Clown Loaches

[Corydoras4Ever]

About a week ago, I bought a couple of Clown Loaches. I burried a plastic tube underneath my gravel and they just love hiding in that tube from time to time. They come out at night and at day, whenever they feel like it.

I had several reasons for buying 2 Clown Loaches. I know that they love eating snails. I also thought they ate brown algae. I have hardly seen this though. So far they seem to leave the brown algae alone.

After a week, I noticed that one of the loaches has a really big belly, whereas the other one is still as slender as he used to be. My wife laughed and said that the loach might be pregnant, but looking on the internet quickly dismissed that notion. Apparently Clown Loaches have hardly ever been bred in captivity. I think it only happened once in the UK?

I still find this weird, because I have not been feeding my fish that much lately, actually less than normal. Also the fact that only one of them has a bulging belly seems weird to me.

 

[Menagerie]

Loaches do not eat algae, they are not built for it. However, they will eat snails, but I have herad they will not eat mts. A bulging belly may be a sign of disease. Keep an eye on that loach. How are all the other fish in the tank?

 

[vega]

a adult clown loach can reach 30cm. unless your cloan cloach is >20cm, its very unlikely its pregnant.

HTH

 

[hisc1ay]

I don't want to cause a scare, but I agree. I've had a few loaches, and I would notice a bulging belly, and then a short while later I'd have one less loach. This did not always happen...sometimes the belly meant they ate more.

Also check the coloration. If it gets really pale and stays that way, it could be another sign of sickness.

-j

 

[Corydoras4Ever]

Thanks

Thank you for the feedback, guys.

The other fish seem to be doing fine in the tank. The 'fat' clown loach is still behaving normal. I don't see him do any weird things.

 

[Menagerie]

Oh! I forgot my favorite remedy for bloated fish. Skip a day of feeding and then feed the tank peas. I use frozen peas, nuke, peel and serve!

 

[Fishalicious]

Oh! I forgot my favorite remedy for bloated fish. Skip a day of feeding and then feed the tank peas. I use frozen peas, nuke, peel and serve!

Do you think my Danios would dig them?
Is it just for bloating or can you do it
every once and a while?

-Dan

 

[patryuji]

You can feed the fish peas every once in awhile. In fact, it is probably a good idea to give the fish some fiber from veggies occassionally.

If you have only two clown loaches it could be that the one with the bigger belly has asserted dominance over the other and is therefore eating more food while preventing the other from eating as much.

 

[fish_doc]

most fish will benefit from eating peas. It is a veggie and would suppliment vegetation in their natural environment.

 

[kenor33]

how do you peel peas ? just curious their so small already

 

[Menagerie]

The peas basically pop open when you squeeze on them. Some fish will not touch peas, but it is worth a try. The first time I fed peas to my tanks, the fish laughed--I heard it!! My cichlids, tetras, cories, loaches, and live bearers all eat peas.