Missing loach

[saiwong]

I have a loach that I initially purchased from my local pet store as a oto loach. After a while it lost its grey-ish colour and turned yellow. But apart from it colour change it has done well and Iv'e had him for over a year now and he has grown to approx 7cm.

However he has disappeared from the aquarium and I have looked everywhere but no sign of him.

I have turned off the filter to check he didn't somehow get in, but no sign. Also did check behand rocks and plant but nothing.

Also checked around outside of aquarium in case he somehow jumped out, but nothing.

Total mystery of where he went.

Anyone suggest what they think happened ?

 

[Aiken Drum]

What else is in the tank?

Do you have cats?

Is there any hosing it might have got into?

 

[saiwong]

What else is in the tank?

Do you have cats?

Is there any hosing it might have got into?

I just have guppys, platys,catfish & flying fox.

I don't have any other pets

I have gravel pump for use when doing water change but it has built in mechanism to not let large objects get sucked up

 

[Andy Sager]

If it's not hiding or was eaten by your catfish, it's possible that it died and the other fish ate it ( that's what fish do ) and the skeleton was sucked into the filter as it fell apart.

I've never heard of an "Oto Loach". Do you have any pictures of it?

 

[saiwong]

If it's not hiding or was eaten by your catfish, it's possible that it died and the other fish ate it ( that's what fish do ) and the skeleton was sucked into the filter as it fell apart.

I've never heard of an "Oto Loach". Do you have any pictures of it?

When I purchased him it was sold as a Otocinclus loach but it lost its colour and turned yellow so I think it was sold as Otocinclus but was actually another breed altogether (maybe chinese algae eater)

If my fish got eaten then wouldn't the other fish have full bellies ? I Didn't see any full swollen bellies of the other fish.

 

[Andy Sager]

When I purchased him it was sold as a Otocinclus loach but it lost its colour and turned yellow so I think it was sold as Otocinclus but was actually another breed altogether (maybe chinese algae eater)

If my fish got eaten then wouldn't the other fish have full bellies ? I Didn't see any full swollen bellies of the other fish.

Okay. Otocinclus are catfish not loaches so if it turned yellow, definitely not an Oto. You are probably right with it being a Chinese algae eater.

As for the other fish having full bellies, it would all depend on how much of the fish they got to eat and how many days after they ate him you discovered he was gone. That said, do you see algae growing in your tank when it wasn't when you knew the algae eater was there? If not, there's a good chance the fish is alive and just hiding. Many a person has taken a decoration out of a tank when cleaning only to have a Pleco or other algae eater pop out of it after it was dry for a while. LOL

 

[saiwong]

After approximatley a week missing, my missing Chinese algae eater(???) reappeared !

Dunno where it was all the time, I literally searched everywhere and didn't find him
but he just reappeared.

 

[Aiken Drum]

How about a photo to see if someone can identify it for you.

 

[saiwong]

How about a photo to see if someone can identify it for you.

This is an old image of the fish before it totally turned yellow and still looked like a otocinclus

but now it is totally yellow

 

[Andy Sager]

After approximatley a week missing, my missing Chinese algae eater(???) reappeared !

Dunno where it was all the time, I literally searched everywhere and didn't find him
but he just reappeared.

See, you now fit into the category of aquarists who lost a never lost fish. You didn't lose him, you just couldn't find him.

So now you know he has a secret hiding spot. Don't bother finding it. You'd probably have to tear the tank apart to find it. Next time he goes missing, you won't panic unless the other fish have fuller bellies or you accidentally left the top open.

 

[saiwong]

Can you tell from the photo the species of the fish ?

(otocinclus, chinese algae eater or something else)

 

[Aiken Drum]

The photo is a little blurry, but its already outgrown an otocinclus. Does the fish have barbels or just a sucker mouth?

 

[Andy Sager]

Can you tell from the photo the species of the fish ?

(otocinclus, chinese algae eater or something else)

The mouth looks wrong to me for an Oto but it's too big and the wrong color for an Oto so you can rule that out. Need a better pic of it now to make a better ID.

 

[saiwong]

The photo is a little blurry, but its already outgrown an otocinclus. Does the fish have barbels or just a sucker mouth?

It has a sucker mouth.

But don't worry about identifying him its not that important