Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen

AcesWired RemoveThis @gmail.com wrote:
> Hi - I'm a VERY amateur aquariast. My wife & I bought a house with a
> tank built into the wall, and the past six months have been a crash
> course. We've got two angels, two clown loaches, a couple black
> mollys, a host of tetras, and an algea-eater I've only seen a handful
> of times.
>
> The clown loaches are by far my favorite fish in the tank. When we
> first moved in, we didn't see much of them - that was for like the
> first couple of weeks only. Then they were always out, chasing each
> other around, exploring, etc. Always front and center.
>
> The other night, my wife pointed out that she hand't seen the loaches
> in awhile. As I thought about it, I hadn't either. The past couple of
> days I've been watching closely - they don't come out even for
> feeding. For awhile, I feared they were dead inside one of their caves
> (a large log with openings). But today, I was using a flashlight to
> see inside the caves, and I could see one of their tails. It was
> moving, so I know that at least one is alive.
>
> Why would their behavior change so drastically and suddenly? We
> recently had a high-PH event (ran out of PH- and the store we use was
> on back order), but that's long past and thing have been back to
> normal for awhile. That's the only factor I can think of that could
> have impacted their behavior (all of the other fish seem unaffected -
> it only got to about 7.5).
>
> Any help for this blooming newbie?
>
> Matt
>
Not sure how helpful this will be, but mind did something similar.
After I had had them in my tank awhile, I purchased a fake log ornament.
This fake log was hollow. Well, after it had been in the tank for
awhile one of my clown loaches disappeared. Then another. Then I was
extremely worried. Then the third one was gone. The next morning I
found one swimming around, so I had hope for the other two. I tore the
tank apart. I lifted up the hollow log thing and one of them plopped
out. The other was wedged in it so tight no amount of shaking could
dislodge it. I put the tank back together and watched the loaches
closely. They had burrowed into the gravel to get inside the log.

All three have grown quite a bit, but still stay in the log most of the
time. They come out just before lights out and will swim up and down
and click if I wait too long to feed them.

I think this type of thing is common for clown loaches. They like to be
crammed together and they don't like light. If you check your tank when
it is dark, I bet you will find the loaches swimming around looking for
food.

kietz
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On 4 May 2007 15:37:21 -0700, AcesWired DeleteThis @gmail.com wrote:

>Hi - I'm a VERY amateur aquariast. My wife & I bought a house with a
>tank built into the wall, and the past six months have been a crash
>course. We've got two angels, two clown loaches, a couple black
>mollys, a host of tetras, and an algea-eater I've only seen a handful
>of times.
>
>The clown loaches are by far my favorite fish in the tank. When we
>first moved in, we didn't see much of them - that was for like the
>first couple of weeks only. Then they were always out, chasing each
>other around, exploring, etc. Always front and center.
>
>The other night, my wife pointed out that she hand't seen the loaches
>in awhile. As I thought about it, I hadn't either. The past couple of
>days I've been watching closely - they don't come out even for
>feeding. For awhile, I feared they were dead inside one of their caves
>(a large log with openings). But today, I was using a flashlight to
>see inside the caves, and I could see one of their tails. It was
>moving, so I know that at least one is alive.
>
>Why would their behavior change so drastically and suddenly? We
>recently had a high-PH event (ran out of PH- and the store we use was
>on back order), but that's long past and thing have been back to
>normal for awhile. That's the only factor I can think of that could
>have impacted their behavior (all of the other fish seem unaffected -
>it only got to about 7.5).
>
>Any help for this blooming newbie?
>
>Matt

I have 12 Clowns in 2 tanks. Same experience, when first in the tank
they were all over most of the day. Four years later and I am lucky
to see them at meal time.

One of my Clowns in a 29 gallon tank got pretty large, not just
length, but bulk. I moved him to my 75 gallon tank and now see much
more of him and his 8 buddies.

The 75 also has 11 Siamese Algae Eaters. The Clowns and the SAEs used
to swarm as one school, this stopped when the Clowns went into
seclusion, but has now returned with "Big Guy".

The 3 in the 29 gallon are out more often after I moved Big Guy. A
win win change.
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On May 4, 11:37 pm, AcesWi....TakeThisOut@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi - I'm a VERY amateur aquariast. My wife & I bought a house with a
> tank built into the wall, and the past six months have been a crash
> course. We've got two angels, two clown loaches, a couple black
> mollys, a host of tetras, and an algea-eater I've only seen a handful
> of times.
>
> The clown loaches are by far my favorite fish in the tank. When we
> first moved in, we didn't see much of them - that was for like the
> first couple of weeks only. Then they were always out, chasing each
> other around, exploring, etc. Always front and center.
>
> The other night, my wife pointed out that she hand't seen the loaches
> in awhile. As I thought about it, I hadn't either. The past couple of
> days I've been watching closely - they don't come out even for
> feeding. For awhile, I feared they were dead inside one of their caves
> (a large log with openings). But today, I was using a flashlight to
> see inside the caves, and I could see one of their tails. It was
> moving, so I know that at least one is alive.
>
> Why would their behavior change so drastically and suddenly? We
> recently had a high-PH event (ran out of PH- and the store we use was
> on back order), but that's long past and thing have been back to
> normal for awhile. That's the only factor I can think of that could
> have impacted their behavior (all of the other fish seem unaffected -
> it only got to about 7.5).
>
> Any help for this blooming newbie?
>
> Matt

I`ve kept clowns in the past, i had 13 at one point. Two may be to few
to make them feel safe, maybe try adding a few more, as long as your
water quailty is ok. Clowns do seem to me to become more shy with age
but i had that many they were never shy in my tank. if your worried
about them not eating then try feeding them some bloodworm!!!! hope
this helps matty s
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

I have five clown loaches. Most of the day, they hide in tubes and under
angled rocks. They're out for lunchtime feeding, and sometimes late night
snack.



Alan

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 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

AcesWired RemoveThis @gmail.com wrote:

> Hi - I'm a VERY amateur aquariast. My wife & I bought a house with a
> tank built into the wall, and the past six months have been a crash
> course. We've got two angels, two clown loaches, a couple black
> mollys, a host of tetras, and an algea-eater I've only seen a handful
> of times.
>
> The clown loaches are by far my favorite fish in the tank. When we
> first moved in, we didn't see much of them - that was for like the
> first couple of weeks only. Then they were always out, chasing each
> other around, exploring, etc. Always front and center.
>
> The other night, my wife pointed out that she hand't seen the loaches
> in awhile. As I thought about it, I hadn't either. The past couple of
> days I've been watching closely - they don't come out even for
> feeding. For awhile, I feared they were dead inside one of their caves
> (a large log with openings). But today, I was using a flashlight to
> see inside the caves, and I could see one of their tails. It was
> moving, so I know that at least one is alive.
>
> Why would their behavior change so drastically and suddenly? We
> recently had a high-PH event (ran out of PH- and the store we use was
> on back order), but that's long past and thing have been back to
> normal for awhile. That's the only factor I can think of that could
> have impacted their behavior (all of the other fish seem unaffected -
> it only got to about 7.5).
>
> Any help for this blooming newbie?
>
> Matt
>

Hi Matt,
I too am a newbie. Keeping fish gets easier as time goes and one
learns. I've been keeping community fish since 2002. You have gotten
some good feed back so far. I'll add what worked for my clowns and me.

The following Is info I got from discussions here on the groups. This
info worked for my setup, things may be different for your setup.

General Tropical fish keeping; Unless you are breading fish,
Tropical fish, in general, will adjust to the pH that comes from your
tap (unless you have something "really" weird). Tropical fish do better
in a stable pH, rather than a pH that is spot-on occasionally. My clowns
live at 7.6. The trick here is "regular water changes", with gravel vac
of course. Water changes weekly or every other week, depending on the
fish load, seems typical, every other week works for me. I do buffer my
water with a bag of crushed corral.

On how to get Clown Loaches to come out; They need to feel
comfortable. The recommendation I got was, lots of active fish in the
tank. I think someone referred to them a dither fish. Yup, for me it
worked. The Loaches, that are in my trust, are out all the time. I think
they may hide and sleep while I'm at work (they really do like to sleep
and hide). But when I'm home, they are out and about. Though it was 2
years before things really settled in.

This is my setup; 75 gal US tank. 5 clown loaches, the largest is 5
inches ("standard length" (SL), doesn't count the tail fin). The
smallest is now 3 inches SL. The other inhabitancy of the tank include,
3 adult rainbow fish, 8 black skirt tetra, 12 Rummy nosed Tetra, 3 Zebra
danios, 2 SAE, 3 Oto's, 1 Rubber nosed Pl*co. No live plants.

Yes my tank bio load is over maxed, So I built a sump filter. But, a
75 gal tank is good for 76 inches of adult fish if the filter you have
is rated for it, and you do your regular water changes. So 3 to 5
clowns and enough dither fish should be doable with a sufficiently rated
hangon filter.

Your tank will get easier, more fun and enjoyable, as time goes on.

Here is a web page that used to get recommended here all the time for
general tropical fish keeping, and I still visit there frequently.

http://www.thekrib.com/

And a great web page dedicated to loaches.

http://www.loaches.com/

Too, If you google back through all the fish related groups, there is
a wealth of info, from very knowledgeable folks, for fish keepers "from
beginner to staunch breeder"

What does your setup consist of? Tank size? Plants? fish? Filter?
local water?


HTH, and All the Best of luck to you!!!

Paul
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

Thanks to all for the great advice. I'm please to say that in the week
since my posting, I've seen both of them out and about--not nearly as
much as they were before, but they're healthy and somewhat active.
I've read quite a lot online about loaches and have discovered that
two really isn't enough, so I plan on adding two more.

Not sure why they got so shy so suddenly. But I guess that's just the
way it goes with fish sometimes.

Thanks again to all.

Matt
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

In <1178860588.804719.168750 RemoveThis @l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, on 05/10/07
at 10:16 PM, AcesWired RemoveThis @gmail.com said:

>Thanks to all for the great advice. I'm please to say that in the week
>since my posting, I've seen both of them out and about--not nearly as
>much as they were before, but they're healthy and somewhat active. I've
>read quite a lot online about loaches and have discovered that two really
>isn't enough, so I plan on adding two more.

>Not sure why they got so shy so suddenly. But I guess that's just the way
>it goes with fish sometimes.

If there is room in your tank to add more fish, I'd add three clown
loaches. They're happiest in small schools. They're expensive, but they
live a long time if properly cared for.

Here's a good loach site: loachesonline.com


Alan

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 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

Yep the loach bogie man struck again.........and ate them suckers!


-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On Thu, 31 May 2007 18:57:08 -0400, nobody.RemoveThis@junk.min.net wrote:

>In <1178860588.804719.168750.RemoveThis@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, on 05/10/07
> at 10:16 PM, AcesWired.RemoveThis@gmail.com said:
>
>>Thanks to all for the great advice. I'm please to say that in the week
>>since my posting, I've seen both of them out and about--not nearly as
>>much as they were before, but they're healthy and somewhat active. I've
>>read quite a lot online about loaches and have discovered that two really
>>isn't enough, so I plan on adding two more.
>
>>Not sure why they got so shy so suddenly. But I guess that's just the way
>>it goes with fish sometimes.
>
>If there is room in your tank to add more fish, I'd add three clown
>loaches. They're happiest in small schools. They're expensive, but they
>live a long time if properly cared for.
>
>Here's a good loach site: loachesonline.com
>
>
>Alan

I have 3 CL in a 29 and 9 in a 75 gallon tank. I see the 3 much more
than the 9. The 75 gallon has heavy bottom growth and they hide. For
a couple of years I rarely saw the 75 CLs, then I moved a very big CL
from the 29 and since then I see more of them, mostly for the morning
feeding.

I have had my CLs for 4 years. At one time I thought the Siamese
algae Eaters may have been a threat, but moving the Big Guy left 3 CLs
to 6 SAEs and yet the CLs swim about more without Big Guy.

In the morning, the 75 gallon tank is swarming with fish mostly
clustered where I put the food. Nobody seems afraid and no signs of
attacks. At the afternoon feeding the CLs seem to not think it worth
the effort to get food, while the rest of the community does.

Who can say what goes on in the fish mind?
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On Jun 1, 7:16�am, Dick <remdic....RemoveThis@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> On Thu, 31 May 2007 18:57:08 -0400, nob....RemoveThis@junk.min.net wrote:
> >In <1178860588.804719.168....RemoveThis@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>, on 05/10/07
> >   at 10:16 PM, AcesWi....RemoveThis@gmail.com said:
>
> >>Thanks to all for the great advice. I'm please to say that in the week
> >>since my posting, I've seen both of them out and about--not nearly as
> >>much as they were before, but they're healthy and somewhat active. I've
> >>read quite a lot online about loaches and have discovered that two really
> >>isn't enough, so I plan on adding two more.
>
> >>Not sure why they got so shy so suddenly. But I guess that's just the way
> >>it goes with fish sometimes.
>
> >If there is room in your tank to add more fish, I'd add three clown
> >loaches.  They're happiest in small schools.  They're expensive, but they
> >live a long time if properly cared for.
>
> >Here's a good loach site:  loachesonline.com
>
> >Alan
>
> I have 3 CL in a 29 and 9 in a 75 gallon tank.  I see the 3 much more
> than the 9.  The 75 gallon has heavy bottom growth and they hide.  For
> a couple of years I rarely saw the 75 CLs, then I moved a very big CL
> from the 29 and since then I see more of them, mostly for the morning
> feeding.
>
> I have had my CLs for 4 years.  At one time I thought the Siamese
> algae Eaters may have been a threat, but moving the Big Guy left 3 CLs
> to 6 SAEs and yet the CLs swim about more without Big Guy.
>
> In the morning, the 75 gallon tank is swarming with fish mostly
> clustered where I put the food.  Nobody seems afraid and no signs of
> attacks.  At the afternoon feeding the CLs seem to not think it worth
> the effort to get food, while the rest of the community does.
>
> Who can say what goes on in the fish mind?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I stumbled on a little trick to get Clown Loaches to warm up to me and
in no time they were actually out and begging for attention, or food
just like the rest of the fish in the tank were.
I had never seen anything like it from a CL, and I've had several
throughout the yrs.
When I added Dwarf African Frogs to the tank that also housed CL's and
Angelfish I had to hand feed the Froggies....otherwise they would have
starved in that tank. CL's and Angel's are piggies.
I would feed the frogs with a medicine type dropper that had
bloodworms in it.
The Clowns quickly picked up on this (the angels had to be swooshes
away from the start of course). In no time the clowns were coming up
to the dropper as soon as it hit the water. In no time they weren't
shy a bit and were and about all the time.
They only acted like shy clowns when we had people over, or my
daughter had a bunch of kids over.
Who wouldn't want to hide with a bunch of kids running around, lol.
I've tamed several different Clowns this way and in all cases none
acted shy anymore.
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On Jun 1, 11:13?am, Pondmeister <tristansaintjohnREM....TakeThisOut@yahoo.com>
wrote:

Quite entertaining Roy.
That was funny.
What your spelling though.
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On Jun 1, 8:56?pm, Tynk <T....RemoveThis@aol.com> wrote:
> On Jun 1, 11:13?am, Pondmeister <tristansaintjohnREM....RemoveThis@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> Quite entertaining Roy.
> That was funny.
> What your spelling though.

LOL...here I am telling you to watch your spelling and I make a
spelling error. That's too funny.
But seriously, sometimes your posts don't make sense or are very hard
to follow. Too many spelling errors or missing words, etc.
So proof read it next time before hitting the send button.
That was cute though. Glad you took my advice and came (no pun
intended) up with something new. You actually had to take time with
that one and come up with something catchy.
= )
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen 

On Jun 2, 6:56?am, Dick <remdic... DeleteThis @sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>
> I have had a similar experience with Plecos, I found they could learn
> to come to the surface and feed on flake food even from my finger.
> I might try enticing the Clowns with flake food. In the morning they
> seem very daring.-

Do you have any frozen foods such as Bloodworms or Brine Shrimp?
Flake, let's face it, is a bit boring for fish.
Anyone who feeds both knows the difference between how the fish go
after flake vs bloodworms or brine, etc.
If you have anything like that, try it.
Another note, if they're aldready shy, trying it at the surface may
not help at all with the situation.
You have to coax them out when you are moving about the
tank ...something that might usually freak them out a bit.
With a feeding instrument (be it medicine dropper or an actual feeding
tube used in marine set ups) you'll be able to get them coming out to
grab food and they'll get used to you. Gettting them to come to you
when there isn't any food takes a little time.
My Clowns would be at the front of the tank begging for attention
anytime I went to or walked past the tank.
It was the coolest thing. There were Angels, female bettas and my
clowns...all going back and forth trying to get my attention.
Careful of those eye spines though. Sometimes they'll get into a
feeding frenzy and if you have the food in your fingers, just be
careful.
 >> Stay informed about: Clown loaches suddenly nowhere to be seen