My BN keep dying

[shewolf]

Hi
I bought 7 BN as babies and put them in my 3 foot tank but when they got bigger as i had lost my common plec he was about 5 years old i think and 12 inches long i decided to put 2 BN in the 5 foot tank to replace him but a few weeks later i couldnot find them so presumed they had died and been eaten as i have 7 large angels and 4 clown loach in there so waited a while untill they were bigger and tried again only to find it had happened again this time i waited untill the reamaining 3 were fully grown and put a male in he was fine for 3 weeks noticed him eating ect before i went to bed one night next day he was dead i have lot's of bog wood in the big tank and i don't overfeed i have a smaller tank which has endelers in and the only 2 BN that i have left they seem to be ok in that tank so i am leaving them in there untill i can find out why they are dieing in the big tank the water is the same in both the only thing differant is i have no bog wood at all in the small tank, and it is all bog wood in the big tank the PH is 6 in both tanks i clean them out usually at the same time with water that is stored in bins to let the chloreine evaporate the ph is 7.6 in the bins can anyone help me please.

 

[Lornek8]

What are you feeding them?
How often are you doing water changes?

 

[D-MAC]

One thing springs to mind (clown loaches) I find they will out compete the plecos when it comes to food...Also having 7 lrg angels will take a lions share also...So maybe the plecos were not getting as much food as they required...A ph of 6 is quite low as you are not giving yourself much of a cushion if it was to suddenly drop...Another cause is not cleaning the substrate properly and often...Most water authorities do not use Chlorine anymore but use chloromine which does not dissipate out of the water by standing overnight...You might need to look into what your supply is treated with.

 

[AndyEllard]

One thing springs to mind (clown loaches) I find they will out compete the plecos when it comes to food...Also having 7 lrg angels will take a lions share also...So maybe the plecos were not getting as much food as they required...A ph of 6 is quite low as you are not giving yourself much of a cushion if it was to suddenly drop...Another cause is not cleaning the substrate properly and often...Most water authorities do not use Chlorine anymore but use chloromine which does not dissipate out of the water by standing overnight...You might need to look into what your supply is treated with.

:thumbup:

Yes it could be Chloromine that is in your water instead of Chlorine, as I lost a few fish once when I started to store the water in 25 ltr drums for 2 days and not using de-chlorinator. :wb: :wb:

 

[shewolf]

Hi thanks for the replys i don't think it is the water as it stands more than a day it is usually standing a week it is used in both tanks and they were fine in the smaller tank as are the 2 that are left i must admit that i am not the best at regular water changes and cleaning but i do both tanks at the same time and there are more fish in the smaller tank but the BN still seem ok in there i thought it may be the bog wood as i only started having trouble when i put more bog wood in that is when i lost my common plec, yes maybe it is the loaches, in which case if it is what fish would be best in there to eat the algie.

 

[Jimmy]

One thing springs to mind (clown loaches) I find they will out compete the plecos when it comes to food...Also having 7 lrg angels will take a lions share also...So maybe the plecos were not getting as much food as they required...A ph of 6 is quite low as you are not giving yourself much of a cushion if it was to suddenly drop...Another cause is not cleaning the substrate properly and often...Most water authorities do not use Chlorine anymore but use chloromine which does not dissipate out of the water by standing overnight...You might need to look into what your supply is treated with.

Excellnt advice from D-MAC, :thumbup:the clown loaches were the first possible cause I thought of when reading your post.

 

[shewolf]

Thanks
If it is the loaches is it only that they are taking all the food or are they attaking my BN as well does that mean i wont be able to put any plecs in at all????

 

[Steve C]

Are you actually giving the BNs their own food? ie lots of fresh veg!

 

[D-MAC]

Thanks
If it is the loaches is it only that they are taking all the food or are they attaking my BN as well does that mean i wont be able to put any plecs in at all????

I wouldn't say they will be attacking the plecos but more a case of driving them away.
With that said Its best to rule out all other possibilities first before tagging them culprit.
Give the gravel a good thorough clean, moving all rocks and wood so you can clean all the dead spots underneath.
Dirty dead spots are a big killer of bottom dwelling fish due to the gasses that are given off by anaerobic bacteria that lives in these areas of the tank..I find that low ph in aquariums usually coincide with a lot of detritus build up, and with your ph being 6 leads me to think along these lines.

 

[shewolf]

Hi Derek,
I have done 2 large water changes in the last week or so and i usually do move things to clean but i have taken a lot more of the logs out to give it a good clean today as per your advice i have done another PH test today and it is now 6.4 i feed them on aquarian flake and tetra variety wafers plus dried blood worm and fresh cucumberis there anything else i can do as i would like to get some plecs in there to get rid of some of the algie since i lost my common plec it is now getting over run with the stuff

 

[toddnbecka]

May be a water chemistry issue. IME BN prefer hard/alkaline over soft/acidic water conditions. Particularly if they're being moved into softer water that they're accustomed to, that can cause osmotic shock. Moving fish into harder water is usually a safe bet.

 

[D-MAC]

Hi Derek,
I have done 2 large water changes in the last week or so and i usually do move things to clean but i have taken a lot more of the logs out to give it a good clean today as per your advice i have done another PH test today and it is now 6.4 i feed them on aquarian flake and tetra variety wafers plus dried blood worm and fresh cucumberis there anything else i can do as i would like to get some plecs in there to get rid of some of the algie since i lost my common plec it is now getting over run with the stuff

I would try putting a rusty pleco L310 in the 5 footer to keep the tank clean...Nothing come close to it for hard graft...Keep up with the water changes as large fish do create a lot of waste, this will ensure that the nitrates are kept to a minimum, instead of being an algae food source.