Added some new large Clowns - they are quite pale in colour!

[ey]

Hi loach lovers,

I added 4 new clown loaches to my tank today. They were quite large (length and girth wise, 15cm long and 4cm high) and were very plump. The 80gal tank is established and has the following other fish:

- Corys
- 6 other Clowns
- Rummies
- Cardinals

I followed all the normal procedures of adjusting the bag (changing water, monitoring water temperature and pH consistency etc) when putting the new clowns in.

I know new clown loaches normally take some time to adapt to their new environment, my question is if this will impact their colouring?

Ever since I added them, a day ago, they have been very pale in comparison to when I got them. Instead of the orange/yellow colour, they are very light yellow.

They are swimming around fine and are already eating and don't look stressed one bit. So does it take a while for the colour to change or is there a case of clown loaches having different colouring?

Thanks!

[Doc]

Clown Loach are notorious for changing colours , hues and intensity in differing circumstances and for different reasons. There are regional variations in colour and markings as well. Give them time and all should be well.
If you haven't already read it try this.
http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-l ... variations

[chefkeith]

Moving to a new environment is very stressful to clown loaches. Adding them directly to a community tank without quarantining them 1st can be very disasterous. Keep a very close eye on them. Be ready for an ich outbreak.

[ey]

Clown Loach are notorious for changing colours , hues and intensity in differing circumstances and for different reasons. There are regional variations in colour and markings as well. Give them time and all should be well.
If you haven't already read it try this.
http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-l ... variations

Thanks for the reply and the link Doc. I have read this article quite a few times before, but just couldn't locate it. After reading through it again and checking it with the new clowns I acquired, the greying out lookings identical.

Do you know how long it can take until the clowns regain their full/normal colours? I.e. how long does the greying out last for?

The new clowns have not been fighting amongst each other, but rather the largest clown I had BEFORE adding in the new ones is a bit smaller than ALL of the new ones I put in, but amazingly, he has been starting fights with all the new clowns (I think he is trying to maintain his pecking order), the new clowns have just swam away when this happens (i.e. they don't fight back).

In terms of regional variations in colour, is the yellow/orange base colour for the clowns from Sumutra and Bornia very similar or noticeably different?

I'm just worried that the new clowns wont regain their original colours and their health if the greying out continues.

[ey]

Moving to a new environment is very stressful to clown loaches. Adding them directly to a community tank without quarantining them 1st can be very disasterous. Keep a very close eye on them. Be ready for an ich outbreak.

Thanks chefkeith, Emma and yourself have given me some good guidance over the last 2 years on clown loaches so its nice to get helpful advice again.

Yeah I know I should have added them to a community tank/quarantine before addeding them, but I did not have a large enough community tank to facilitate this.

No ich as yet, and am preying it doesn't happen cos it can potentially wipe out all the clowns in the tank if not treated properly.

I have a few more general questions:

- Do larger clowns (say 15cm) adapt better to a new tank compared to baby clowns (3-4cm)? This includes ich and everything else. I would have thought larger clowns would be more hardy, generally speaking and given the right environment.

- I tried adding some smaller clowns (4-5cm) in the tank a year ago, half survived and half didn't even though I monitored them for ich and fed them small food.

- How long can the greying out take for new clowns? I expected them to grey out due to the stress of transferring them from the LFS to my tank and the new environment etc. but I was expecting this to last only 2-3 days max, but can the greying out take a lot longer, until they reach their normal colours?

- The LFS told me to crank up the temperature to make sure they don't get ich - is this true? Before adding the new clowns, the tank was 27C, I raised it to 28C.

[angrybeerguy]

When quarantining do you treat or just watch for things?

[Diana]

I have one Clown that is almost always greyed out. His eyes look a little different, too. More yellow around them. The others do change color occasionally, but not as much, and most of the time they are bright Orange, or just a little off, not really greyed out. The different one has been with me for about 2 years now, I got him (?) when he was quite small, and he was normal colored. When I moved them into the tank they are in now the one greyed out and almost never turns bright Orange.

[ey]

I have one Clown that is almost always greyed out. His eyes look a little different, too. More yellow around them. The others do change color occasionally, but not as much, and most of the time they are bright Orange, or just a little off, not really greyed out. The different one has been with me for about 2 years now, I got him (?) when he was quite small, and he was normal colored. When I moved them into the tank they are in now the one greyed out and almost never turns bright Orange.

Is this one Clown loach that you mention healthy like all your other clowns? Or does it behave in any way differently?

[Tinman]

Increase your aggitation to increase O2 in the tank. you have added a 50% fish load ,you should increase your aeration accordingly. Do you have a power head blasting the surface? New fish are nervous and use more O2 besides the additional load to your existing system. Where the previous 6 bright before,how are they now ? Timid fish that are dis-colored need more airation and current probably.If they are active ,fighting and grey that is another thing entirely. A greyed out Clown is usually aggitated so therefore active although YMMV .

[ey]

Increase your aggitation to increase O2 in the tank. you have added a 50% fish load ,you should increase your aeration accordingly. Do you have a power head blasting the surface? New fish are nervous and use more O2 besides the additional load to your existing system. Where the previous 6 bright before,how are they now ? Timid fish that are dis-colored need more airation and current probably.If they are active ,fighting and grey that is another thing entirely. A greyed out Clown is usually aggitated so therefore active although YMMV .

Thanks Tinman for the reply.

I think increasing O2 will definitely help with aeration and further reduce the risk of potential ich.

I've added two large air pumps since adding them in.

You mean the previous 6 clowns I had? They appear fine and are acting normal since I've added the new clowns in, so colour and behaviour wise, there is no change from them (i.e. they are still bright orange/yellow).

It's the new clowns that are grey in colour, though they are swimming around and eating.

[Tinman]

You mean the previous 6 clowns I had? They appear fine and are acting normal since I've added the new clowns in, so colour and behaviour wise, there is no change from them (i.e. they are still bright orange/yellow).

It's the new clowns that are grey in colour, though they are swimming around and eating.

Yes,I meant the existing. That is good sign.If your new Clowns are swimming and eating well that is very good.Some have a hard time upon a move and more aggitation to your tank always seems to help ease the discomfort I percieve them to have

[Diana]

My one behaves just like the other two. There are apparently no dominance fights, and I cannot tell who is boss. The three hang out together, and behave just about the same as each other. I do not see them interacting with the other fish too much. I one is a little bit bigger than the other two.

I do have 4 more Loaches going to join them soon, but the new ones are really little.

[ey]

You mean the previous 6 clowns I had? They appear fine and are acting normal since I've added the new clowns in, so colour and behaviour wise, there is no change from them (i.e. they are still bright orange/yellow).

It's the new clowns that are grey in colour, though they are swimming around and eating.

Yes,I meant the existing. That is good sign.If your new Clowns are swimming and eating well that is very good.Some have a hard time upon a move and more aggitation to your tank always seems to help ease the discomfort I percieve them to have

It has now been about 5 days since I added the new clowns in.

However, their colour (orange with black stripes) have still not returned yet (i.e. they are still pale yellow and greyed out), is this a problem? 2 of them are swimming around, not eating that much as all the other old clowns are fighting for their food whilst the remaining 2 are hiding in the caves all the time.

I went back to the LFS I got them from yesterday to double check on the stock to see if they had orange coloured bodies with dark black stripes and that was the case, so that confirms that the ones I got were the same too. Which means that since I transported the new clowns back to my tank, they have still not recovered their colours.

Is this a cause for concern? I have also checked each of the clowns (new and old) as well as the other fish for any white spots and there are none.

I have tested the tank for nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, pH, and temperature - there does not appear to be any problem or changes in the water conditions.

The LFS said it could potentially take up to a month for the clowns to regain their original colours. Is this the case? Should I continute waiting and monitor the new clowns?

If the 2 new clowns aren't coming out to eat, is there something I can do help this?

I've been feeding them frozen bloodworms, Hikari sinking wafers, flakes.

[Diana]

You could try adding garlic flavor to the food. A lot of fish like this.
If a couple of them are not coming out to eat they may be the lowest ranking fish, and are not willing to argue with the others for food. I would make sure the food is well spread through the tank so there is some in reach without the shy fish having to compete for it.

Continue monitoring the fish and the water quality. There is not much else to do.

[ey]

You could try adding garlic flavor to the food. A lot of fish like this.
If a couple of them are not coming out to eat they may be the lowest ranking fish, and are not willing to argue with the others for food. I would make sure the food is well spread through the tank so there is some in reach without the shy fish having to compete for it.

Continue monitoring the fish and the water quality. There is not much else to do.

Thanks Diana for the reply.

What type of food do you suggest with a garlic flavor to it?

I changed the tank water yesterday and surprisingly, the two new clowns that have been hiding have pretty much recovered 80% of its original colour (orange body and black stripes colour are very defined now) whereas the other 2 new clowns that have been swimming and eating are still pale and greyed out!

Ironic as I would have expected it to be the other way around.

Tested the water after the water change and the parameters are per normal. I have fed the fish thoroughly around the tank, but I'm thinking of putting in some cucumber (zuchini) to see if that can get their attention as my old clowns go crazy for cucumber!