Loaches Online Forum

Hi everyone, my first post here !

2 weeks ago I was fortunate enough to pick up four 6-7" clown loaches at a very reasonable price.
They have gone in my 150G with a couple of small cichlids and a few swordtails and rainbowfish (so nothing to threaten them).

The issue is that I am hardly getting to see them - not like clowns I have had in the past.

I know 4 is not the ideal number but in a 150G I didn't really think a larger shoal of clowns was appropriate. Would adding a few more really make a huge difference ?

They come out only right at the end of the evening and into the night. When they do come out they seem happy, not nervous and shoal very well. I love watching them on those few occasions that I see them.

In the tank I have a very large, complex piece of bogwood, which they bury themselves in so that I cannot see them at all.

So .... obviously I would like to see them more, and during more of the daylight hours especially. Do I just need to be patient and let them settle in more, or will maybe removing the bogwood, and replacing it with something rather less easy to hide in help to encourage them out ?

The lighting is very subdued already, so can't really lessen that.

Because of their current nocturnal habits I feed mainly in the late evening. Should I perhaps change the feeding pattern so that food is only available in the day ?

Any advise would be gratefully received.

As for me I feed my clowns before I go to sleep. I drop a couple of broken algae wafers and a small handful of sinking carnivores. I step back and literally watch a feeding frenzy appear right before my eyes. Sometimes the clicking is soo loud it keeps me awake!

You might start seeing more of them as they grow more accustomed to their new surroundings. Changing the feeding pattern might help. My dojos feed whenever I put food into the tank. Just be careful not to overfeed ...

-- Dojosmama

Don't worry too much as everything will be OK (I know you can't help but worry).

Mine disappeared into a log and I didn't see them at all for a full two weeks and then only because in desperation I tipped them out of their hiding place (I felt bad about that) !!

I was sure they were dead but when I lifted up the log to see they were packed in there like sardines.

Eventually they started to come out in twilight.

I fed the aquarium in daytime only and they soon learned to come out.

They then learned to see me, come out and swim up and down the aquarium and from side to side in a long line and I would feed them after watching this for a minute or two.

16 years later and they are now out all the time in the day and I feed them a bit every time I come in the living room (without overfeeding, much!).

Thanks all for the replies. Seem slike I just need to be patient.

I was actually encouraged last night as I saw significantly more of them than before during the evening. It is pretty awesome watching them graze around the tank.

I would agree. They need time to settle in. Also you may need more "dither" fish. With loaches they are the "all clear" fish. If loaches see the other fish swimming around they know the coast is clear and come out more. I have rainbows and Giant Danios. My large loaches usually stay hidden during the day. However, my young small loaches are out and cruising the tank. If you had a tank of small loaches that may explain why they were out more than the new big guys you picked up.