My loach isnt eating plz help

[loachfan69]

I just recently bought my loach about a week ago hes black and orange stripped i am feeding him SERA Vipachips aliment compose, for fish in the lower water zones says its for all algae grazing fish and bottom feeders, if the food is the problem can anyone tell me one he will enjoy eating?

[shari2]

hi loachfan69, and welcome to lol.

it sounds like you may have a clown loach? You may want to have a read through this article:
http://www.loaches.com/articles/an-intr ... ping-botia

and check out the other articles on clowns, as well as the species index entry for Chromobotia macracanthus

[mistergreen]

Your clown should eat that... It might be sick?
Is its stomach flat or sunken?

[loachfan69]

thanks for the site link it i learned alot from it, he/she is a clown loach, and its stomach is generally flat but dips down a little bit infront of his side fins towards his head. But nothing extreme

thanks for the help

[Blue]

He sounds skinny. Can you provide more details of your tank please? I would treat him with Levamisole hydrochloride if I were you.
http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/l ... chloride-1

[loachfan69]

lol sorry, I have a 29 gallon tank with 4 tetrsa the clown loach and a pleco

[Blue]

lol sorry, I have a 29 gallon tank with 4 tetrsa the clown loach and a pleco

He'll need more companions and a large tank.

[loachfan69]

ok, i am getting a 75 gallon tank give or take a few gallons in a few months, would he be happpier with another clown loach while he is in the 29 gallon tank? and would you still treat him with Levamisole hydrochloride ?


thanks for the help from everyone who posted i appreciate it alot.

[shari2]

If he's not eating and getting progressively thinner, a friend might help make him feel secure and encourage him to eat. If he's already sick and you get another one, treat them both.

You can treat the 29 all together, it shouldn't harm the other fish. However, don't just treat for no particular reason.

Couple of questions:
How long has the tank been set up?
What's your maintenance schedule? (how often/how much water changes)
How often are you feeding and how much?
What's the pH, nitrate, nitrite, temp of the tank?
What type of pleco? The common variety grow HUGE and are massive waste producers.

To get him to eat there's one thing that most clowns cannot resist - bloodworms.
Frozen bloodworms are great. I'd avoid live worms such as tubifex since they are often cultured in a foul environment and can bring in all kinds of nasties to your tank.

[loachfan69]

Thanks Shari2, to answer your questions my tank has been set up for about 3 months, and i replace 1/4 of the water every other week, I get my water tested at the fish store so im not sure about the pH and nitrate etc.., I tested my water at the store and they told me it was in good condition and i could add two more fish. The pleco was just labled as pleco at the store , I was told it would only grow to 5 or 6 inches long. I am definately getting some frozen blood worms just to make sure he will eat something. Would it be normal for him to ignore the flake like food i feed him and than come back to it later and eat? or should he be going for it as soon as he sees it?

[shari2]

Clowns are usually greedy pigs and go straight for the food as soon as it hits the water - or even as soon as they see you and know it's coming.

He sounds 'unhappy', if not like he's feeling bad. Maybe he just doesn't like the food, but if he doesn't take any interest in the bloodworms (especially after you get him a buddy) I'd suspect he's not feeling well.

Something you should be aware of is that it is often wise to double check information you receive at a fish store. Many of them are less well-informed than they should be. Some of them give out horrendous 'advice'.

When you get your water tested next time, write down the values they tell you. If they give you a blanket, 'oh, your water's fine' comment a red flag should go up and you should ask them for the values that make them say so.

Three months is a newly cycled tank. I'd want to know if your tests show ANY nitrites or ammonia before adding any more fish. Ammonia and NitrItes should be ZERO.

[loachfan69]

OK, thanks alot, will do. He/She does seem gloomy he hovers around on the bottom he is only active when another fish startles him but hopefully he is only in need of a friend. I should be going to the store to get him a buddy sometime this week, when i do ill get my water tested again and make sure the amonia and nitrates are at zero along with picking up some bloodworms.

[bslindgren]

Welcome to LOL.

I made the same error when I got back into fish keeping a few years back. I bought one clown loach (the one in my avatar picture) and it would not eat. I switched to frozen brine shrimp and that did the trick - he/she got nice and plump very quickly and once it was used to the feeding routine it would eat flakes as well.

Get some company though. If you aren't upgrading to a bigger tank than 75 gal you might even consider trading this one in for a group of smaller loaches - there are lots of wonderful candidates. I had mine alone for a long time, and now that I have added more clowns, the large one is somewhat neurotic and not interacting with the new ones very much (although they are considerably smaller, so things might improve). They are much more interesting as a school of at least 4, and preferably 6 or more, and we should really try to give them company since we are confining them to pretty minimal space.

Good luck with your clown - I hope it comes around!