New member and a couple of questions :)

[Stuarty P]

Hi folks,

I have started keeping fish again I set up a small 65l tank for my daughter 3 months ago and I am hooked more than her we have six clown loaches in the tank they are small at the moment and absolutely hilarious to watch I know I know the tank is too small I only intended of keeping danios in it and a couple of Cory's but I got a bit carried away, I have a rio 400 on order and hope to get this up and running fully cycled etc for the new year and get the fish re homed, can anyone recommend a good external filter for the tank as 450l is going to need a fair beast? I am away from home just now and my wife has said that one of the smallest loaches has left the group who somehow manage to all fit under a piece of mopani wood together and sleep! It has started lying on its side under the air bar at the back of the tank? She says it's still really nicely coloured and is swimming and eating fine and swimming with the rest of them in the evening just during the day instead of going under the wood with the others it sits by itself could it be getting bullied by one of the slightly larger clowns?

Sorry for the long post il be sure to have a good read through the forum and hopefully gain a lot of info about these fantastic fish

Thanks,

Stuart.

[The Angry Loach]

Clown loaches do tend to get a little rough with one another and very often the smallest ones are the lowest in the line. Sleeping on their sides, however is pretty normal. They like to get into nooks and crannies, too. Mine crawl inside of tank ornaments and refuse to come out. I've got a group of seven and my very smallest tends to get shown off every now and again. She still gets to eat and she still gets with the rest of the group when she can. Clown loaches act a bit like a lion's pride. There's one fish in the lead and the smaller guys have to follow by the largest fish's lead. The smaller they are, the less they're liked and often less food they get. Mostly, your largest loaches are female. They usually run the lot of them. Your little one might be a male and that would explain why the ladies keep him at bay. When they get into the larger tank with more plants and hidey-holes, you'll probably see the little one more. The more hiding places, the more you see them. Makes them more comfortable. You could try smaller meals more often. That keeps your loaches out and about as well. Rather than gorging themselves on one large meal, it makes them come out and toss the whole tank looking for scraps. This doesn't mean they're starving either. They're just little piggies. That should get the whole group back together. Until you get the big tank, try to re-arrange some of the plants and ornaments as well. That tends to help. Mine prefer their new big piece of drift wood which keeps them cozy and completely visible while they're under it since it's three to four inches off the floor of the tank in some places. I know this is a HUGE block of text and I do apologize for that, but I do hope any of this information was helpful.

[Stuarty P]

Thanks for the reply the more info the better the wife says that the little loach is now back in the gang so we will see how it goes can't wait to get them moved into the big tank just not sure how to arrange it yet. Will be natural wood and live plants with a sand bottom and possibly a 3d background of some sort any recommendations?

[The Angry Loach]

I keep it clear, but when I do backgrounds I look for the most natural thing I can find and the closest match to my tank set up. The last thing you want in a lovely tank is some background with screaming hot colors blinding the fish. Happy tanking to you my friend, best of luck on raising the most ornery fish on earth.

[Stuarty P]

Yeah I'm not into all this fancy colours it will be live plants each side and maybe some kind of tree root off centre slightly with the slate effect 3d background? I have just returned home after two weeks and my two newest loaches that I purchased about 3 weeks ago look really skinny there's no rapid gill movement and they seem to be swimming and eating ok I'm wondering if they are not getting enough food as they are the smallest two of the pack? Hope they don't both have skinny disease?

Cheers,

Stuart.