33 gal. tall hex

[Vivo]

I'm a little over a month in this hobby and bought a 33 gal gal hexagon tank from a neighbor with fish and his knowledge which I now know was extremely limited. Many hours of research later, several returning fish later, I still feel like a bad fish Mom. I inherited two black kuhli loaches. Now I'm stuck with them (poor guys) unless I drain my tank which is now fully cycles . I have 7 neon tetras who are very picky eaters and 9 (bought 10) HR's. (harlequin rasbora's). One which looks bloated and is still. I ignorantly have a 1.8 gal. tank I was going to use as a qt, but now has a female betta which I love and want a sorority. I realized that I cannot treat my fish for anything with the loaches in there. There's hot debate about aquarium salt even. It's also such a deep tank (pretty but would recommend only tall fish and a few at that) that I can't single out the fish I need to isolate. I am feeling defeated. I've worked so hard to make this a happy and healthy tank and what I really need to do is get the loaches out on their own. They should have a warning sign about scaleless fish! In summary, I can never treat my tank safely with meds or salt while I have the loaches. Frankly they hide so well in my pebble substrate, I'm not sure if I could catch them without hurting them. How do people have loaches with other fish?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I would honestly get a new tank. Maybe a 29g tank. That would provide enough room for the fish you have.

I would remove the locate and give them away. if one is bloated, it may be internal parasites. @Colin_T can give advice on how to treat them.

 

[Vivo]

Thanks! It's funny you mentioned 29 gal. I have been debating on buying a used 29 gal with stand and equip. for 200 vs a new 15 gal fluvial (narrow, I am limited with room) - I'm getting one of them for my BD. I was weighing the pros and cons and you suggested the 29! Fate? I just put in the offer.