Stuck, or really fond of hiding?

Hey, everybody,

I have a single clown loach in a tank with a number of other guys (a pleco, danios, and a cory) and he has me thinking that he's stuck in his new hiding place!

A few days ago I removed a giant rock structure from the tank - it made bubbles and provided a hole for hiding in, but it was simply really big - and my clown loach would always hide in the rock. Since then, he's had no idea where to hide; I had made him a hiding spot out of some rocks forming a little "cave," but he ignored that and decided to hide by lying vertically against the tank heater and the corner it's in.

Anyway, I replaced the old bubble rock with a bubble dragon. It had a hole in the bottom for the airstone (and the hole is lying on gravel) as well as three holes for the dragon's mouth (with its "teeth" separating the three holes from one another). I'd seen him bumping into the mouth to get inside before, though he was too big to fit. Somehow, though, he managed to squeeze himself into the dragon now. I have no idea how he got in there, but is he stuck? I can't tell if he's stuck because these guys don't willingly come out of their hiding spots, so it's hard to tell if he's trapped or just feeling cozy.

Cheers,
342down

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EDIT

I added a picture of the dragon below. I don't think it'll provide much benefit, but maybe it will provide some at least.




Also, if the little guy is stuck? how would I go about getting him out? I've considered tipping the decoration on its side, but I'm not sure if I'd need to do more to get him out...

 

Welcome to FishLore!
There's no way to know whether he's stuck or loving his hiding place. Does he come out to eat?

Many years ago I provided unlimited amusement for the forum members when one of my clowns got stuck in a piece of driftwood. I wound up dragging the huge piece of driftwood out and chisling him free with a screwdriver and a hammer. Then he flopped all over my living room before I caught him and returned him to his tank. He grew up to be the biggest of the bunch totally unharmed. I never did decide whether he was just comfortable or truly stuck.
Months down the road he flopped over on his side to sleep and I was sure he was dead. Nope! just asleep.

All that said to say you will have to evaluate the situation

Let us know how the situation turns out.
Carol

 

Thanks for the response. It turns out he wasn't stuck after all! He looked much too tall to fit in the dragon so I figured he got in by accident, but it turns out he just swims in his side to get in! Now that I worried about him, he's going in and out like crazy.

Also, I have to say that your clown loach story is very amusing; they sure do have a habit of peskily hiding everywhere! I'm glad your little guy turned out to be fine when it was all said and done, though. I also learned about the "play-dead sleeping" thing these guys do the hard way. (I stuck a net in and slowly moved it over to him, and the little thing zipped away. I felt awful, but it was honestly somewhat amusing.)

Anyway, thanks again for your input. Given your little tale, and the two experiences I've now had with these sneaky little things, I'll be sure not to panic if this happens in the future.

Cheers,
342down

 

Here's a link to the old thread where I posted his pic while he was sleeping


Carol

 

Oh jeez, that would have scared the heck out of me! I love the tank, by the way. It looks wonderful. Beautiful fishies deserve a nice talk like that~

 

Thank You!

Carol

 

Yes I know from my own and other's shared experiences that they certainly can become fatally stuck but often they are just enjoying a new hidey-place.

I am reminded of one loach going missing and I only discovered its decomposed remains when I tipped out it's snug retreat after a process of elimination checking each cave in turn. That was a little gruesome!

After this I decided to only provide big caves rather than the ones they squeeze tightly into.

Then, when I presented a new big cave they promptly decamped en-masse to the dark confines and I didn't see them at all for two whole weeks. Man, I was worried. However, worry turned to relief when I investigated and found them all packed inside in perfect health and having a lazy-loachy sleep-over. Once the novelty of the cave had worn off they resumed their previous habits and were once more seen out and about again.

 

Oh yeah, I've always been worried that I'll wake up one day and see my clown loach dead in the dragon's mouth... It's really quite worrisome since he has a pretty long life ahead of him still.

I can see how finding one of these guys' bodies in their normal hiding spots would be freaky for sure. Also, I love your big tunnel story. Finding a bunch of clowns packed into one spot would be quite funny and rather cute.