Clown Loaches hide a lot!

Got 2 new clown loach to keep my lone loach (Jimmy Steve, shameless ref.) company.
I got them about 4 weeks ago.....I knew they would both hide for a little while in the beginning.
But it's a few weeks now, 1 of them hides ALL the time the other one will come out when the moonlight is one, rarely during the Day setting.

Is this normal behavior? Tank is heavily planted with silk and plastic plants. Multiple hiding places(some can be looked into, others you can't see them in)

 

What size tank? What are the tank mates? It is best to have at least 5 .

 

55 gallon...Loachs are still small under 4 inches, will upgrade tank eventually. There is a small assortment of tetras and a few Molly's. Nothing that would bother the loach

 

Botia loaches are extremely social species and do best in a full school where they can establish a social hierarchy. Without this, they can become shy and reclusive, and in some cases, they could even turn aggressive towards similarly shaped tankmates.

Your little fellas would likely benefit from more friends, I'd say. My loaches are all out all day long; many species prefer to play when the lights go out, but they shouldn't be invisible during the day

 

More loaches?? I worry I'm already overstocked!!

55g long, Fluval 306 and a 3 stage job

3 loaches, and roughly 14 mixed tetra n molly

 

It would be best to rehome them since a 55 is already too small , a 55 is only 12" in width and these fish can get on average if kept properly 12". They are very social fish reason why they need at least 5 however many people neglect the care of clown loaches sadly since they are popular and well, cute.

 

I believe the ideal tank size for clown loaches is 6x2x2 which is (last I checked) a 180 gallon tank (minimum imo is a 125 gallon). I would recommend rehoming because, while they are small, their bioload is still quite large.

 

I believe the ideal tank size for clown loaches is 6x2x2 which is (last I checked) a 180 gallon tank (minimum imo is a 125 gallon). I would recommend rehoming because, while they are small, their bioload is still quite large.

Yep, that is the proper tank size, it is a lot because these fish if properly kept you will have 5+ 12" fish. And it isn't just the length it is the height of the fish. Sadly clown loaches are one of those fish like oscars that many people don't properly keep due to misinformation.

 

*6+ 12" fish, I believe the school minimum size is 6+ (correct me if I'm wrong)

In addition to their large size if you do have to room for a 180+ gallon tank be prepared to have this fish for 10+ years

*Edit: If you like the clown loaches but can't provide a 180+ gallon tank for them I would recommend getting a smaller botia loach such as yoyo laoches(6"), dwarf chain loaches(2"), etc.

 

6 minimum for botine loaches is correct.

 

Some good advice above and I largely concur.

12" is not a common size for Clown Loaches. When 2,000 Clown Loaches were caught in the wild in Sumatra by Legendre only one reached 12".

It is the females that grow larger. Males are much smaller. My largest female is 11.5".

I have six Clown Loaches (2m, 4f). I seriously doubt that Clown Loaches go around in groups of six in the wild but six does allow some social interactions that seem important to Clowns if both males and females are present.

Whilst the ideal would probably be to have many more Clown Loaches I don't get the impression that the number is totally inadequate.

I keep my Clown Loaches in a 110 gallon 6' x 18" x 18" aquarium. This was considered overkill when I bought my loaches 22 years ago. 3' x 15" x 15" was recommended back then.

I would recommend having more floor space but the 18" depth is good. I struggle to reach the substrate when the depth is 2'.

 

As I stated when I first posted I realize the size of the tank at the current time is not large enough. But fish are still small now, I will upgrade tank size before they outgrow tank