him chill out for a bit and hope he pulls through.

good luck!
GFG


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I'd do the smaller water changes, 10%-2 times a week, or 20% once a week, you really want to make sure that your water quality is at it's best...Make sure that you are adding the dechlorinator, maybe even a bit more than the normal dose, directly into the water that is being added...

Something else that has come to mind is the fact that Clowns don't like salt If you are adding aquarium salt to the tank, then stop...I hate being so blunt about it, but they are very intolerant of salt...

Now to get them to eat? Mine are piggies, and eat everything in site...but something that might help are:

Defrosted frozen blood worms (make sure there are plenty for everyone in the tank)
Hikari bottom wafers
Shrimp Pellets
Snails
Fresh veggies (cook just a bit to soften, and then cool them off, stick a fork through them and drop them in or any other way you can think to weight them down)

Any of those should help increase their appetites...and I try to only use the Hikari brand foods, they seem to be the best liked by all of my bottom feeders, clowns included...

best of luck, heidi




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It's the last thing on my mind when I have faced the day
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simpkia

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

I now know what the problem is - I changed the water too quickly.

Can you explain quickly the reason for asking this as I add 50lt of water very quickly. 10lt at a time.
I prepare the water one week in advance. I heat the water up and I never actually worry about the temp but it is always above the tank temp. This does not worry me or the fish. I have 2 4ins airstones, 2 UGF risers and the large Eheim canister all going while I am doing this


. Are there any solutions to curing a fish that is stressed because of a large water change/addition? Are there any tricks to get him eating again?

Can you tell me about your tank and post a photo of your tank.
Do you have plenty of hiding places for him caves etc?
What else is in the tank?
What are all the water perameters?

Feeding have a look at My Profile this will tell you what my big fellars eat.

Another tip I was told too long ago was never feed on the day you do the water change the reason is rather long but it is to do with their digestive system at the same time as the water adjustments.

If I go away for 2-3 days I dont feed them either or add the food blocks.

Where in OZ are you?

I will take a few photos of the largest one and post them in PB today.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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Thanks everyone. Kiethgh> I'm in Melbourne's eastern subs. Here are a couple of pic of my tank. It is 3ft x 18ins (not entirely sure how much it holds).

I've tested for ammonia, nitrite and hardness and they are all reasonably safe. I have a high pH but it is fairly stable and if that was what caused the problems, I would think that problems would occur more frequently. Also, I have found out that for some reason, my tap water comes out of the tap with a reasonably low pH but then it slowly increases when added to the tank. It's been suggested that this is due to the air in the water and if I were to let it sit, I would see the same effects.

Below is the main part of the tank. I have two main hidey holes and a log that he can lie under. I have good filtration and water agitation however there is a bit of old food on the ground that really needs to be vacuumed as it is not being eaten like it usually would.

[img]C:\Documents and Settings\Andrew\My Documents\My Pictures\Fish tank\DSCN0834.JPG[/img][/font]

The following is the main hidey hole of my CL. It is the smallest one. You can actually see a bit of his fin in the corner. He doesn't leave it much anymore though.

[img]C:\Documents and Settings\Andrew\My Documents\My Pictures\Fish tank\DSCN0835.JPG[/img][/font]

It certainly sounds like the tap water problem.

Depending on your water supplier they have been adding a lot of extra chemicals lately possibly because of the drought and our water supply getting low.
Lately I have been adding extra dechlorinator the water stinks here lately
At evey water change I add a ph stabliser made/sold Oakleigh.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

You said that the ammonia and nitrite were reasonably safe. What are the exact parameters. My ph comes out of the tap at 7.0 and rises to 8.3. Its never been a problem.

Last edited by greenmonkey51 at 04-Jul-2005 23:32

zero and zero. the tap water comes out at about 6.6/6.8 and rises to about 7.6/7.8. Do you know why yours does it? I haven't come to a solid conclusion yet - it is just really strange.

Should I add the extra dechlorinators now, or just next time I add new water to the tank. Will it stabalise on its own?

simpkia

It has been a long time since I did a water test either at the tap or the tank. Ask that one at your local Aqu.

If you have not added the dechlorinator yes add now but at normal strength. As I stated previously you should have some prepared water ready for the next change.
The chlorine will have gone with the airation of the tank but as far as the other chemicals I have no idea but at a good guess they will still be active.

Did you get my PM?

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

it isnt hard to keep clown loaches or any fish i dont even check my ph and when use to decournated the water i just did wat ever i thing is right never mearsure but now we just put a water tank for the rAIN WATER THE GARage collects so it just to much cloren in the town water

The co2 in the water keeps it low but when exposed to air the co2 releases and the ph slowly rises. You can age the water and that will take care of it.

Danny - I think its an extremely over-generalised statement to make that all fish are easy to take care of. Except for using rain water, I do everything the same as you. I add dechlorinator to the tap water and just add it periodically, not really measuring the amt of water I add at all. Yet somehow my fish are not easy to take care of.

I'm now of the firm belief that if you have fish that are easy to take care of, you were lucky to get the healthy ones. But unlike most other fish, CL's are from the wild so they come to the pet stores and aquariums full of diseases and harmful pathogens. Whether or not your CL's outgrow such things is purly up to the fates!

On the other hand, I think its a great idea to use rain water! My dad was recently talking about getting a water catchment tank for the garage so if I could convince him to do that, it may be worth it!

Simpkia,

I think a big water change can affect a clown adversely. Infact, even a water change affects them. Mine fast for a few hours after a water change and I do only about 20% once a week. Stick to that and your clowns will stay healthy.

Also, like Keith said, age your water for a few days before adding it to the tank. I have heard of people complaining about water params, but have never tested mine. I guess I can get away with it because I come from the tropics.

For now, I would say, let the clown rest, make sure the temps are warm, but not too warm, dont switch on the lights too much, and try feeding him his favourite food - Hikari algae wafers, tetra bits, live worms usually do the trick for mine.

I hope I am not too late in responding to this thread

Good Luck with that clown of yours.

Clowny.

You weren't late at all. I tried feeding my CL by dropping a chunck on nutrafin sinking tablet into his hidey hole so that he didn't need to come out for the food. I heard a few clicks, as if he must have been eating which is a bit of a breakthrough. Also this morning, I was woken up by an annoying clicking noice, only to realise that it was my CL actively swimming around the tank. Hopefully these are signs of good things to come!

Thanks everyone for your help. I think we may have saved my CL.

You only have ONE clown loach?? Perhaps it is lonely!!! Clowns need company. At least three. Buy two more and see if he/she perks up a bit. They love to play, but want their own kind to play with.

Other than that, it must be something in your water. My clowns LOVE a water change. As a matter of fact, they are most active and playful after a water change (and i do about 40% every two weeks).

Use a water conditioner when you change the water.

Are you sure that you are matching the water temperature of the new water to the water you removed?? No more than one or two degree differential is IMPERATIVE with clown loaches.

What is the temp of your tank? Clowns like it warm. I keep mine at 80-82 F.

I hope your little fella perks up soon.

Good luck to you and keep us posted

Last edited by rasboramary at 20-Jul-2005 20:52