Help Solving Difficult Situation

[Kaidonni]

I'm in a difficult situation, or that is what I'd like to call it. I'm considering re-homing a few fish - Clown Loaches. I'm not doing this lightly, either, as there is at least one alternative, but it would take a bit of time before it became fully viable (definitely some time this year, just not tomorrow or in the next few weeks).

You see, back in 2004/2005, I was a naive, ignorant little idiot, so for my 90 litre Juwel (one that started leaking last August, resulting in an emergency evacuation to a smaller fish tank, about 60 litres, in the nick of time, and the subsequent loss of a number of tetras in the first 24 hours) I considered Clown Loaches acceptable. After great failure in keeping them alive for whatever reason it was that saw them die, I eventually succeeded. First it was my little loach, who, even after 5+ years, is as tiny as the day I got him. Next were two friends I got him, one I term 'medium-sized' and one large one. By large, I don't mean the full length, far from it. Small would be about the size of a large tetra in this case, maybe an inch to two inches. Medium just above that, perhaps by half an inch or so. Large, about 4-5 inches (nowhere near the full size, and after 4+ years too).

I'm obsessive compulsive, so I worry over my fish. It seems to have latched on to my fish recently, anyway. And this, also. About time I started worrying more about my fish, anyway. I *could* theoretically get a larger fish tank, there's money coming into my savings now, but I might have to wait a few months. I definitely could make it to a 200-litre tank (what my father has to say I don't know, but I'd be setting it up anyway and all that). I don't want to be stuck with the new smaller fish tank because of bad memories. Or... I consider rehoming now that I am no longer an ignorant moron. Only problem with the latter one is stress and such, my loaches *never* having suffered itch, not even after the emergency evacuation (*TOUCH WOOD*). And my little Clown Loach, what do I do with him? I definitely don't want him marginalised in a tank full of loaches, all much larger than him. It wouldn't be fair to leave him on his own, either. Where would they go? Who would they go to? How could I prove they'd do a much better job? All that stress?

I know some people might want to kill me after reading all of this. Don't, just don't. I'm no longer ignorant, I'm trying to find a way to correct the situation. Isn't that better than the rest who refuse to consider they might be wrong? Heck, I'm coming out typing it up online for all and sundry to see. Besides, the idea about having a minimum size of tank for certain fish is based on potential size, right? I think I just about dodged a bullet there somehow (but, yes, there's nothing to say they won't grow any more in the future, so I feel it's best to deal with the situation now, while I don't have fish who are almost as long as the tank itself).

I am willing to consider all possible courses of action. I don't wish to be an idiot any longer. These fish have had a good life, I do water changes every single week (a 10-litre change just to be safe and certain). They absolutely love badgering me for food (I shouldn't have broken the every-other-day rule, they want lunch every day now, and they know how to get it, what with using their cuteness/innocence and making me feel guilty).

 

[fishyfeet]

I would keep them, why get rid of them? you said you want them to have a bigger tank and your heading in the right direction. You should'nt beat yourself up you know we all had the learn sometime, i had no one with any fishkeeping experience, so i went through the, tank, water, fish, dead fish syndrome until i learnt and ive killed loads of fish through adding medication after medication when they looked ill, they still died prob stoned out of their skulls poor things. So this is how we learn, and im getting quite good if i say so myself,i still learn new things every day about this hobby and most people that care about fish are special people the hard bit is absorbing all the info and understanding the science behind what we do, im getting there and so will you, so dont be silly - go and get a bigger tank.

 

[Kaidonni]

I would keep them, why get rid of them? you said you want them to have a bigger tank and your heading in the right direction. You should'nt beat yourself up you know we all had the learn sometime, i had no one with any fishkeeping experience, so i went through the, tank, water, fish, dead fish syndrome until i learnt and ive killed loads of fish through adding medication after medication when they looked ill, they still died prob stoned out of their skulls poor things. So this is how we learn, and im getting quite good if i say so myself,i still learn new things every day about this hobby and most people that care about fish are special people the hard bit is absorbing all the info and understanding the science behind what we do, im getting there and so will you, so dont be silly - go and get a bigger tank.

I'm not entirely certain I will be allowed a bigger tank. On top of that, the people around me might disapprove of all the messing around just to remove fish from the tank if I went with rehoming, and whether or not a complete stranger might need to come around. I don't want the loaches to suffer, and there is potential for them to suffer if I try the rehoming route. It's like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I removed the one rock from my fish tank so there was more room for my fish, and better planting space, not to be pinned under it. I want a larger tank, one that is easier to maintain (Fluvals require specific cleaning of all the filter components every single week, where my Juwel was a lot simpler being built into the tank directly). I'd saddle all the responsibility for setting it up and such, but it'd still be a lot of work. There's no chance I'll be leaving home anytime soon, not enough money (not nearly enough with the prices of houses around here), and my father keeps remarking,' When I leave home,' to me (which, again, is highly unlikely in the next few years). I didn't spend all that money on a larger tank before to be saddled with a smaller tank and the memory of dead fish and rehomed fish. I really would have loved to get the same size tank or larger last year, but too much water had to be removed before the trip to the fish store (to avoid any further leaking or a total break, and even though we could have theoretically waited a little bit of time to consider our options, the water levels were below the filter, so no filtration - hence emergency evacuation).

 

[Davo86]

Hi have you tried looking on ebay or AC for second hand fish tanks? tanks around 125L can be picked up quite easily and whilst not totally ideal long term should be big enough for just three small clowns and small enough to not cause too much of a family argument,

In this sized tank If you increase the % of water changes to nearer 30-50% per week that will also help with their growth, (even in a 60L they should grow some) but with moving into the bigger tank they should all have a slight growth spurt, even if it is just a small one


Not sure where you are but heres an example of whats on offer