i notice one of my loach wasnt feeding and i found him at the back of the tank on his side. it looks like he is trying to seive through the sand but cant balance properly he looks very ill.

i added 5 danios a few days ago and lost one last night. when i got them home from the shop one was skinnier than the rest and had no fins at the top or bottom of his body.

water is fine but have only tested with strips. all the other fish are fine so far.

have i introduced a disease to the tank?

what should i do with the loach? HELP!!!!!

ok so this morning he is still alive but he cant stay upright, he is swimming on his side and trying to feed. he sort of barrel rolling.

i have cought him and put him in a compartment in the tank to try and give him chance to eat away from the others, not sure if this was the right thing to do or not. any advice please?

Hey Robb,

It really gets on my nerves how often clown loaches are sold to people with inadequete tanks by the LFS. Unless you have a tank of 500+L preferably 700L then take him back to the store as they get very large (30cm) and are shoaling fish so need groups of 6+. If the others are nipping at him then yes it was but make sure he has enough room. As for the danio you often get one that gets picked on hence why shoaling is advised as it spreads any aggression. Most likely it is that he has been picked on and his fins should grow back. Have you got a picture of the clown loach and the danio. Also I know they are only with test strips but what are your EXACT water readings. I know maidenhead say to treat clown loaches with protoon (sp.) after purchase as they can get quite stressed.

Cheers,

Jaybird

cheers for the reply but the loach is dead.

wow 5ool i'm amazed anyone keeps clown loach if they need a tank that size. my other 2 are only 1" long so will stay in this tank and i will upgrade when more room is needed for them. they have been in the tank for about 2 months so i dont think it will be stress.

i have read that they can get blockages and giving them greens such as peas can help prevent this, is this true?

cheers for the reply jaybird.

Sorry to hear that rob,

The main reason why so many people keep them as they are advised by their LFS to get them as snail eaters or they are not told how big they will get, its easily done as you have found out but many dont get to their full size, they should live to 20 years. Peas help with most fish to relieve constipation so it wouldnt hurt either way. I would definately consider taking them back to the store TBH unless you are looking at a tank that size, they are also sholaing fish so need groups of 6+. I will try and find you a link to a really good site on them later.

Cheers,

Jason

hi, jayson i can see your point about taking them back to the shop but they will only be resold with the same bad advice to someone else i fear, and i'm not really in the habbit of rehoming my pets. i will get as big a tank as they need as they grow.
i didnt get them for any other reason other than i like the look and the nature of them.
the only thing i cant cater for straight away is the showl of 6+ but i doubt many people could accomodate 6 30cm fish.

Hi Robb

Sorry you lost your clown loach.

I made the same mistake when I started keeping fish and bought two clown loaches for my 60L tank. It was only when I joined here and did some reading that I realised how big they can get!

Mine are now homed in a 260L tank which was the biggest size I could manage (and it still seems enormous after the 60L). The Loaches love the space and zoom around all over the place. I've only had the bigger tank running for about a month so when it settles down I'm going to get two more so they are can be in a group of 4. But TBH they don't seem to have minded being in a pair (although I'm sure they are going to love being in a bigger group).

It is a tough call when the lfs don't give you any advice (or the right advice). If you can afford a bigger tank to upgrade to, I'm sure your loaches will thank you for it. I just feel guilty for having mine in a 60L at all. But I agree with you about rehoming. I couldn't part with my fish now and chose to spend some money on a bigger tank than taking them back to a shop where they would just be sold to someone more clueless than me.

I hope the rest of your fish are ok

Fizz

Excellent article and just look at the pictures and videos ...

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/ ... -chromobotia-macracanthus

Thank you for the fantastic article!

Just found this... shows how big the clown loach can get!


http://www.loaches.com/articles/image ... ters/clownloachposter.pdf