Clown loaches dieing

[1152 Flying Fish]

I found cheap clown loaches so i bought four. Over the past 4 days two have died for unknowon reasons. the one with ich is still living and there is one more w/a white dot on the top of its head. how do i cure the water and/or the fish? I checked the waterand the amonia is at .25 . I read at loches.com that the water needs to be soft, what does that mean? the temprture is at about 79-80 F. They are dieing rapidly and i need help fast. Thanke you so much

 

[Pointy_kitty]

first of all you don't want ANY ammonia in there so i would do a 30% water change and possibly get some ammonia remover (like zeo-carb instead of regular carbon in your filter) or you can get VERY straight forward tablets that say "ammonia remover" on the box
secondly, did you check nitrates? nitrates are bad! if you don't have a kit, then bring in a water sample to your local fish store and ask them to check EVERYTHING in your water
thirdly you could probably turn the temperature down a notch as it is pretty warm

as for the hardness, you can read this:
http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hardness.htm

lastly, the "white spots" or "ick" are VERY common in loaches and unfortunately harder to cure then most other fish
i beleive i have had the most luck in the worst cases with "jungle fizz tablets" for ich, they can be found the cheapest at your local walmart and i have had 100% success rate with even the worst cases.
i beleive they are safe for all fish and loaches aswell as snails/crustaceans
but ALWAYS read the back and sides of the package
they will tell you in plain engish whether or not they can be used on your loaches
if i were you i would get the jungle fizz tablets and get my water checked at my local fish store for sure!
good luck!