Nidge
Fish Herder
I finally have solved my Clown loach mystery at last. I have nine Clowns ranging in size from about three inches to about six.
About a year ago i noticed to my horror that one of my loaches was really skinny, Now i dont mean just a little thin i mean really skinny, Waffer thin. I was shocked and didnt know what was wrong with him and he seemed to be eating like others and showed no sign of disease.
A while past and he seemed to put on weight again and was doing great until he went missing and was nowhere to be found. I have a load of mopani and bog wood in my tank so it wouldn't be hard for a fish to lose itself for a while especially a Clown so i didnt think that much of it.
After a few weeks he reappeared and was really skinny again, The same as before, It was really strange because when he was in sight he was really active and i could always spot him fairly quick if i wanted but when he was missing it was like he just vanished.
Each time he reappeared he would put on weight again only to lose it again when he disappeared. During this time all the other Clowns were getting fatter and bigger.
Last week after he hadn't been seen for about a week i decided to get to the bottom of the mystery. I took everything out of the tank one by one waiting to find him hiding under a piece of wood but no, He was still nowhere to be found!
Eventually i found him under the filter in the tank, I have a Juwel tank and they have a built in filter but it has a gap under the filter, In my tank there is only a tiny gap between the gravel and the filter. The problem was that this Clown had a liking to this gap and obviously went in and out of there often but when i did my tank mantainance and vacuumed the gravel i trapped him in there as i moved the gravel around.
When i found him last week he was trapped and i think this is what happened to him over the past year, He was basicly starving under the filter waiting for me to move the gravel again so he could get out.
Lesson learned.
About a year ago i noticed to my horror that one of my loaches was really skinny, Now i dont mean just a little thin i mean really skinny, Waffer thin. I was shocked and didnt know what was wrong with him and he seemed to be eating like others and showed no sign of disease.
A while past and he seemed to put on weight again and was doing great until he went missing and was nowhere to be found. I have a load of mopani and bog wood in my tank so it wouldn't be hard for a fish to lose itself for a while especially a Clown so i didnt think that much of it.
After a few weeks he reappeared and was really skinny again, The same as before, It was really strange because when he was in sight he was really active and i could always spot him fairly quick if i wanted but when he was missing it was like he just vanished.
Each time he reappeared he would put on weight again only to lose it again when he disappeared. During this time all the other Clowns were getting fatter and bigger.
Last week after he hadn't been seen for about a week i decided to get to the bottom of the mystery. I took everything out of the tank one by one waiting to find him hiding under a piece of wood but no, He was still nowhere to be found!
Eventually i found him under the filter in the tank, I have a Juwel tank and they have a built in filter but it has a gap under the filter, In my tank there is only a tiny gap between the gravel and the filter. The problem was that this Clown had a liking to this gap and obviously went in and out of there often but when i did my tank mantainance and vacuumed the gravel i trapped him in there as i moved the gravel around.
When i found him last week he was trapped and i think this is what happened to him over the past year, He was basicly starving under the filter waiting for me to move the gravel again so he could get out.
Lesson learned.
the same thing's happened to me ! I have exactly the same filter with the inch or two gap underneath and once - 2 days after a tank maintenance - I saw a fish completely trapped underneath and in the gravel ! 
