kschimmenti

I got a pair of baby clown loaches yesterday. I've done quite a bit of reading and research on them and last night they were acting typical, laying on their sides, swimming and investigating occasionally...but today is a whole different story! Aaalll day the two of them have swam up and down, up and down, up and down on one side of the tank, it's neurotic! they didn't seem too interested in food and have been consistent with this behavior all day. The corys even join in sometimes! They seem healthy, though I am very worried about potential ICH as i've already come to love these guys! any insight on this behavior and/or preventative ich measures would be great! It's pretty funny but I'd like for them to loose the fixation

harpua2002

Unfortunately, clown loaches will grow much too large for any 35 gallon, but especially a hex.

There isn't really anything you can do to prevent ich. At this point, with as much as hubby and I have invested in the tanks, we QT'ed for a month with our last additions (more modesta loaches) to make sure they didn't pass it on to the 75 gallon... which contains fish I've had for over 5 years. QT is always a great idea, but of course not everyone has the extra room for a QT tank. I think the best you can do is to cut your lighting period (this can reduce stress) and get them eating asap. Frozen foods are always a favorite.

kschimmenti

Thank you for the response. I travel 45 minutes to get my supplies and fish from an aquarium store that has an owner and staff who have 20+ years experience and are extremely knowledgeable. Based on what they told me and what I've read, clown loaches rarely get larger than 6 inches in home aquariums but up to 12 in the wild and if given the room. They actually had 3 full grown clowns in a display tank that is the same as mine, they were 2 years old and about 5-6 inches. I plan on upgrading sometime in the next year anyway (when I get a bigger place) so if they do grow too large it will just push me to upgrade sooner. I did feed them frozen blood worms today and they didn't seem interested. Hopefully it's just their just settling in, they seem to be exploring the tank a bit more now.

Butterfly

My Clowns grew to 7 & 8 inches in the first year I had them (pics in my album). so I know personally they get bigger than 6 inches in home aquaria.
You may have read this article already but if not it's interesting and there are some cool pictures in it. http://www.loaches.com/species-index...a-macracanthus .This particular site is right on with their loach information. The articles are written by people who own the loaches their writing about.
Clown Loaches need lots of room to swim, warm highly oxygenated, extremely clean water.
My Clowns are more active in the early morning and late evening, displaying the exact behaviour you describe. It's frequently described as "the loachy dance". corys will shoot from the bottom to the top for a gulp of air also.
I see that your tank has only been set up about a month, carefully watching water parameters (ammonia, nitrites and Nitrates) and keeping the water temps at/above 82f will make your loaches happy and prevent ICH. Clown Loaches are like ICH magnets but the warmer temps will prevent that.
Keep us posted as to how things go
Carol

kschimmenti

Thank you for the response and the link! Yes I have been referring to that for questions. As I said in an earlier post, I bought the loaches knowing they could possibly get big and I did so with the intent of upgrading within the year so hopefully it will work out and we'll all be happy The water was testing within normal range before I added the loaches. The ammonia spiked a bit after adding them but I've been doing 20% water changes every 3 days and it has leveled out and the fish seem great. They are settling in to their home, exploring all the caves and plants and hanging out with the corys

Butterfly

Sounds good Now where are the pictures
Carol