Loaches dying

[richardnuss]

I have had my clown loaches for 11 days now, and have lost 2 (of 6) over the last 2 days. I have done testing on my water:
Temp: 27 Degrees
pH: 7.4
Nitrites / Ammonia: Zero

The tank is 7 weeks old, and the nitrites were zero before I added the loaches. The other fish are all well (Glass cats, Corys, Black Phantoms, Serpeas). And last night one of my Khuli's died.

I took a sample to the LFS and he said my water is too hard (over 200) - however could not give me an answer on how to reduce (except purchasing an RO unit). I do not have any white gravel / shells / stones - my substrate is slate and fine black gravel.

It is a 500L tank, so I do not think I can simply soften with Black Water extract (well, not continuously). Would anyone suggest driftwood or peat moss? I do not mind the water going tea coloured if it means not losing fish!

I live in Fourways - does anyone else have issues with the water?

[Fonkie]

Hi

I had the same prob with my clowns, do you use an anti chloor in your water - well it was my problem, everytime you do a water change you must put in anti chloor.

Luckily mine is fine now i use Tetra Pond Aquasafe.

Hope this helps other wise ask the proff.

[KiazerG]

I would go the driftwood route... here in Durban we have fairly hard water and to ensure that its soften I've added Driftwood which releases tannic acid. It wont make a huge difference but will assist in lowering at a little.

Also remember that Khuli Loaches are sensitive to dieseases and chemicals, maybe add activated carbon to your filtration system to remove any contaminants that may be in the tank.

[richardnuss]

Thanks Guys - the last water change I did was 4 days earlier (would expect them to react quicker to the new water) and I used anti-cholirine and blackwater at the time.

I have also replaced my carbon - so hopefully that does the trick. The water here is even worse than I used to have in Durban north - plus the pH is much higher! Am treating some store bought driftwood to put in over the weekend.

[brads]

you should soak driftwood for over 2 weeks if i remember...you should soak it for less if you want tannic acid to be released..also remember loaches dont have scales and are very sensitive to meds,so be carefull of the treatments you use

[Theo]

iv NEVER used anti chlorine drops... iv kept discus. successfully

[Zoom]

THEO... can you please update your profile to tell us where you are from. Making a blanket statement that you never use anti chlorine drops can get our newbies into a LOT of trouble. They just might take your advice... and then discover that because they live in JHB where anit-chlorine drops is a must. I believe that people in the Cape don't have to use chlorine drops as much as us in Gauteng.

[KiazerG]

iv NEVER used anti chlorine drops... iv kept discus. successfully

Dude you always make these one sentence statements without any sort of explanation... as Zoom said it really is not on as some people may actually listen to you.

If you going to contribute then make it constructive i.e give the person some info on why you say what you say. Statements like the one above really don't help anyone.

And to counter your statement. It is imperative to use anti-chlorine in most parts of SA, although it may not kill your fish the exposure to Cholrine and Chloramine will cause damage to the fish and can also cause chlorine poisoning which results in shimming, laboured breathingn and semi-paralysis.

Moral of the story - use anti-chlorine products even if you dont think you need to.

[Zoom]

+1 KaizerG

[Fonkie]

Hi Theo

Come try Potchefstroom water - you need anti chloor in this place

[JesseG]

oooh, THEO, you are walking on egg shells bud...yeah, man, you do need to back up your statements...i used anti chlorine drops, i've always used it and i've had no problems...my fish are healthy...

[Zoom]

You know what is so funny.... how many guys come on askign for help for fishes that are dying... and when we get to the nitty gritty of it... there is no anti-chlor going into the tank. Or the Charcoal is 4 months old... stupid things that people pick up

[Wimpie]

iv NEVER used anti chlorine drops... iv kept discus. successfully

What do you mean by successfully? Do you mean keeping the discus alive or healthy? Which I doubt was healthy as you neglect some of the basics of fishkeeping. Always use anti-chlorine no matter what your water condition.

[richardnuss]

For the record, I always use anti-chlor and have changed the charcoal once already (the tank is only 8 weeks old) - every 6 weeks is what I have been told.