Tiger Barbs mimmicking Clown Loaches

[bunjiweb]

My sister has recently set up my old 4ft tank thats around 60 Gallons. She has tiger barbs, danios, a weather loach and 2 clown loach that have only just gone in.
Only soon after the clown loaches the tiger barbs started mimmicking the movements of the clown loach! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Ben

 

[kash]

my clown loach seems to follow my tiger barbs around and mimick them

 

[Joviella]

I inherited some fish ages ago....3 clown loaches and a solo tiger barb. The tiger barb thought he was a clown loach I think.He did everything the clown loaches did......was highly amusing to watch.

 

[tttnjfttt]

what exactly are they doing?

 

[Sky042]

Technically it's the other way around.
But it's pretty well known that clown loaches will school up with other fish that are smiliarly striped.
My two clowns stay right in the middle of the pack with my 6 tiger barbs. It's more like a school of 8 now.

I've been tempted to see if they'd school up with other sorts of fish stripped like that but just haven't bothered.

Though it's great amusement to watch my clowns run with the wolfpack(my tigerbarbs)

Taken from www.fishprofiles.com:

The Clown Loach has a strange habit of schooling with other fish of similar colours such as the Tiger Barb.

 

[bunjiweb]

"Technically" has nothing to do with it Sky, the Tiger barbs are mimmicking the clown loaches, not the other way round. The Barbs are picking at the gravel and staying low with the clown loaches. If it was the other way round the clown loaches would be swimming in mid-waters.

Nice to see other people have experienced similar behaviour though.

Ben

 

[tttnjfttt]

The Barbs are picking at the gravel and staying low with the clown loaches.

I think that is actually part of their normal behavior. I don't have a clown laoch, but I see my tiger barbs doing that quite a bit. They have done it even more since I changed my tank over to sand. They LOVE to play in that!

 

[bunjiweb]

Well they didnt do it AT ALL until the clown loaches went in there.

I know what their normal behaviour is I have seen enough tiger barbs around the place as they are so damn popular.

Ben

 

[abstract]

when i had 6 TB's they were 9/10 midwater, 1/10 lower...every group of fish is different, but they do have similar tendencies

 

[tttnjfttt]

thats wierd, mine are more like 7/10 lower area, 3/10 middle

 

[Sky042]

"Technically" has nothing to do with it Sky, the Tiger barbs are mimmicking the clown loaches, not the other way round. The Barbs are picking at the gravel and staying low with the clown loaches. If it was the other way round the clown loaches would be swimming in mid-waters.

Nice to see other people have experienced similar behaviour though.

Ben

Oh I mis read it then.
My clowns swim up in the top half of the tank with my tiger barbs. They almost never bother with sifting through gravel anymore.