justin5150

Ill start from the beginning...

When i first boughht my 30 gallon (UK) i stocked it with different types of gouramis (3 spot, honey etc) and some danios. I then decided i wanted some clown loaches, so i went into my LFS and was shocked to find that they cost nearly €15 each! So that was put on hold for a while.

Eventually i bought a small pair, which was the most that i could afford at the time and put them in my tank. i had never seen a more playful or fascinating fish! they would spend hours flying round the tank and doing backflips . They were a great joy to behold.

Soon however, my 4 gouramis had grown too large for the tank, they became very aggresive towards each other, and even killed a small dwarf that i tried to introduce, (they never bothered the loaches though,) so they were moved into a much larger tank of 60g with the danios.(They are fairing very well and have grown to about 5 inches since the move) So i was left with an empty tank. (Aside from my loaches.) I thought about a total redo of the tank , I had some money left lying around and the planning began.

Eventually i decided on an amazonian style set up. black coral substrate with a large piece of bogwood as a focal point, a very helpful shop assistant suggested particular plants that i could use. I was too afraid to move the loaches during the aquascaping in case they died, so as carfully as i could i did all the aquascaping with the loaches in the tank. thankfully they survived and were doing fine until next outing...

Introducing the fish, which were

5x lemon tetras
4x Cory cats
5x Neon tetras
2x Mollies (1 male, 1 now permenantly pregnant female)

Since I did this i have barely ever seen my loaches, the hide in the hollow part of the bogwood at the back and never seem to come out anymore, except when i turn out the lights. all my parimetres are as they were before so i have put it down to the stress of adding fish and the aquascaping. its been a month and no improvement, my fish are all thriving, but i miss the loaches flying round the tank. I thought the neons would act as dither fish but obviously not... Does anyone have any ideas that might restore my skittish clowns?

sirdarksol

What are the water parameters (PPM of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) in the tank?
They may feel pressured because of the other fish. Have you seen any of the others bullying them? (I'm thinking the mollies, but it may be the tetras).

Alasse

I'd say they are just upset due to the tank rescape, they are now in a tank they are unfamiliar with and that behaviour is normal. Give them time to adjust to the new tank setup and they should be right.

fins

from what i have read,,, your tank is overstocked.. and clowns i was told by someone they need at least 50 gals for 1 although they are schooling fish so the bigger the tank the better.since they can get over 12 in. i have 1 in a 55 and was told that was a Big no....

Butterfly

The clown loaches will soon outgrow the tank. They need hiding/sleeping places they can call their own. The tank is a bit overstocked and they are very sensitive to water quality.
Here's some information that may be helpful
http://www.loaches.com/species-index...a-macracanthus
Carol

justin5150

they are going to be moved to an 80 gallon in about 7 months, so thats not a problem, they jst havent been themselves lately...