I got new fish: cloan loach, serpae tetra, bala shark

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gnahc79

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I moved one platy to my eclipse to make more room in my 20gal

In my eclipse 6gal:
2 cloan loaches
1 platy (F)

20gal:
2 platies (M,F)
1 swordtail (F)
2 serpae tetra
2 diamond tetra
1 bala shark

All of the orginal fish are about 4 months old. Is this arrangement ok? We're thinking of getting one more clown loach and trading in/returning 1-2 platies.
 
Unless you're going to get a bigger tank in the very near future, you should probably return the clown loaches and bala shark. Both of those fish grow to around 12 inches, which is way to big for either a six or twenty gallon tank. I believe both of these fish enjoy company of their own kind as well. A 75 Gallon tank would probably be the absolute minimum for housing either of these species. If you like the way loaches look, maybe you could get some Yo-Yo (Pakistan) or Khuli Loaches for your 20 gallon, since you don't have any bottom feeders in there. I don't think they get more than 3 inches in length. Tetras also like to school, so maybe you should take either the serpae or diamond tetras back, and get enough to have a school of 5 or 6 of whichever species you like best. With 3 loaches, 6 tetras, 2 platies and a swordtail, your 20 would probably be at it's stocking capacity...As far as the 6 gallon tank, I don't really know anything about platies and their needs as far as space and if they like to be kept with others of their kind. But, a 6 gallon tank is pretty small, so I would say maybe you could just keep one platy in there with a couple of small cory cats, or put the platy back in the 20 and get a betta and a couple of small cories, or just a betta. Hope that helps.
 
nm, just went to check on the loaches and they've died :( :(. Temp is 79, pH 7.6, nitrite 0, ammonia 0. The LFS has a 24 guarantee, so hopefully we can get out $$ back and get some fish that can fit in out tanks :).
 
At school there is a 33 gal tank with 5 clown loaches and a single bala shark. The bala hangs with the loached and is nervous as hell because the tank is too small, doesn't have enough cover, and he has no one to swim around with. As I have been told bala sharks need to be in groups. Single bala's have jumped out of this tank in the past and died. This one, since the holes in the cover are now filled, bangs into the glass whenever someone walks by. I have to keep insisting to my dad that I do not have room for bala sharks and he keeps telling me to get "just one"
As I see it, having just one bala in a small tank is wasting your time and money, because you are going to have to keep replacing them

The loaches, also don't do well in that tank at school, they are stunted, and some of them have these nasty black spots on them.

I stand by kuhli loaches though. But they need to be in groups. I started with 2, to see how they'd get along with my puffers, but I never saw them, so I bought 4 more. Safety in numbers I guess, because there is always at least one swimming around my tank where I can see him. Its a 10 gal.

As for the platies, aren't they livebearers? And in that case, unless you keep all the same sex, the numbers should be 1 male for every 2-3 females, because males can exhaust a female by harassing her. I keep guppies at 1 male to 3 females, and if I had platies or mollies I'd do the same with them.
 
I recommend a 55g or higher for clownloaches. or almost any fish that get over 7inches. IF the clowns were not dead, id say move em back to the 20gallon, and put all the livebearers in the 6gallon. And i hate to be rough, but, moving a single platy wont free up much space :cool:
MMM..MMM... all these edits. ANYWAYS. 7.6 ph? need ta lower that.
 
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A pH of 7.6 does not need to be lowered. In fact, many profiling sites which profile the clown loach will say in the pH range up to 7.5 or 7.6 so I would NOT try lowering it. And I wouldn't add any more loaches to the tank... perhaps reading up on the fish before you buy it would help.

The main thing is that these fish like soft water. Just because your pH is a little high doesn't mean the water is unbearable.
 
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Yah, as others have said, clown loaches and balas are not an option for you.

And your pH is nearly perfect. It is fine the way it is - some people would kill to have that you know!:p And just because some fish "prefer" soft water doesn't mean that they won't thrive in water that is a little bit off; chances are that they're not wildcaught anyway.
 
Exactly... and I would just do a water hardness test to verify that your water is do'able. If its not outragously hardened then you should be fine.




...but at the same time, you cant get these fish right now so it doesn't really matter.
 
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