Hi, Urgent Clown Loach Problem!

[clowloachguy]

I have had 6 clown loach in my tank for probly close to two years, and always cleaned them out the same why by changing 75% of the water in the tank and keeping 25% of the old and it has always been fine....

however i recently removed the heater from inside a case to into the tank and changed the water as much as i usually do and also got a new filter...

now they have been breathing rapidly which caused 2 of my biggest clown loach to die which is really frustrating...
and now the clownloach i have left are almost sheding skin on their nose just above their eyes on their head...

what should i do in this situation?? i dont want all of my clown loach to die..also the ones which did die have turnt patchy in colour i dont know if this would help identify the problem and why my big clown loach are dieing when they should be stronger than the smaller ones??



also i noticed when i was pouring in the water a white substance was put into my tank aswell but i told my mum and she said to think nothing of it ! i dont know what i should do...

any help will be greatly appreciated , (sorry for any spelling or grammer mistakes i'm only 17)
thanks in advance!

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Have you put the heater back in the tank.
When you bought a new filter did you use the old mature sponges from the other filters.
Any bleaching beneath the skin.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.
Any fluffy bits on the clowns like cotton wool.
What colour are the patches.
Do the clown loaches look thin.
Is there enough aeration in the tank.

 

[clowloachguy]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

Have you put the heater back in the tank.
When you bought a new filter did you use the old mature sponges from the other filters.
Any bleaching beneath the skin.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing.
Any fluffy bits on the clowns like cotton wool.
What colour are the patches.
Do the clown loaches look thin.
Is there enough aeration in the tank.

I'm not even sure of the size of it i'd say just over 60cm wide, 35 ish deep, and 25cm tall?
i had 6 clown loach 2 died..but i have only seen 3 since two of my biggest died
water stats i've never known...my fish have just always been fine until now..
yea i bought a new heater because the other 1 i couldnt tell which temperature it was at
no i used the sponges that were in the filter when i bought it
well the ones that are still alive their skin seems fine but the ones that died they got fatter and their skin went light with dark patches
not really they just hide and breath fast
yea there are fluffy bits lyk white dead skin and i see some floating in the tank..
and the patches were just light and dark really but theyre not on the ones that are alive
and my new filter has bubbles coming out of it.
also on one of my smaller clown loach his top fin is down but on my bigger 1 its still up

 

[WILDER]

Take a sample of your water to the lfs and ask them to write the readings down for you.
I would strongly suggest investing in some liquid test kits in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

The tanks will be cycling be you have thrown the old sponges away.
You need to find the other clown loach to make sure its not died and polluting the water.
I would do an immediate water change and increase aeration in the tank.
Also I would find out how many gallons your tank is.

Sounds like columnaris if the fish have fluffy bits and peeling skin.
Colunmaris can break out because of bad water quality, unstable temp, over crowding and stress.
What do you feed your fish as to many dried foods can cause bloating and constipation.
Clamped fins mean stress and desease.

http/www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm

 

[WILDER]

Work your tank out in gallons here.
<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm</a>

Clown loaches are prone to whitepsot so make sure they have no tiny white spots the size of a grain of salt on the fish.
Also make sure the clowns are not rubbing themselves in the tank.
If none of these signs I would treat for columnaris.
Uk Myxazin by waterlife, and pimafix.
United States maracyn one and two.

 

[clowloachguy]

Take a sample of your water to the lfs and ask them to write the readings down for you.
I would strongly suggest investing in some liquid test kits in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.

The tanks will be cycling be you have thrown the old sponges away.
You need to find the other clown loach to make sure its not died and polluting the water.
I would do an immediate water change and increase aeration in the tank.
Also I would find out how many gallons your tank is.

Sounds like columnaris if the fish have fluffy bits and peeling skin.
Colunmaris can break out because of bad water quality, unstable temp, over crowding and stress.
What do you feed your fish as to many dried foods can cause bloating and constipation.
Clamped fins mean stress and desease.

[URL="http/www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm"]http/www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm[/URL]

hmm ok i guess i just have to hope for the best until i can go to the fish shop because my mum is at work and i can't get to it until the weekend =/ but i will change my water tomorrow ! and how much of the water should i change??
and no i didnt throw the old ones away should i put them into the filter?
and yea i guess i have the buy the kits but i dont have a clue how to use them..
amd how do i go about increasin aeration?
and yea them reasons it could break out pretty much match wats happened =/ thanks

 

[WILDER]

I would preform a water change now if the fish are breathing fast.
You can sometimes alter water flow on some filters by turning up or down.
Where have the old sponges been kept, did you keep the old filter running inside the tank?
The test kits have instuctions telling you what do to stage by stage.

 

[clowloachguy]

I would preform a water change now if the fish are breathing fast.
You can sometimes alter water flow on some filters by turning up or down.
Where have the old sponges been kept, did you keep the old filter running inside the tank?
The test kits have instuctions telling you what do to stage by stage.

i cant it is 1am lol i'll definatly do it tomorrow =/
and i'll have to check that out
they have been kept in the old filter in the bucket i used to transport my ornaments to where i clean them
and no i took the older filter out because i put my new 1 in
and oh ok i knew that thanks !

 

[WILDER]

If the bucket had no water in it the sponges will be no good as the beneifical bacteria would of died off.

 

[clowloachguy]

If the bucket had no water in it the sponges will be no good as the beneifical bacteria would of died off.

nah i didnt put it in water =/ the guy in the pet shop told me that i should change the filter sponges every month anyways?

 

[Davo86]

Firstly your tank is Way Too small for Clown Loach,

Did the tank go cloudy after you did the waterchange and added the new filter?
As said above you have seemingly killed off the good bacteria in your tank which will ultimately kill all of your fish if you don't get a test kit and keep on top of the water changes.

The fish may be suffering from ammonia burn

 

[clowloachguy]

Firstly your tank is Way Too small for Clown Loach,

Did the tank go cloudy after you did the waterchange and added the new filter?
As said above you have seemingly killed off the good bacteria in your tank which will ultimately kill all of your fish if you don't get a test kit and keep on top of the water changes.

The fish may be suffering from ammonia burn

yea for some reason when i put the water in my tank some white stuff was in the water entered my tank because it was in the hot water..
and the guy in the fish shop didnt really mention anything about using the new filter and this is the first time i have bought a new one since buying my fish tank so i wasnt any wiser..
down to just one fish now my 2nd biggest loach.. hes still breathing rapidly and seems stressed but i dont think he has a lot of the cotton wool like stuff on him however i dont know how long he will last =/ i'm going to get a bus to the pet shop tomorrow and ask for a test kit for the water i dont know wat else i can do really =/

and my tank cant be to small because they were all living in it fine for the past almost 2 years =/

 

[WILDER]

Have you preformed a water change.
You need to get meds fast to stand a chance of saving the rest.

 

[clowloachguy]

Have you preformed a water change.
You need to get meds fast to stand a chance of saving the rest.

i took out about 40% of the water..and i'm filling it back up slowly
but because i cant use hot water i have to put cold in and wait until my heater has finished heating it up before i can put more in =/

 

[WILDER]

I use hot water out of the tap with no problems. But my pipe works not really old.
You could always boil the kettle and heat the water up that way.