Loaches Won't Eat

[Snuffleupagus]

Your loaches may be snacking when you're not watching (eg, late at night).

I've noticed that mine are like little kids and don't like most foods the first few times I try them out. Then eventually they catch on and do their best to not let any other fish have any kind of food whatsoever. After a couple months, it's gotten to the point where my 5 clowns will hover midwater in the tank whenever they catch sight of me, anticipating the next bounteous delivery of food. As soon as flakes/worms/pellets/wafers/snails hit the water, they attack them like creatures possessed.

Since you've confirmed that they're at least eating something sometimes, you might be able to help them get over their pickiness and culinary apathy by skipping a day or two of feeding. That makes them much more eager and much less choosy, and often once they get in that mode, they stay in it.

[severum mama]

I wouldn't worry about it just yet, since you've only had them a week. I didn't see my rummynose tetras eat for almost 3 weeks. They spend a lot of time scavenging for food and will eat anything that falls to the bottom of the tank.

[czcz]

re Hikari: My kuhliis are all over their Sinking Wafers (the one with the cory on the cover) and ignore Algae Wafers, [acronym:49e74e51b7="For what its worth"]fwiw[/acronym:49e74e51b7]. I don't think you should worry yet either.

The more hiding places loaches have the more they swim around in the open. Consider moonlighting if you want to appreciate them more, too; I think my noctournal fish are least spooked by red LED, after trying a few methods. It is not too expensive and there are a lot of HowTos in the [acronym:49e74e51b7="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:49e74e51b7] Forum.

[TriviallyTravis]

Thanks for the replies... I'll wait until tomorrow night and try dropping in a wafer after the lights go out, maybe. They should have plenty of places to hide. My plants are getting thicker and I have two caves. One's rock and the other is wood. They seem to like the wood cave better 'cause it's where they hang around most of the time.

I'll keep trying stuff.

[Jason the Lost]

I'm going on week three with my loach and I have now seen him twice. Once when I put him in the tank and once when I pulled out the resin driftwood piece with the cave bottom thinking I needed to get his corpse out of there and he went swimming off. He went back in as soon as it was replaced and now hes gone again...I'm starting to get paranoid about him being dead again but am getting to the point where the other fish will just have to nibble him to death...I cant disturb all the surrounding plants again to pull out the driftwood AGAIN because he's shy.

I don't ever see him, lights on or off....even with the room completely dark I can sit there for 20 minutes with just the lunar LED's on and no ign of him.

[czcz]

Jason, your loach might just want some buddies. Travis did well to start with a crew of size appropriate loaches. [acronym:b4603f4cde="Hope this helps (or) Happy to help"]HTH[/acronym:b4603f4cde]

Joe