hidey loaches

[Roop]

i have 4 clown loaches. i used to have 7. two died in my old tank due to ick (the smallest ones first). the next one was probably eaten by some vicous red tailed sharks that i got rid of a couple months ago.

my 4 loaches almost never come out. they used to have a massive chuck of driftwood that they would always hide in. i removed it and they all crammed themselves into a plastic sunken boat.

when i removed the driftwood, it was the frist time that i've seen all 4 of them in the last few months. they have all doubled in size, however, i never see them eat. i figure they must bee seeing as how they are all very healthy looking.

any suggestions guys? should i remove the boat as well now or should i just put the driftwood back and let them be?

the other fish are assorted corys, a 4" pleco, dozens of swords, a few mollies and that's it. i've been putting lots of care into this tank. it's 60 galls, 2" of flourite for my plants and 1" of rounded stones on top of the flourite. it's mid to heavily planet, all plants doing extremely well with the most powerfull lights my fish store has. fluval pump (second from their top pump). ammonia and nitrates are almost inexistent. water change a couple times a month. oh, this is the first year ever where my swords have had babies in both the spring and the fall (right now!) it was 2 dozen babies last time. i captured about 15 this time. there are more but they are good hiders and fast swimmers.

 

[Lotus]

Usually with loaches, the more places they have to hide, the more they come out.

Maybe try putting the driftwood, or another cave-like structure in there, and wait a while to see what happens.

Our loaches seem to have a set schedule. They are out in the morning for feeding time, take a post-breakfast nap, come out again, take an afternoon nap, come out at dinner time, then take another nap.

They certainly come out whenever we put frozen brine shrimp in the tank! They also like cucumber/zucchini. The pleco and maybe the livebearers also like vegetables (if you aren't already giving them this as a treat occasionally.

I would say the best bet is to give them more hiding places. Often they don't like sharing their "house" with other fish, so if the pleco has claimed one hidey hole, they may want their own one. Believe me, once you do get them to come out, they are a lot of fun!

 

[Roop]

i grew cucumbers this year specifically for my fish. they sure liked em. i cut them in half and sank them to the bottom. the pleco usually devours them but everyone (minus the loaches) takes a nip. i give all the fish occasional flrozen blood worms and frozen brine shrimp. the loaches don't come out for those treats either.

i normally feed them freeze dried blood worms and flake food on a daily basis with a bi-weekly algee puck for the pleco (he loves them!).

i'll put the log back in when i get home. the pleco used to share it with them but he's quite happy without it.

the drift wood has two holes. a small one that goes partially through and a larger one that goes all the way through. all of the loaches were crammed and folded into the smaller one. i took it out of the water and they were crammed in like sardines. i thought they were dead for a moment but no. they are really healthy fish. big guys too. i bought them all at less than 1.5" and the large ones is about 4" now.

i know they like uneven numbers so i'll buy 3 more next fish store visit.

 

[Lotus]

I wasn't sure what you were feeding everyone, so that was a suggestion. It sounds like they get a nice varied diet Our loaches aren't at all shy about going for food at the same time as other fish.

I would certainly try the driftwood again. I think it will make a difference.

And I am sure you have read about loaches sleeping on their sides, and otherwise "playing dead."
Good luck!

 

[Roop]

oh yeah. while i was transitioning from a 30 gallon to a 60gallon, i had a 10 gallon tank. it had limited hiding spaces. at that point, i had 7 loaches in the tank with a couple mollies. i know it was overloaded and some ich was going on there because of the number of fish but it was temporary.

all of the loaches would go in a 1" gap behind my pump, lay on their sides ontop eachother and sleep. it was fun to watch.

i've done some research on them, i'd just like to have them back to the way they were in the 10 gallon, minus the ich.

 

[ecotank]

It's best to have at least one "hiding spot" on each end of the tank for the loaches. Once they feel they have a quick retreat route, they seem to come out more often.

Our loaches now spend more time out than in after giving them suitable hiding spots.

 

[Brockway]

I've only got 2 in my 30g right now, because my others died of ick (and ghost shrimp attacks) while I had them in my 10g. It helps to cover the sides of the aquarium, I just taped up some paper. It makes them feel safer when they only have to watch one direction. Originally I used to use frozen blood worms as treats, but then I read that some clown loaches love the algae discs you would usually give to plecos. Check the ingredients, the #1 ingredient is fish meal. I usually use Hikari, they seem to like it. Their clicks are really audible, although they have to compete with my kenyis for the discs (I drop them in at night to avoid this). So, hiding spots good, 10g bad, lol. Have you seen them at walmarts? They are always freaked out and nervous because they have no hiding spots, which can lead to ick. Keeping the temp at a little above 80 can help prevent ick. Also, they are really sensitive to water quality.

 

[Roop]

when i got home tonight around 10:30, they were swimming about. just a couple of them. one of the largest and one smaller one.

the larger one is pretty grey and has some sort of crest on his head. the little guy is a couple inches long atleased. he's still out right now, just swimming about by himself.

my biggest loach (bazil) was also out. he looks similar in size and greyness to the guy with the crest except he has a saddle (which the other fish ride on ).

so, i saw all four of them tonight. maybe now that they know the sharks are gone, they are ok with comming out.

i did put the extra drift wood back in there. i took out my trusty axe and made it into a wooden cave. the pleco has made it his home already. i'll make another thread with a bunch of pics i took. look out for it.

 

[chefkeith]

Your Clown Loaches sound very stressed.

They don't like the bright lighting at all and need lots of hiding places.

 

[catfishmike]

loaches love places where the can get together in small tight spaces and pack themselves in tigh bundels.presumably for comfort and safety.if you see a lot of photos of clowns sleeping,you will notice that clowns love to sleep on each other on their sides.just try to add some decorations that will make your loaches more comfortable ane easier to aceive these reqiuerments.try a couple of large round river rocks pushed together so that there is a small triangular cave formed where the two rocks meet.make sure the cave is large enough for four or five loaches to fit in snugly,but not too big for a lager fish to feel comfortable in.it can be tough to meet the needs of loaches.