Miked

Hi, I have a 125 ltr tank and I have just put 3 clown loaches in, the water is fine and the tank is well planted. I came down the morning after I put them in and could only find 1 of them! I searched the tank but to no avail, the following morning it had gone as well!!! then I noticed that in a bit of bog wood there was a small crack and belive it or not 2 of the clowns were wedgen into it!! I thought they were dead but when I moved the wood they swam out! about an hour later i saw that they were back in the crack, I still can't find No.3 but who knows!!
My question is is the standard behaviour or have i got 3 mad ones or is there some other reason? I have other fish in the tank, 2 chochlate gouramis 10 harliquins 3 congo tetras, 4 platys (at the last count), 3 cory's, 2 small otto's and a very small leopard pleco

jack11

like most loaches the clowns do hide a fair bit especially when in a new environment. are you aware of their adult size because they get over 1' long and will need a tank larger than 250L or 60G.

Jack

Miked

OK thanks for the info, yep I am aware of the size, strange things hiding like that?

jack11

yer not as bad as kuhli loaches thought, i've heard stories of them going missing in peoples tanks and appearing in the substrate when people are changing it years later lol

Dino

This is typical loach behavior.

Wait until you walk up to the tank and see one laying on its back.

Once you get close enough, it will then right it's self and swim away.

Even after keeping them over 20 years, it still gets my pulse racing when they do that.

Butterfly

Loaches and especially Clown Loaches will squeeze into the smallest place possible and sleep and they usually do this in groups.
They are caught in the wild by laying hollow bamboo in water in the evening then in the morning the bamboo is retrieved and it will be full of clown loaches. this is a natural behaviour for clowns and most loaches I've kept.
Carol

Miked

Yep now had them a few weeks and all 3 of them are starting venture out to feed, tell you what the are bonkers fish, I love them.

zigmeister

Miked, I have 3 clown loaches as well and they are my favorites of all my fish. They are very social with each other. My first clown loach hid like yours did. My first thought was that he jumped out and the cat ate him! But a few days later he showed up. Mine will swim in place vertically in the front of the tank, right in front of the glass. They sort of wiggle their whole bodies. We call it the clown loach shuffle! Have you heard them "clicking" when its feeding time? Be careful, they might splash you as well! Enjoy your loaches! They are great little fish.

Miked

Not heard any clicks yet, how loud are they?

boff

Well it sounds like they are spitting gravel at the glass ,you cant miss it ,try giving them Blood worm that gets mine going.

sjlchgo

I had a similar incident with my loach. We were moving and I emptied the tank enough to transport it. I never removed any of the fish. I set up the tank and noticed that the loach was missing. I took out the decorations stirred the substrate, looked under all the rocks and plants, to no avail.....there was NO loach! I looked outside, all over the floors, the heat ducts and even asked my dogs if they had seen the loach. No luck! I had come to the conclusion that he had jumped out of the tank and my dogs had eaten him. Three days had passed and I went to feed my Platy's and what do you know?? There's Larry the Loach! Swimming around as if he had never been gone. I woke my wife and kids and none of us could believe he was there! My wife saw how "thoroughly" I had searched and there was no way ANYONE could have convinced me he was still there....but he was!!