Keyhole cichlid stressed

[Ecoman29]

I have 4 keyholes, 3 Clown Loaches and Bristle Nose Plecos. 3 of Keyholes are fine but one is all black and hiding in a piece of pottery in the tank. Is this normal for breeding. Or the fish really stressed out. Doesn't really associated with any of the other fish. Is there anything I can do to help. Tanks got a ton of plants and rocks, drift wood and hiding places. My heater on the tank almost made it a fish boil. I have another heater in there. Water temp is at 72F. Any ideas or thoughts thanks. Oh yeah my tank is a 29 gallon tank.

 

[Freakgecko91]

That tank is much too small for that many keyholes, let alone the clown loaches. A pair of keyhole should really be in a 20 long and the minimum, a 30 being better. These are 4-5 inch fish and stay mostly towards the bottom.

 

[Cichlid ism]

Welcome to the forum. Freak is correct, your tank is too small. Clown loaches get rather large. I assume your fish are small right now, just plan to get a larger tank or rehome eventually. What are your water parameters? It's probably stressing the keyhole. Also raise your water temp to around 77-78.

 

[Ecoman29]

Everyone in the tank is rather small right now. I figured out two of the keyholes were pairing off. So I gave the other two keyholes to a friend. Once I did that the colors changed dramatically. I also have a 100 gallon tank just not setup there is water in it with a bunch of plants just no fish. I am going to move the loaches into that tank once there are larger. What type of things do the keyholes need to breed (Good coverage, space,hard or soft materials)?

 

[Ecoman29]

Thank you! I really appreciate the help. My fish most definitely do too!

 

[Cichlid ism]

I have a couple of male keyholes in my tank. Good hiding areas, nicely planted keeps them better at ease.

 

[Cichlid ism]

Thank you! I really appreciate the help. My fish most definitely do too!

Your welcome