Sad Clown Loach?

CrystalClear16 · Dec 5, 2009

(Sorry if this this the wrong section)

A few months ago I got a couple of clown loaches which were active and looked very happy. Unfortunatly one of them was killed - I think he burrowed under some rock and my large pleco moved it on top of him

. I have since rearranged the rocks and given away my pleco.

After his friend died, the first clown would hide and not be very active, which I put down to lonliness. I didn't have time to get to the LFS for a couple of weeks, but as soon as I did I picked up two new clown loaches to keep him company as I know they should not be kept alone. At first he seemed pleased to have some new friends, but he has now gone back to hiding most of the time and only coming out for an hour or so in the evening.

I am worried since before he was much more active, and the two new clowns are always out playing. Plus when he appears his colouring is washed out and gray, but he darkends up once he has been out for 10mins or so.

I don't think he is sick because when he is out his movements are normal. There also don't appear to be any physical symptoms (aside from being grayish sometimes). I also don't have any large or predatory fish to scare him, my tank consists of guppies, neons and bamboo fan shrimp.

I have tested the water and feed them normal flake food. I always get them some live food (daphnia or bloodworm) when I visit the LFS (which admittedly, is usually only about once a month).

Is he still feeling lonely? Or is it just his personality to hide away? Should I be feeding him differently? Any advice would be appreciated.

Betta5 · Dec 5, 2009

I think maybe he has just settled in. IME clown loaches love to hide. So the "active" behaviour your saw may have been him looking around, getting used to the tank, checking out hiding places and now he has found one that he likes. They LOVE bloodworm which you can buy frozen in blocks which is really handy if you dont take regular trips to your LFS.

Just keep an eye on them.

CrystalClear16 · Dec 5, 2009

Betta5 said:
I think maybe he has just settled in. IME clown loaches love to hide. So the "active" behaviour your saw may have been him looking around, getting used to the tank, checking out hiding places and now he has found one that he likes. They LOVE bloodworm which you can buy frozen in blocks which is really handy if you dont take regular trips to your LFS.

Just keep an eye on them.

Thanks for your input, I do have some frozen bloodworm blocks actually but usually feed it to them as a treat once I have given the tank a clean. Should I be feeding it to them more often?

On that note, I have read somewhere that clowns should be feed 4-5 times a day which seems a LOT (plus I can't exaclty come home from work during the day to feed them!). At the moment I feed them all in the evening, is this often enough?

arobinson1984 · Dec 5, 2009

What size is the tank?

Andy

CrystalClear16 · Dec 5, 2009

The clown I am talking about is about 2 inches and the two new ones are about an 1 1/2 inch, so they are still very young. The tank is 54L. I know that the clowns will get much larger and need a bigger tank but was planning to get a new one anyway in the next year. The tank has lots of hiding places for them and a decent current.

arobinson1984 · Dec 5, 2009

They really should be kept in groups of 4+ as they are a very sociable fish with their own kind, although I wouldnt add anymore to that tank as you know its too small.

When you get a larger tank, then add some more. Adult clown loaches need a 400L tank, just so you know :good: