hong kong pleco

Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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Crawley (uk)
hi all,just found our hong kong plec belly up on the tank floor...:cry:
don,t know wy,all water tests are ok,temp ok,all other fish ok.
he was small,he was the only fish that didnt get any bigger.:dk:
god knows wot im goin to tell my boy,he was his fav fish.
 

scatz

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
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what is the temp of the tank? hong kong plec's/ hillstream loaches come from cooler water with loads of flow
 

Irene0100

UK Support Team
May 14, 2009
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Norfolk, UK
sorry to hear that, they are difficult to keep in standard community tank as most dont have right conditions for them to live long. tell us abpout the set up?
 

Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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Crawley (uk)
sorry to hear that, they are difficult to keep in standard community tank as most dont have right conditions for them to live long. tell us abpout the set up?
hi,the temp is stable at 25c and the filter is at 50% flow.theres lots of movement in the tank with that flow.2 bits of bogwood and plenty of plants in there.
cos i work nights ive got the misses to do checks on the tank,temp,head count of fish,movement of fish,etc,before lights out.she said he was active goin up and along
the side of the glass.
 

Lornek8

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Apr 21, 2009
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Just bumped up tank temp didn't you. Could be related to this as the others said before, they naturally come from cool, fast-flowing streams so are accustomed to higher oxygenation. After you bumped up the tank temp if you didn't increase aeration then this could have caused issues. Could have been many other things as well like something related to the failed heater.
 

macvsog23

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May 1, 2009
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she said he was active goin up and along
the side of the glass.

That is the problem

this fish in the wild is a bottom dweller that "Hops" from stone to stone
The up and down was a indicator of a problem
Poss water conditions?

They live in very cool fast flowing clean water as already stated.

Regards Bob
 

Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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she said he was active goin up and along
the side of the glass.

That is the problem

this fish in the wild is a bottom dweller that "Hops" from stone to stone
The up and down was a indicator of a problem
Poss water conditions?

They live in very cool fast flowing clean water as already stated.

Regards Bob
o,got the misses to test the water (im at work now) again,all is ok as is the temp.
 

GrubbyGirl

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Nov 18, 2009
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Is this the tank you were having all the water issues with?

As mac says, if they are on the side glass that is unusual for them they hop about really fast at the bottom levels either on the gravel or skipping over rocks and plants. They definitely like cooler watwer, a fast flow and lots of oxygen. I have 2 in my community tank which was by accident as the tank they were in sprung a leak and that was my coolest tank at 25 degrees. They are so fast I haven't been able to catch them again to get them out.

Hillstream loaches are very sensitive to water quality and can only go into very mature tanks. Seems to me you're having these deaths with no sign of disease it can only be a water issue, don't go and buy any more fish until everything is stable.

What are your water test reading? Don't say they are "ok", give us the readings? Do you have stick or a liquid test kit?
 
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Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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Is this the tank you were having all the water issues with?

As mac says, if they are on the side glass that is unusual for them they hop about really fast at the bottom levels either on the gravel or skipping over rocks and plants. They definitely like cooler watwer, a fast flow and lots of oxygen. I have 2 in my community tank which was by accident as the tank they were in sprung a leak and that was my coolest tank at 25 degrees. They are so fast I haven't been able to catch them again to get them out.

Hillstream loaches are very sensitive to water quality and can only go into very mature tanks. Seems to me you're having these deaths with no sign of disease it can only be a water issue, don't go and buy any more fish until everything is stable.

What are your water test reading? Don't say they are "ok", give us the readings? Do you have stick or a liquid test kit?
ok,ive got a "tetea 6 in 1" stick test kit.
just done a test:
NO3 = 0
NO2 = 0
GH = 8od
KH = 6od
PH = 6.8
CL2 = 0
all fish seam ok this morning.
this is the tank that i was havin probs with but im still doin the daliy water changes.the tests has improved.
do i need a diff test kit to test for TDS?
 

MiB1986

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Jan 31, 2010
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ok,ive got a "tetea 6 in 1" stick test kit.
just done a test:
NO3 = 0
NO2 = 0
GH = 8od
KH = 6od
PH = 6.8
CL2 = 0
all fish seam ok this morning.
this is the tank that i was havin probs with but im still doin the daliy water changes.the tests has improved.
do i need a diff test kit to test for TDS?
you need a TDS meter you can get them in shops for about £20, its ideal to have it as low as possible.

PH IMO is a little low as well... slightly acidic, i try to keep mine about 7.5 ish, this strip does not test ammonia which is the biggest killer, you have only done nitrates and nitrite, nitrite is harmful but nitrate isnt really anything life threatening.

The three most important tests are Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrate. I would personally take some water to a local Pets at home store if in UK as they will test it for free with liquid test kits, the strips you have are inaccurate and rubbish, they will only give you an idea not a reading you can trust.

(We have had both and always found liquid to be far better even though its more expensive at the begining its cheaper and lasts alot longer, ie 25 test for £6 on the strips, £25 for a master test kit and this will do approx 150 tests. Although you can buy them seperately for about £8 each.

Hope this helps...
 

GrubbyGirl

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Nov 18, 2009
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get yourself a test kit, that would be the most useful thing to get at the moment. Pick up an API liquid test kit or something similar.
 

Doodles

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Apr 8, 2009
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Leave the pH alone, there's nothing wrong with a PH of 6.8 especially where plecs are concerned. The hillstream loach would of liked it a little higher starting at PH 7 but as you no longer have the loach then don't start messing with chemicals or anything to raise the PH. Both the KH and GH look ok too. Wish mine was 6.8:yes:
 

Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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Crawley (uk)
ok,ive got a "Nutrafin test" mini master test kit.thats all they had at my LFS.
the readings are:
PH = 7.0
NITRITE = 0.1
AMMONIA = 0
NITRATE = 20

now if i,m reading the booklets right (i hope i am) all is ok.
the water is the clearist ive ever seen it.
 
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Doodles

Retired Staff
Apr 8, 2009
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Nitrite should be 0, you could either be overfeeding or have insufficient filtration.

I would keep testing every couple of days and monitor the parameters
 

GrubbyGirl

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Nov 18, 2009
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Kent
ok,ive got a "Nutrafin test" mini master test kit.thats all they had at my LFS.
the readings are:
PH = 7.0
NITRITE = 0.1
AMMONIA = 0
NITRATE = 20

now if i,m reading the booklets right (i hope i am) all is ok.
the water is the clearist ive ever seen it.
As doodles says nitrite should be zero, and although it's not as toxic as ammonia it will still do damage and kill your fish so you need to keep up with your water changes. Also I suggest testing your tap water because your nitrate, although ok, is higher than I would expect considering you're doing daily water changes.

When you have cycled your other tank in a few weeks time I suggest you move all your current occupants to that tank and leave your 23 litre for something like a Betta. It's so hard to maintain good water quality in a small tank and you are way over stocked. Have you started cycling your new filter yet? If not then you can do that by using a good clean bucket and some pure ammonia while you're thinking about what you are going to do with your tank. Start sooner then it will be ready sooner.

By the way your pH is perfect, what I wouldn't give for a nice neutral pH.
 
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Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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Crawley (uk)
Hi,New tank is cycling now, 2 caves and some wood.perry L134 and
the bn will be moved the it and the 4 rasboras and the apple snail
will stay in the edge.how many fish will be ok for the new tank,
it's 75L.I don't won't to go through this again.
Also wot do I check tap water with?can I use the test kit I have
 

Tener ds

Member
Mar 22, 2010
1,609
0
36
Crawley (uk)
Hi,New tank is cycling now, 2 caves and some wood.perry L134 and
the bn will be moved the it and the 4 rasboras and the apple snail
will stay in the edge.how many fish will be ok for the new tank,
it's 75L.I don't won't to go through this again.
Also wot do I check tap water with?can I use the test kit I have
 

GrubbyGirl

Member
Nov 18, 2009
608
0
16
Kent
Hi,New tank is cycling now, 2 caves and some wood.perry L134 and
the bn will be moved the it and the 4 rasboras and the apple snail
will stay in the edge.how many fish will be ok for the new tank,
it's 75L.I don't won't to go through this again.
Also wot do I check tap water with?can I use the test kit I have
A rough guide is 1 inch per gallon so for 75l (16 gallons) you're looking at 16 inches of fish. But this is adult size not the size they are now and not all fish are the same, for example an inch of a tetra produces less waste than an inch of pleco, so the more pleco's you have the more filtration you need. It's always sensible to have more filtration that you think you need especially when you have plecos. You're L134 and BN will take up 11 inches alone so you only have 5 inches to play with, however if you stick to something like small tetras you could probably have more than 5 inches of fish, but one more hypan and that will be the lot.

Yes just test your tap water for nitrates with your test kit.