Loaches Online Forum

Hey everyone, just got a few questions in regards to clown loaches

1. I have at the moment 3 hidey holes, one is a largeish fake log, a second is a medium sized fake rock with 2 small entrances and the 3rd a very large rock formation. Would i be better off ditching the large rock formation and getting a bunch of small fake logs or fake rocks and create several more small hidey holes? The rocks i have are all a bit too big to make anything small.

2. Feeding the loaches....or at least trying to, they won't eat anything and have barely eating since i got them (2 four days ago, and 4 more yesterday). I've tried bloodworm, it floats on the top of water, and as it defrosts, bloodworm go everywhere, and the loaches will grab a small bit here and there, but what seems like nowhere near enough. I've tried some vege flakes and that mostly floats and they don't notice it, and bits that do fall, they'll nibble at and then ignore it. This morning i tried a slice of cucumber, microwaved for seconds, and then weighed down with a bit of fishing string attached to a small piece of slate, it's been there for about 3 hours and noone has even noticed it, let alone touched it. I just came back from the fish shop with some Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers, 2 of the loaches saw em had a nibble on one of them and then went away sifting through the gravel. Will they eat when they are ready? or is something else goin on? Also, how long is it safe to keep vegetables in there? and whats the best way to take the sinking pallets out, a net or syphon it out?


Thanks,

Camo

Just took some photo's so you can see what i'm talking about, the tank is 30" long and holds 80L/20gallon

Click to make big

You could try asking the lfs what they fed and how. If they were eating there...

The algae wafers you can vac up when they are softened. The cucumber is better on the substrate. They are new in the tank, and are probably still getting comfortable. There may be stuff in there they are nibbling on. How long has it been set up?

As for the decor, I think there's enough places for them to hide and seek. Should be fine I'd think.

Hi Camo - welcome to Loaches Online.

New additions can take quite a bit of time to settle in properly before they begin feeding. With regards to the feeding of the frozen bloodworm, make sure you take a cupful of water out of the aquarium and defrost the cube of bloodworm in this before adding it to the tank - you don't want your fish ingesting any fragments of ice. Bloodworm is a very rich food and should be used sparingly IMO. You can try other frozen foods such as brineshrimp, daphnia and white mosquito larvae, as they usually appreciate all of these. It would be worth adding the food just after lights out, as these new loaches (of which prefer dim lighting) may well feel more comfortable in venturing out for food in the darkness. Most quality brands of sinking catfish pellets are usually snapped up pretty quickly, many people on this board having a great deal of success with Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets.

Be very careful with any 'fake log' type ornaments, as loaches like to try and wedge themselves into small openings. There have been horror stories of them becoming stuck, so if you think any of the holes are a bit on the small side, either replace with natural bogwood (from the aquatics store) or remove the ornaments and silicon up any problem holes, allowing to cure properly, before placing back in the tank.

Finally, if you haven't already done so, have a read through our profile of the Clown Loach to give you some more pointers: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/cl ... cracanthus The tank that they are currently in is not going to be adequate for them for very long, I'm afraid.

Emma

They're a lot more active once i turn the moon/blue light on, they're slowly starting to eat the pellets now as well. and i think i caught one of them sifting through the plants, not sure if he was trying to rip the plant apart, or if he was catching any small snails on the leaves.

Also, what kind of plants are recommended to go with loaches? I heard floating plants are good as they cover up alot of the light making it a bit dimmer in the tank, and atm i think that'd be a good thing as my light seems very bright