Will Clown Loaches Jump Out of Tank?

I recently got four new clown loaches (along with one bristlenose pleco) and i've tried my best to research all about them, but there's only so much I can find without directly asking the specific questions.

I've introduced them into my tank on friday (today is monday) and so far the pleco is happy as can be, but I'm nervous about my loaches. They're incredibly shy, and they keep disappearing on me. I currently do not have a lid on my tank, but I have a tall 30 gal hexagon tank, and these clowns, as soon as introduced, went straight to the bottom to hide. I don't know if they possibly jumped out, but I have read that they are incredibly good hiders. Yesterday morning I woke up to three of them swimming around, and again tonight there's only two. I'm assuming they've squeezed themselves into this hole in my log (I was unaware of the holes existance or of the apperent hollowness of my log.) I know I have seen one little nose poking out of there.. but that's just one. Should I be concerned about them jumping out? (They haven't even surfaced for food, though I have seen them eating from the bottom, so no worries about nutrition) I panicked and put my empty laundry basket on top for the night, just in case. (seeing as I have dogs, one of which eats anything and everything)

Another question I have is is it at all possible to get them to be less shy? I know its only three days in and I need to be patient, but I want them to be as happy and as comfortable as possible. Should I get another two and hope for the best? Should I get another type of fish? (I was thinking of getting 5 or so black skirt tetras to add once the loaches were happy, or in a tank that size is it a bad idea..?)

Here is a decent picture of I believe three of them on day two.

(I believe I have heard them clicking or something clicking when I approach the tank, is that them scared?)

Thank you to anyone who helps. I have been browsing the forums for a while, but I wanted a specific answer for my babies

 

Good morning,

I would highly recommend that your aquarium have a tank lid. You could always make your own:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/am-i-better-off-without-glass-covers.131094/
(see video in post #6)

Give your fish more time to adapt to their new environment. They will come out when they are comfortable.

Clown Loach Teeth Clicking or Grinding (from the link above):

"Clown loaches will sometime make, a rather loud, clicking noise when they are excited, hungry or happy. You can also hear this when they occasionally come to the surface to eat. This sound is made by the clown loaches grinding their pharyngeal teeth. These are teeth that some fish have, such as sucker fish and goldfish, that they use to eat tougher food like invertebrates or snails."

In the link above, it states 10g's and then upgrade, but IMO, these fish should never be kept in a tank so small.

Best of luck and please keep us posted.

Ken

 

Morning; Thanks for the links, I have previously read two of those haha!

I woke up this morning to check on them, still only seeing two but this time I found one swimming very near the top right under the filter stream. Does that mean anything or does he just like the stream? What strange little fishes.

I'd need to get a glass lid specially cut because the previous owners broke it and its a hexagonal tank. Crazy hard to find a lid for that. (I'm glad I put the basket on top last night). I was considering using a bird netting to drape over the top (we have extra from covering our strawberries) would that work or not so much..? I should dig through the forum again.

Its taking all of my will power to not rip out the log and shine a light down that hole..

 

You really do need a much larger tank for this species. I'm not sure who came up with 10 gallons, but it's a lie. They require a school of at least 6 and a tank of 75 gallons or more.

A hexagonal tank is not a true 30 gallon, as it doesn't allow the same swimming area that a rectangular tank would.

I love these loaches, too, but don't have them as I don't have the space right now in my 75.

 

I will be upgrading as need be, but i've read it takes them years to get up to a size that needs more than 30 gal? And currently it's only them four and the teeny pleco, they've got the run of the tank. Thank you for your advice though.

 

Just try to upgrade before you "think" they need it. Fish can suffer stunted growth that is not visible to the naked eye. I think too many people figure they'll know when it's time.

Good luck!

 

Long time without a Clown Loach topic on here!
Hi, good luck with the Clown Loaches, here are my opinions based on my experience.

The most important thing that you need to do is control water quality as adding this many fish to a 30 gallon will seriously challenge any filtering system to maintain it. If water quality takes a dive then newly introduced Clown Loaches will be at risk of Whitespot / Ich which can be fatal.

I suggest there should be zero ammonia and nitrite and that nitrate should be below 20ppm or 20 mg/l. Clown Loaches routinely suffer whitespot when newly introduced so it would be useful to get a good view of them occasionally.

Of course, new ones are quite skinny and need feeding up and this also effects water quality, particularly if food is lying around uneaten because the fish are hiding and inactive.

+1 on the lid. I don't know for sure whether Clown Loaches will jump but I expect they will.

They will have disappeared into the log, they need a retreat to feel safe. Mine were in there for two weeks without feeding before I checked and then felt guilty for disturbing them. They later became very active.

It has often been reported that they can get stuck in these ornaments and I have lost one this way, so I started ensuring the holes were much bigger than the fish and all was well.

My six are in a 90 UK gallon ( = 110 US gallon) and I can tell you that my aquarium should really be larger !

I'm not sure why you introduced a Bristlenose to what looks a clean (new?) aquarium. In my aquaria these (I have six) have the job of removing algae and are fed on nothing else. I have known them starve to death when they ran out of algae (but I learnt from my mistakes).

I would have added the Bn when the tank was well established and in need of cleaning of algae. Bns will feed on vegetables but feeding vegetables is, I feel, a sure fire way of ruining good water quality which is the last thing you want.

I think you will find these early stages challenging especially as you have a number of compromises working against you:
Lack of experience
New fish
New aquarium
New filters? and therefore toxic waste products present
Other species with different requirements present
Small aquarium

But, if you can overcome these and carry on learning things will get easier and more enjoyable by the week until hopefully you will have a shoal of Clown Loaches you will be proud of.

 

Good afternoon,

Redshark1 I'm so glad you posted and shared a photo of your beautiful Clown Loaches! Here is a link to another one of Redshark1's threads with a couple of more photos of his beautiful Clowns:



Ken

 

Thank you so much for the advice.

I got the pleco because 1- its adorable, and 2- as much as I tried to clean my ornaments (a lot of things I have are from a previous owner, a nice elderly couple, and everything was dirty) they still had that slimy algae feeling to it. I have algae pellets and I have made sure all the fish are eating, and that little pleco is a glutton. A third reason was because in the pet stores they're so incredibly small, I wanted to introduce both fish at the same time, in hopes that the bigger loaches wouldnt pick on him as soon as he arrived, though ive read they're usually fairly friendly (didn't want to risk it). They all went off to their own little corners and so far it's worked well, they're all pretty happy. Here's a good size comparison. All of them are so tiny.


I think my fish are doing well, one of them comes out a lot more, as you see in the picture. This one's colors are a lot darker and more vibrant than the first day. It was even swimming upside down! I'm hoping that's a good thing because ive read theyre playful and lie on their side/back. It wasn't belly up, it was moving quite a lot. Please tell me that's a good thing?




Another update, I have confirmed there is at least one loach in there, without disturbing everything, and by the looks of it there's lots of room in there. Forgive the photo quality, it was hard to shine the light at the right angle and take the photo. You can definitely see a little someone peering back at me.

 

You don't want to be shining a light into what they consider to be a safe cave. Some species can actually die of fright (or the equivalent) when you shine a light on them. Just leave them be, so that they can acclimate safely.

 

Oh, I wasn't aware they could be that sensitive. I only did it the one time to satisfy a anxious curiosity. I know they're there and won't do it again, for their sake

 

They should be in a larger school and larger tank. I recommend a 75-Gallon for them

 

So I did my first water change and so far so good. I was thinking I could add some top swimmers? I really like dalmatian mollies and black skirt tetras, but I'm not too sure how they'd manage with my clowns. I've heard that zebra danios are good too, but for all I'm not sure how many, if any. What about cobra guppies?

-EDIT never mind about the mollies, apperently they need salt?

 

Mollies do not need salt. They've been bred to the point that their need for salt has been weaned out of them.

 

I see no reason why you should not go with your favoured choices in this instance.

I have found my Clown Loaches very peaceful with other species and they have not even eaten Rainbow fry hatched in the tank.

In my experience Clown Loaches are more likely to be annoyed or bullied by other species despite their apparent vigour and exuberance.

I am likely to keep mine for their remaining years alone exept for a few subordinate female Bristlenoses and dither fish.

I may eventually get some Congo Tetras as I have kept these before with no problems and they were very compatible as were Arnold's Red-eyed Tetras which were also very long-lived (up to 16.5 years) and therefore good value. These both need more swimming room than you can offer so your choices are more appropriate for your aquarium.

The carrying capacity of your small aquarium will quickly be reached.

It is a temporary home for Clown Loaches at best.

There is not a lot of floor space and this is important for Clown Loaches which swim quickly along the bottom.

Please realise that to keep your Clown Loaches ethically you will have to plan for a much bigger aquarium or face giving them up. Otherwise they will be stunted and not reach their proper size.

In the meantime feeding, filtration and water changes must be strictly monitored to protect water quality.

Assuming the tank is fully cycled and Ammonia and Nitrite are nil I suggest testing nitrate weekly at least until a regular pattern of maintenance is arrived at that will keep levels stable and at a desirable value (I suggest under 20ppm).

Maintenance is much easier with fewer fish and keeping fish healthy is more enjoyable than struggling against disease and short life spans.

I hope my observations assist you.

 

So by the sound of it, I shouldnt get any more fish..?

I do have another tank, it still needs to be cleaned badly, and cycled, but it is a 20 gal rectangle tank. (12 inches deep, 17 inches high, 24 inches across) would this tank be better or worse for my clown loaches and should I dedicate this 30 gal to a single species tank? (or have 20 schooling fish, 10 of 2 species, like suggested by a forum here)

Also, should I get another 2 loaches? I understand they need to be in larger groups of minimum 5 or 6, and seeing as I only have 3 (still hoping the 4th is just hiding and not in my dogs belly) they are probably less comfortable than they could be with another two friends, should my tank allow it.

I AM planning on upgrading the tank when I need to a few years from now, but as of current I don't have the financial stability, nor do I have the room for their required big tank.. I made the commitment of buying them, so I want to give them the best life possible.

Currently the biggest one is barely 2 inches long (he/she can't fit in the log hole, the other two can, the smallest I believe is still less than an inch and a half, not too much smaller but he/she's very quick and nimble) Bruce, my bristlenose pleco, is currently about an inch long. He's so darn cute, sucking away at everything in the tank. The snails seem happy too, also crawling on everything. Other than the clowns being very shy, they seem very healthy (though i'm worried about the middle sized one, always with his/her butt out of one of the log holes.. it looks like he/she's stuck sometimes..)

Another update, last night I finally made a makeshift cover for the tank. a piece of thin plastic cut to the shape, looks real bad but its functional. Bruce is very happy. I also sunk four peas (cooked and peeled of course) and they gobbled them up! they liked it much better than the broccoli.

 

I've been following this thread silently for a while, and I just wanted to mention a few things I haven't seen yet.

Plecos are not algae eaters and require a diet supplemented by multiple food types. While they do eat algae when they're young, as they grow they will wean themselves off it.

Loaches are bottom feeders primarily, so don't be alarmed if you don't see them come to the top of the tank to eat as they often won't. They are bottom-dwellers and this behavior is normal.

As to which tank to put the loaches in, the 20gal may be better for now if the footprint is larger than the 30 gal, and I suspect this will be the case if you measure them out. Most peaceful tank mates will be fine with the Clowns, but I'd avoid any aggressive fish (mollies may be too nippy for them, for instance). You also want to look carefully at your bioload and water parameters as loaches can be very sensitive and are not good starter fish. BN plecos are also large waste producers for their size.

 

I'll try to be helpful and provide my opinion here based on what I know.

The only logical conclusion I can reach is that if a 30 gallon is what you are stuck with then you should really return the Clown Loaches and keep fish that are more suited to that size aquarium.

I would definitely recommend keeping the fish you most like but only if you can provide for them. 20 gal should be out of the question.

Regarding additional stocking, it's not just a question of no more fish its more a question of wrong fish for the wrong tank. They would need moving up to a bigger tank sooner rather than later.

To keep them in the 30 gallon will mean they will be stunted, growing much smaller than normal.

I wouldn't find that acceptable personally but I know that very few of the twenty million Clown Loaches exported from Indonesia each year find themselves in suitable homes.

People certainly have kept them in 30 gallon tanks long term. There have been a number of cases proving this is possible. It's whether you can find this desirable. Like the goldfish that could reach 15" in a pond but kept at 3" in a bowl.

As their keeper the decision is yours.

 

Please do not consider adding more loaches. You cannot appropriately house the ones you currently have. There is no shame in returning a species to the lfs and just telling them that you realized that you cannot keep them due to the size issue. I rehomed my rainbow shark for just that reason. He had a sudden 4 inch growth spurt, ate my school of zebra danios and I was forced to realize that I just didn't offer him the room he needed.

Redshark has shared experience and knowledge with you. I would definitely heed his advice.

 

so, ive calculated using awesome 8th grade geometry skills, that my 30gal has a bottom surface area of 286.44 but the 20gal has a surface area of 288... apperently it wouldnt make entirely too much of a difference, just less top space. The LFS I bought them from said 30 gal would be fine for the first year as long as they have good hiding spots. I suppose that was bad advice, then. :/ I think I have more knowledge of them now than that petsmart does..

 

I have some real bad news, one of my clown loaches suddenly passed away this evening. I did a few water tests and I think I may have been hasty in buying fish, because my nitrites and nitrates are now suddenly high, and I may be experiencing more of the nigrogen cycle.. (I thought I was good, I was wrong)

So I did some quick research after noticing another fish copying the same behavior of the deceased one (thankfully without the erratic swimming desperately at the surface then plummeting down immobile). I did a 25% water change, and that seems to have already improved its behavior.. I'm so so sorry little buddy.. I'm going to try to save your friends to my best ability. If that means bringing them back, and chancing them at a worse home, so be it...

Please help, if there's anything else I can do.. Lower the temperature a little ive heard, get a plant (they're selling moss balls at my petsmart), anything to slow the cycle and to keep the others from dying.. I feel awful, and ive learned from my mistake now. I'm just so regretful that it cost me one of those beautiful fishes' lives. (Pleco seems still good seeing as he's hardier I'm assuming its affecting him a little less..?) Should I go and get one of those moss balls? (They looked very green and healthy, some with bubbles on the outside when I went in today)

After doing a second test after the water change, the test readings are in the picture, to read for yourself... Before the water change the nitrate and the nitrite were a dark pink, I had a heard attack followed by an epiphany of dread. I just hope it was enough to save them, and I hope they haven't been too stressed out (last water change was on saturday)

Theres nothing more I can do for them right now, except pray to the fishy lords that they all make it through this alive.

 

Moss balls don't really grow fast enough to take care of this kind of issue. I'd suggest you start dosing with Prime and large water changes every day. You can also add some bottled bacteria to help speed the cycle along.

 

Do 50% water changes. I'm sorry you lost one.

 

I have prime, I used prime in my water change, and I just added a small dose of my "cycle" bottle bacteria. (Edit last post with parameters and more info)

Thank you for the help. I'll test again and do another water change in the morning.

 

so, I think the fish I saw last night made its way into the log and it may have died, but I'm not entirely sure. I certainly hope the little guy is still breathing, but I saw no movement.

so I'm following the advice on this thread about how to safely remove a fish from an ornament (theres surprisingly little of those)
And hopefully the little guy is alright :/ I needed to remove that big log anyways... Jees these poor fish. :'(

 

Welp. The other guy is dead (the one I saw last night), but the other two are looking good, and ive been keeping an insanely close eye on the tank parameters. Turns out indeed my tank wasn't done cycling and since finicky clowns are finicky, they felt it the most... jeez though, since that ive done all I can to make it better, ive done two 25% water changes and I even went out and bought a java fern to help slow the cycle a little. (I wanted to get one since before the tank anyways, now I have a valid enough of a reason) I've removed the log from the tank, because.. eegh.. there's a poor dead fishy in there and I can't get it out.

I went to my LFS (not the petsmart; Big Al's Fish Emporium) and got what I think is some decent advice. Now I only have two loaches and one pleco in my 30Gal tank. I'm very stuck between two choices. I might go back tonight and get three more clown loaches. I can tell in my gut they're incredibly nervous alone, especially with their main cover gone (They still have a few other hidey holes) But I don't know I keep telling myself two different things, one is I need to wait for the cycle to be completely over before adding more fish, but the other is in order for my current fish to survive I need to relax them and make them more comfortable but more comfortable means they need a group, not just them as a pair.. what should I do?

 

Welp. The other guy is dead (the one I saw last night), but the other two are looking good, and ive been keeping an insanely close eye on the tank parameters. Turns out indeed my tank wasn't done cycling and since finicky clowns are finicky, they felt it the most... jeez though, since that ive done all I can to make it better, ive done two 25% water changes and I even went out and bought a java fern to help slow the cycle a little. (I wanted to get one since before the tank anyways, now I have a valid enough of a reason) I've removed the log from the tank, because.. eegh.. there's a poor dead fishy in there and I can't get it out.

I went to my LFS (not the petsmart; Big Al's Fish Emporium) and got what I think is some decent advice. Now I only have two loaches and one pleco in my 30Gal tank. I'm very stuck between two choices. I might go back tonight and get three more clown loaches. I can tell in my gut they're incredibly nervous alone, especially with their main cover gone (They still have a few other hidey holes) But I don't know I keep telling myself two different things, one is I need to wait for the cycle to be completely over before adding more fish, but the other is in order for my current fish to survive I need to relax them and make them more comfortable but more comfortable means they need a group, not just them as a pair.. what should I do?

Why are you talking about slowing the cycle? that doesn't make any sense... you want to speed it along. If you're talking about Nutrafin Cycle bacteria, I wouldn't use that, as it's probably the source of your problems. If you can, get Tetra Safestart or API quickstart. If you can't, then you probably have to go without a bottled bacteria in order to keep the fish safe.

A single Java fern is not going to keep your fish healthy. Java ferns are slow growers and therefore are not going to eat enough toxins to clear your water. A single plant of any kind won't do this, actually. You'd need a fully planted tank to really do much in the way of filtering through plants, especially with a Pleco's bioload.

What you need to do is: A) don't get anymore fish until your water parameters are perfect. More fish is going to mess your water up further, and they will continue to die. B) 50% daily water changes with Prime until all parameters are perfect. This means Ammonia - 0 Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - >5 <40.

 

does the water change include vacuuming gravel?

 

does the water change include vacuuming gravel?

Always That way you prevent food and waste from rotting in the tank and creating more ammonia.

 

okay. Thank you so much. about the slow it down part I think I mightve misread something somewhere

 

This seems paradoxical, but has often worked well for me; I find that by increasing the number of places a fish (or herp, for that matter) can hide, the less shy they will become. Perhaps it is knowing that a retreat is always near helps them to feel more secure.
I really like clown loaches, and once they acclimate, they are normally seen out and about more often than some loaches. Still, I must agree with the other posts that you will soon be needing a larger tank to accommodate them, as they do get quite large; on the other hand, they are well worth it, IMO. BTW, bottom feeding it quite normal for them. Best of luck with them,----rick
BTW, did you say that only one of your dogs will eat all and sundry? May my dogs spend sometime with yours learning manners?-they all now assume that anything they see and may possibly be edible is fair game. On the other hand, I tend to be that way, too.

 

No problem Good luck getting your tank back into whack!

 

So i've decided to bring back the clown loaches until my tank becomes stable. I'm doing nothing but harm to them. However, the little bristlenose pleco seems to be doing alright, which is a little bit of a relief that I'm not a complete failure as a beginner. :/ should I just have a pleco while my tank cycles or should I get a hardy fish like guppies or tetras or should I just bring him back too? I think I'll save the loaches for a more experienced me.

 

Dogs are so much easier to take care of than fish holy jeez! Yeah my little schnoodle will eat anything and everything, but my big standard poodle is happy with waiting until we give him something.

 

Lol. Good for you for bringing the loaches back. The pleco will probably be fine. They're super-hardy and my albino cycled one of my tanks with no issues at all.

My poodle is also a eat everything kind of dog lol!

 

Alright, so no more fish until I'm 100% sure the water has finished cycling. At which point I will add more appropriate fish. So to keep mr Bruce alive, I'm going to have to do 25%(?) daily water changes with the added bacteria. Anything else other than crossing my fingers..?

 

What kind of bacteria do you have? Like I said, if it's the Cycle from Nutrafin, don't use it.

50% water changes with Prime. Not 25%, that won't remove enough bad stuff.

 

even with just the pleco? Okay. yeah I have the nutrafin. any reason why I shouldnt use it..?

EDIT: research just told me that apperently it can slow the nitrogen cycle and doesn't really help it at all (non-aquatic bacteria?)

 

update: yay my stupid tank is done cycling and bruce is alive