another loach dilema (sigh)

How long ago did the 72 have ich? Did you treat the tank long enough to get all 3 life stages? Ich has to be present for fish to get it, it can't be dormant but can be hidden in gills. Are any fish flashing/ rubbing on decor?

I think I'd probably leave the tiny guys (how tiny?) in the 10 for a couple weeks to make sure they're ok & gaining weight. Then move them into the 72 with the bigger loaches, skip adding them to the 37 it's to much stress & bother when you know they all need the big tank.

I feed twice a day, small amounts, or even 3 times for baby fish--your's are babies. A 10g is harder to keep clean with such a small volume of water so it's good you're keeping the tank clean. But they may not as eat much with the lights on, they're naturally nocturnal & probably stressed from the cave & moving.

How long have you had the small ones? Did they eat well before they went missing? Loaches can be afflicted with chronic wasting syndrome usually from internal parasites so keep a close eye on their weight especially behind the head.

Good luck!

I was thinking the big fish may get all the food before the little ones get much. At least you can tell in the small tank. I like to quarantine new fish for at least 4 weeks to make sure they're eating & healthy. It's easier to treat them if they develop problems.

clown loaches love the meaty-type foods. If your trying to get them to eat give them something they'll love. You'll have much better luck with the bloodworms over the sinking pellets and especially over the flake food, but you'll have to wait for them to be in there long enough to sink to the bottom before the loaches find them (if they're not eating and hiding because they're new i wouldnt imagine they'd go to the surface for the bloodworms). I know this might sound insane, but introduce to your tank the common pond snail. I can offer you some if you have none, but all loaches love these things. They are a very beneficial & natural, protein-packed food that the loaches love. I bought 2 yo yo botia loaches to rid my 75 gal tank of a common snail population explosion and i was incredibly impressed at how fast these 2 young loaches COMPLETELY RID my 75 of ALL snails....truly it was a matter of weeks. So I dont think you'll have a problem with a snail explosion if you introduced snails, if anything else, you'll need to add them quicker then what they will have the chance to reproduce enough for a small snail community to start.

I would also put the loaches in the biggest tank, the 72 if thats where you eventually plan to house them. They will feel more secure in the bigger tank granted the decorations are in there. Loaches can easily squeeze into some decorations and not find their way back out, which would explain why you didnt see them for quite awhile and now they appear skinny...maybe they were stuck? I try to stay away from decorations such as that, and prefer to stick to the natural ones, the real driftwood, stacking real rocks for caves..things like that, you'll find that they'll make and claim their own territorial areas of such decorations

also with the ich situation- be careful of dosing your ich medications with loaches as they are scaleless fish & you will need to change how you approach that situation

Glad they're eating for you now, bloodworms are hard to resist. Don't spoil them too much, a variety is always good.

I think the big & small loaches will be fine together in the big tank in a couple weeks