Loaches Online Forum

I decided that it is so funny watching the loaches eat the squash and cucumber on this food clip that I would put shrimp on it. The loaches have been very bold lately. The big loach decided that this piece of shrimp was all his/hers.
Now it seems the bigger loaches are staying out a bit more and are displaying some type of courtships out in the open. I don't know exactly what it is but they sit side by side and do a bit of upside down crawling up the bottom of the loach hotel. they will then both lay on their sides next to eachother. after that one will swim up above the other and after that they will switch places. it doesn't look like shadowing.





here are some shots of the big loach and a few others. they are being very bold. i can put the camera right up to within an inch of the big loach without startling him/her now.
if i move my fingers around i can even get the big loach to dance up and down now. its getting better and better!



big loach kicking up sand



It's mine!


running to the chickin fish hole. thats what i call it bc the big loach is the biggest but happens to be the biggest chickin!(yes i mispelled it on purpose)

beautifull looking fish!

Cool video LO! And I like the look of this tank SOOO much better now.

how big is that big clown..?nice pics!

thanks everyone. the biggest loach is roughly 5"-5.5" now. the two medium sized ones are 3-4" each. I am moving in july and plan to upgrade to a larger tank. i am probably going to keep a similar layout but upgrade to a 4-6" pvc pipe instead of the 3" pvc i have now. the big loach is getting so big that he/she is about to outgrow his favorite places.

my only debate is wether to change to black larger paticle size sand or keep what i have. the smaller sand does get pushed around quite a bit and it does get in the filters. havn't had any real problems yet but lets hope it stays that way. if i have enough room i may keep this tank for a yo yo tank. i really want botia striata but i havn't seen any around this area.

i can now officially say that i can get all my loaches to do the 'loachy dance' at the same time. they only do it in the morning as a group but if i start the motion i get a very entertaining dance. they don't keep it as tight as they used to and it eventually ends up migrating throughout the entire tank. but it is entertaining to say the least.

i went out of town this past weekend and found the water very cloudy when i came back. i have done two water changes in two days. one 50% and one 25% with no results. there are no dead fish and the waste buildup is minimal. its strange the water became cloudy when the loaches were fed less. they seem normal and as active as ever. i tried to minimize feeding by about half for the last two days but no results. the last time the water was this cloudy was when i had the comet. the comet would secrete ammonia and cloud up the tank. i will most likely give them a day break tommorow to see if this changes. i may just need to clean out the aquaclear with some removed tank water. i do turn the sand a bit at a time each water change in case of waste buildup below the substrate. i saw a few pockets of darkness in the sand but i don't turn up more than a few inches at a time. i read that if you do too much you can kill the fish. i read and saw examples of this on a few discovery channel specials about methane bubbles and the burmuda triangle.

Looking Great, LO!!!

Your loaches sure look healthy.

here is another video on youtube but its a bit dark. you may have to turn your brightness up. its 7am in the bluemoon light. the loaches are playing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrCNgjDahHw

"its strange the water became cloudy when the loaches were fed less."

I think that's just bacteria bloom .. but that is weird because bacteria bloom that creates cloudy water only happens during a new or mini cycle.

How long have you had these loaches to the point that they're not shy of you anymore?
It's cool that you get them to follow your finger & do a loach dance.

the water is clearing up about 50% now. I am doing another water change and cleaning the filter. I have had the larger one for almost 3 yrs. the two smaller ones now for 2 yrs and the 4 smallest for around 3 months. initially for a year the big loach was very friendly but once the loaches were transfered to a new tank they stayed in the loach motel for about 2 weeks. it has taken them a few months to get back to their normal selves like they are acting now. all of the 4 larger loaches would dance and play and were very friendly. since the tank change. they were a bit more shy. now they are almost demanding like they were before with food. every morning at 7am i walk in the room and they all start dancing and trying to get my attention. the big loach will sit under the loach motel and look right at me waiting for food. if i move my fingers around the loach will come closer and start swimming upwards a bit. he is still a bit skiddish and will swim off with to fast of movement. however, in the mornings and sunset time in the evenings all the loaches will be braver as if they have nothing to fear. i really think it has to do with the lighting. when its early evening or early morning, that is their awake time. they seem to be most playful at dusk and dawn. when the light is brighter or on, they seem to hide a bit more and will runaway more. i think bc i look much larger with all the lights on. lol...

yeah my friend fed them. he said he only fed them once. but he may have overfed them. i don't exactly know bc i went out of town. if he fed them once. i am assuming that means they were fed less. i usually feed them 2-3 times daily.

I cleaned the filter media today. I didn't clean any of the media material i simply rinsed the aquaclear plastic parts clean. i think starting today the loaches will have a 2 day food break. i know how mad they will be in the morning but i need to clear up this cloudiness. it is most likely bacterial bloom. it was just strange bc it happend in two days. i thought he fed them less than normal so i assumed that the water clouded when the loaches were fed less.the filter is cleaned with water taken out during the water change. i dont' see why the tank woudl re cycle. it hasn't been rinsed since last week mid week. unless my friend fed the fish too much. that is the only explanation.

three water changes and a one day break from food cleared the water perfectly!

LoachOrgy wrote:three water changes and a one day break from food cleared the water perfectly!

Great news!!! Having been plagued with cloudy water myself---I know how wonderful it is to have it clear again.