Loaches Online Forum

I have two large 7 inch Clown loaches which are absolutely gorgeous. I have to confess that I am not an expert on Clown loaches, my field is Oscars. Today I observed my loaches acting quite strange, behaviour that I have not seen before. They were almost lip locking, a little like what Oscars do. They are also going side by side and shaking their bodies. I just had another look and they are still doing it, they have been doing this for either half an hour, probably longer. . I have no idea what sex they are. I think they must have been together all their lives because I bought them as a pair and they are exactly the same size. It didn't look like the fighting, normally they are at each other's side all the time. I know that there isn't much known about breeding in captivity but that I didn't know any different, I would say this was some kind of breeding ritual, that's what it looks like anyway. Just wondered if anybody else has noticed this with their loaches?

They might be vying for superiority. In general you will see less aggression with clowns if you have a larger group. Get some more!

Actually, I've got four in all, two of them are only around 3 inches. It doesn't look like aggression, I never seem doing this before, normally they are very placid and huddle together

Lip locking is generally indicative of two fish vying for superiority. Within your group, one will be the "Alpha" loach. It is perfectly normal for a group to live quietly and amicably for ages and then all sorts of agression happen for a period until they re-establish the pecking order.

When they are side by side, do they have their fins spread very wide and their bodies look kind of "stiff"? This again is normal agressive display.

Martin.

Here's pics of a couple of my larger clowns lip-locking during an argument: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... ht=stripes

Emma

Whatever their argument was over its okay now and they are back to their old ways.

Here is a picture I took a few months ago

You all take such wonderful pictures. Are you using regualar cameras?

I'm using a six year old Digital camera. It is very much out of date but it works really well.

And mine's a Nikon Coolpix 8700. But any fish photographer will tell you, you end up deleting far more than you keep!

Emma

Trying to capture a good photo of a fish when it is moving is very difficult, nine times out 10, they are blurred. I think I need to upgrade my camera to one that has a facility to capture moving images successfully

Oscarfishlover, you could add more darkened/shaded area's for your Clowns to feel less intimidated in open waters and more comfortable with snug wood to hide under.

Graeme Robson wrote:Oscarfishlover, you could add more darkened/shaded area's for your Clowns to feel less intimidated in open waters and more comfortable with snug wood to hide under.

I have got quite a lot of bog & mopani wood that provides plenty of hiding places. I have also got a fake root that the clown loach seem to like, they spend all their time underneath there anyway. The two small loaches have found a way into the hollow part at the top and they hide in there.

This is the first time I've seen them acting like this. They're not doing it any more, they are just sitting next to each other like they normally do.

Lip locking is generally indicative of two fish vying for superiority.

In the case of Angelfish, I'd have to disagree with you on this one, Martin. Lip locking is pretty much exclusively a pre-breeding ritual.
That's not to say that it is so with clowns, but it is certainly not solely an aggressive behavior in all fish.

This is also a common practice with Barbs. I often see the male Puntius tambraparniei's and Puntius filamentosus's locking lips in vying for superiority.

Lip locking can be both a sign of aggression and a pre-breeding ritual in Oscars.