Tidying up

[andyroo]

My tank is in front of my desk, so in a moment of caffeinated procrastination I will tell you what I'm watching:
The big Y. modesta (maybe 4" and small change) has taken up residence in the biggest/longest bamboo pipe, and leaves only to wreak havoc on the other loaches (Y.mod, CL, green tiger and a RTS that's sure she's a loach) in re-assertion of dominance over that happy social group (yes, i need to get more, but they are rarely imported).
So, just now she came out 1/2 body length to rummage in the sand, and in doing so got some sand into the entrance of her bamboo.
She then's spent probably another 2 or 3 minutes actively (so far as I can tell) waving her tail and snout into this fugitive sand trying to get it back out of her neat and tidy home.
Is it normal for a loach to be so house-proud?
:)
A

[NancyD]

That's funny! I remember seeing pics somewhere of loaches, clowns I think, carefully sorting dark & white gravel by color.

[PASoracco]

my loaches live in a tank that is split between pea gravel and sand. on the sand side loaches always wiggle around and kick sand everywhere until their cave is just right. on the gravel side, you can often see the larger yoyos and clowns picking up individual pieces of gravel and moving them to neaten up the entrance of their favorite cave. smart buggers