The Puffer Forum

After my regular weekly 90% WC on my 90g discus tank, I noticed one of the glass cats swimming erratically. Then my 7" loach was shooting all over the tank & tried to jump out a bunch of times. I've been trying to catch him for years to move him it a larger tank anyway so since i figured he was laying on his side not doing well in tat water, i'd catch him & move him to Filbert's 125g. The loach died soon after & Filbert is eating him now (weird how he doesn't go after live fish--except a guppy once in a while).

I did the WC as I always do, draining it down to about 3", add Prime for 80g & filled back up. It was a little cooler than usual, about 82, instead of 84. Only extra thing I did was clean out the filter, because they were moving a little slowly. I changed the stocking holding the Bio-Max, because the ceramic rings kept falling out through holes in the old ones. I bought some knee highs at the $ store just for that reason & have used them on other tanks.

Some of the discus don't look very happy--huddled in a corner, dark, clamped fins. But as I keep checking on them, they are starting to swim around. I added Melafix, as I always do, after this all happened. I add it because I see a lot of bubbles on the fish after the WC & it looks to be bothering them.

I did WC on 2 other tanks, without incident.

I just offered live blackworms to the discus. All readily ate. No more clamped fins, coloring is back to normal, other then a few bubbles left on them. I think I lost more than 1 glass cats, out of 5, I only see 2 now.

Aw, very sorry for your losses...

Yeah, I've had that huge loach for a very long time. Been trying to catch him forever. Didn't expect to catch him this way.

BTW, there are other loaches & plecos in there. Some had come out into the open when all this was going on. They only do that if there's a problem.

I'm so sorry

2 discus still look stressed. All ate.

Something get stirred up during the change and release something toxic? Are you using sand or gravel in that tank? Did they change the stockings or add a chemical to them so they store better since last time you used them?

Aww I'm sorry to hear that, I wonder what happened.

Hmm you fed your clown loach to your Fahaka?

Sorry for your loss ..

Got me - no clue at all. Discus are picky - depending on the strain, but glass cats when comfortable are hardy as rocks. If they feel threatened, they are fragile, but that is only when new - a bit like Otos, if they settle in, they last a l_o_n_g time and through insults that take out ordinary fish. Loaches are iffy - they can be either side of the coin and I have not kept enough to spot the iffy ones.

shagy382 wrote:Hmm you fed your clown loach to your Fahaka?

Well, not really. I thought since that water was bothering the loch so much (it was trying tu jump out), he might be happier in other water, so i moved him into the tank I've been wanting to put him in for a while. After he died, the fahaka ate him.

Dad, It's 1/2 sm gravel, 1/2 course sand. Fully planted tank. Been set up for at least 10 years.

Were you using RO water? A lady I know recently lost quite a few fish after a water change, one much smaller than yours. Her neighbour across the street had large losses as well. Their best guess was something in the water, probably heavy metals.

I believe she had a similar outcome too. Some discus survived but she lost a lot of other fish, some plants, and her plecos produced many babies which survived

Same tap water I always have. Also did large WC in several other tanks. Even the senior Royal pleco wasn't disturbed.

I would check the ph and hardness of the water if you haven't already.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0-5
pH 7.4

Thats sad Im sorry to hear that. I just lost my old buddy too his name was "goldie" he was a full grown fancy tail goldfish about 8" long and had a friend the same size. I cant figure out why he died except that he was 10 years old. I did just remove a 12" pleco from his tank thou, and did not do a water change before he died. The water parimeters were within acceptable range. Soo I dont kno Im in Detroit water usually is fine.... very sorry for your loss i hate when we lose old friends human and animals alike