Clown Loach Red Gills

EOD

EOD

AC Members
Sep 12, 2010
599
2
18
Schofield Barracks, HI
Real Name
David
I have been spending some time checking out my fish today and noticed my clown loach has some redness at his gills and I don't know if it's common. This made me paranoid so I looked closer at my other fish and some of them are slighty red as well which made me think perhaps it's normal. I don't have any water testing equipment and will not be able to get any until I get paid. Here is a picture.
c7dcce89.jpg
 
I got the tank I believe 2 weeks ago. It was in a mans bedroom on the floor about a bit more than half full. All of the fish I have were in it. He took the angelfish out and put it in a kitty litter bucket full of water. He siphoned the water level down to 20-25% and told me to help him carry it to my car with all the remaining fish still in it. I took it home , put all the fish in my 14g, cleaned it out completely with a sponge, vinegar, water, vinegar, water, water, water (lol). I put it on my dresser and filled it up and placed the gravel that was already in it back in it along with all the plants. I then hooked up the filter he gave me and let it run for about 45 minutes. I couldn't keep the fish in the 14g any longer so I put them in the tank and put some water conditioner in there too. I figured it was my only choice even though most people like to cycle the tank without fish in it, I was using the same filter, same plants, same scenery, same rocks so I figured it would cycle nicely. (I know I will probably get "flamed") All the fish survived and they are all happy. The fish that came with the tank he claimed he has had for 2 years. It's a 40gallon tank. I've done one 25% water change. My list of fish are :
Angelfish
tiger barb (2 adult, 4 young)
clown loach (2)
bala shark (1)
golden sailfin molly (2)
Bristlenose pleco (2)
Chinese algae eater
zebra danio (3)
red eye tetra
guppy (2)
black hi fin tetra
 
I'm new to this hobby as well so I am no authority, but it sounds like you may have a lot of serious problems with your setup. I know you asked specifically about the red gills and I really don't have an answer on that. At least not an answer that deals with that specific issue but what I'm going to tell you may be contributing to your situation.

Check out this site http://www.aqadvisor.com and plug in your tank size and your current stock. You are at 209% stocking level and there are many many warnings about the fish you are mixing, the sizes they grow to, the conflicting special needs of the cohabitants, etc....

Clown Loaches can grow to 12" and should be kept in groups of 5 or more. Simply keeping 5 Clown Loaches in a 40 gallon tank would be a 196% stocking level (way overstocked). 5 Clown Loaches would require a 125 gallon tank with no other fish.

Bala Sharks are the same story. Up to 12" and in groups of 5 or more.

Chinese Algea Eaters grow to 11" and become incredibly aggressive and destructive when they become adults.

Your Bala Shark will likely eat your Tiger Barbs, Zebra Danios, Red Eye Tetras, Black Hifin Tetras, and guppies.

Lots of other warnings about male to female ratios, fin nipping , etc...

It also states -
"Your tank is too small - it will require massive amount of frequent water changes each week!"
and
"Your aquarium stocking level is 209%.
Your tank is seriously overstocked. Unless this setup is temporary, you should consider a larger tank."

All of these things can lead to health problems for your fish.

I'm totally not trying to flame you on this. Just sharing the info. Good luck.
 
Yeah, I know. I'm going to try and get another tank soon. When looking at the tank, it doesn't look overstocked...that's why there's so much in there. None of the fish are attacking each other. The adult chinese algae eater keeps himself busy and none of my fish have any signs of nipping. The clown loaches are still very small so I'm not worried yet. The Bala shark stays to himself as well. I understand you all are very wise on these topics but this tank is what I was dealt and at the time I didn't know better. I live in Hawaii and am working on very limited cash at the moment. If anyone who lives here has an extra tank they would be willing to give away or sell for cheap, it could help me. I hate to say though, I'm going to leave the tank as is for now.
 
New information. I put the aquarium measurements into a size calculator and found out it is in fact a 45 gallon. That's 5 gallons of hope for my crowded fish, eh? lol
 
One 25% water change in two weeks is probably not enough of a water change. And you may be experiencing a cycle in the tank, and if so, any nitrite or ammonia is going to cause redness around the gill areas of the fish where the ammonia burns the delicate tissues in that area. Please test your water. If you don't have a liquid test kit and can't afford one, then if I were you, I'd assume the tank is cycling over the next couple of weeks and do frequent partial water changes to get te nitrite and ammonia down.

A small clown loach will be fine in a 45G tank for at least a year or more. The biggest concern is they really need a buddy to be happy and 2 clown loaches is better than 1, and of course 4, 5, or 6 clown loaches is a real happy group, but we all can't do the 4, 5 or 6. I keep 2. The clown loach looks very thin though so maybe the fish weren't fed enough or kept clean enough when the other owner kept them. They've been through a lot of stress with tank moves in the last two weeks so that's also another big reason to keep their water free from continuing stress of any ammonia or nitrite.

Not the perfect combination of fish by any means, but its what you acquired and didn't put together yourself, I understand that. If you can eventually rehome some of the more incompatible ones, that would be terrific. The barbs are extremely nippy fish and I would suspect they'll be nipping at your guppies and angelfish's fins all the time. You may want to rehome the barbs. Do get rid of the chinese algae eater. They are absolutely one of the most worthless and nasty fish for a tropical tank. They will outcompete all your other fish for food, don't eat a spec of algae, and get very, very nasty towards the other fish. You may not see it when you're standing in front of the tank and they see you, but believe me, their nasty reputation is well known in the hobby. I'd rehome the bala shark as well and concentrate of appropriate size fish for your 45 gallon. A little rehoming and you won't have to upgrade that tank for a long time, even with the clown loach (or 2). I would say all the other fish are fine. Bristlenose plecos produce a lot of poop, so weekly gravel vacs are a must as are weekly partial water changes.

But most importantly, please look into the ammonia/nitrite issue that may be occuring in your tank.
 
It's hard to say. Clown loaches gills look a bit red sometimes anyway depending on their color. It could be from water quality issues, but does he appear to be breathing hard or anything else? You do need to test your ammonia nitrite and nitrate, with a liquid test kit like API. Even in a cycled tank clown loaches are sensitive to nitrates, and they should be kept below 40, and optimally lower for clown loaches.

My main issue is he looks underweight, though that could be from the picture quality. Clown loaches should actually look a little bit fat. And the other thing is your substrate is not right for a clown loach. They do best on sand or very small smooth gravel because they sift through the substrate looking for food. On large or sharp substrate they are more likely to hurt their mouth and body which will leave them open to infection.
 
I totally understand that you did not put this grouping together and that you are now stuck in a situation that you need to deal with, and if possible, without spending a lot of money.

I know we have thrown a lot of scary info at you real fast and it may be overwhelming. Relax... Stay calm...

The first and most important thing (and cheap) is WATER CHANGES!

It sounds like you got this tank and your first instinct was to clean it. I understand this and I know it sounds like a good thing to do but it was probably where the problem started. This was an established tank and it probably had all the needed bacteria to provide good bio-filtration. By putting the fish in your 14 gal tank and thoroughly cleaning the 40 gal tank you probably wiped out its bio-filter. This means the tank is probably starting the cycling process all over again and that can take several weeks. It would be wise to do daily water changes of at least 25%-33% to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels in the safe zone until the tank is cycled.

It probably would have been better to simply fill the tank back up when you got it home but that is in the past and there is no point in focusing on that now.

When you can afford it you really should try to get a master test kit. You can order one from Walmart online for under $18 with free shipping. Here is a link Master Test Kit.

As for the bad combination of fish you have. Yes you were dealt this bad hand, but you may have a chance to discard and draw a few new ones (sticking with the metaphor). Talk to your local fish store(s). They may be willing to take the Clown Loaches, Bala Shark and Tiger Barbs in on trade and you could get some smaller, more compatible fish instead (more Angelfish, Cory Cats, Dwarf Gouramis, Rasboras, Rainbow fish).

I don't know what to tell you about the Chinese Algea Eater. I doubt if a fish store would take it. They really do have a bad reputation and they do grow too large for your tank.

Good luck - Water Changes, Water Changes, Water Changes, oh and did I mention WATER CHANGES!
 
It was good you used the cycled filter that was on the tank before but you may have stirred up a lot of junk. Water changes should be more like 35% a week at least. It's hard to get used to a bigger volume of water than you had before but think of it as a way to help your fish & exercise! Petco/smart can test your water for free until you get a test kit.

I would strongly suggest you get rid of (give away to LFS) the algae eater ASAP, nothing but trouble as Debbi said. Then get used to taking care of the other fish & decide what fish you want to keep long term, you've got some time but there will be issues ahead. Plan for them & work toward a better mix.

Good luck!
 
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