internet not working-new fish- whitespot pandemic- new fish-

[qwertie]

last time i posted i had 5 black neons and two clown loaches. my internet broke down afterwards. i got three shrimps (dunno what type) a betta that is purple black green all colours and 2 fish that i dont know the name of (orange with black tail) oh and a black one that wasnt a molly- if i find a pic of em ill post it so you know what im talking about- the orange and black ones are really famous anyway.
one day i said ' i think theres something wrong with the tetras theyve got white spots all over them' 'no its just sand!' i thought yeah it probably is.
then they started acting wierd and the clowns got white spots too.
I think theyve got whitespot' 'no theyve not its sand' no its not!
one day i was finally trusted to diagnose the fishy disease. 'fine ill go pet shop!' I added the whitespot stuff into the water then went on holiday leaving my sister in charge of the fish.
the phone rang 'yeah all the fish are floating around not doing anything and one of those little ones is in that cave with the big orange and black ones, the one wth the big tails swimming around though. 'Erm i think there dead.' 'ok what should i do' 'what do you think take em out!' 'ok'
i returned to find my betta and some shrimps had survived the massacre.
then i went to the shop to buy some more friends for mr. betta i found him a miss. betta three polkadot loaches i double checked! four inches! lol and a schoal of normal neons (this shcoal actually schoals!) Mr. betta seems to be getting along fine with miss. betta although he flares at her sometimes. she always wants to swim with him! the polkadot loaches are like my clowns were- relaxin in the cave chasing the tetras- these didnt even have to dig the cave the clowns did it for them! they are lazy like loaches are supposed to be.
my questions are:
1. what exactly are polkadot loaches supposed to eat? They dont seem to want the wafers the clowns ate.
2. whats another small schoaling fish (like neons) that always schoals NB Small! lol (i have lots of room to spare)
3. any other suggestions about what to put in my 27gal (96l) tank? I have 3 Polkadot loaches, 5 neon tetras, 3 shrimps (ill post what type later) 1 male betta, 1 female betta.
Oh i got a bubble thing for my dual tank so whitespot is less likely to kill my fish again!!
Always get a bubble thing if you get a dual tank!! learn from my mistakes lol.
oh and another question are male bettas supposed to be alot bigger then females (not just fins, my males body is bigger than the whole female)
thanks

 

[qwertie]

i think they are yamoto/algae shrimps

 

[mr86mister]

by whitespot do you mean ick?

and i'm sorry to hear about the troubles you had and i hope all goes well now

 

[qwertie]

no it was whitespot. unless ick is the same thing lol ill go and check.

 

[qwertie]

yep ick/ihk is the same thing as whitespot

 

[greenmaji]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=32

 

[qwertie]

no ones answered my questions yet!! would moonlight gouramis be good?

 

[qwertie]

and perhaps some cories for the bottom layers? what type prefably small ones. maybe schoaling.

 

[TankGirl]

I am not clear on how long it has been since the sick fish have been out of the tank, but the ich will remain in there for a bit and the tank needs to be clear of this parasite before adding more fish. Aggressively treat for ich (I have done very well using the heat method) and I'd wait a week after treatment is over to add fish.

Polka dot loaches (Nemacheilus corica) eat frozen food, worms, etc.

 

[qwertie]

thanks tankgirl- I think the whitespot has gone as there has been no sign of it for 4 weeks. the person in the shop said that each cycle in tropical tank lasts 8 days so ill be ok. ill go mad at him if it comes back within the next month. ill get some bloodworms for my little polka dotted friends. they seem to be munching on the algae growing on the plants so i thought algae wafers would be the best bet. Ive never used live foods before. will be fun. how many times a day do i need to feed them bloodworms? same 2 times, and how much? and apparently the polka dots eat snails so maybe thats why theyve not touched there wafers... there were lots of snails.

 

[TankGirl]

They are primarily carnivores so anything live, freeze dried or frozen will work for them - snails are great! I'd feed twice a day but only what they will eat in a minute or two.

With this kind of diet in the tank you need to pay particular attention to your water quality and gravel vac'ing. This will also help prevent another outbreak of ich. Quarrantining all new fish is also a good idea.

 

[qwertie]

I doubt i will be allowed a QT tank. but if i am what size should i get? i wont be allowed anything too big. probably 5 gal max. well i suppose thats better than nothing really. could qt fish if i get say 2 types at a time.
So any ideas on small schoaling fish?
or any other fish.
for some reason i really want a moonlight gourami- the onli gourami i like.
But i definatley want anotrher schoal of something small. not black neons they are to big. anything smaller than black neons i could put in?