clown loach info needed

[fishnutham]

I get carried away sometimes well everytime I go to the lfs I brought home a few bags of fish including 4 clown loachs for my 90g community plec tank what do these guys prefer for food and are they nocturnal also any info would be apreciated i've never kept loachs before thx in advance

[is300zx]

Well mine really likes frozen brine shrimps but I also feed them anything that would basically sink to the bottom. You can try brine shrimp pellets or spectrum pellets and frozen blood worms. They like to hide in small spaces so make sure you have some hiding caves for them. They will also come out and play during the day or night when they feel safe. Having dither fishes like tiger barbs would help with that.

[Vapor]

The first clowns I got immediately schooled with my tiger barbs. I now have a total of six in two seperate tanks. They love to eat Algae wafers, blanched zuchini, and cooked frozen peas if you take the outer skin off first. They also eat most flake foods. Go to a web site called loaches online for more info. Great fish! :thumbsup:

[fishnutham]

thx guys theyll do fine with my plecs then feed them the same foods

[ewurm]

Well mine really likes frozen brine shrimps but I also feed them anything that would basically sink to the bottom. You can try brine shrimp pellets or spectrum pellets and frozen blood worms. They like to hide in small spaces so make sure you have some hiding caves for them. They will also come out and play during the day or night when they feel safe. Having dither fishes like tiger barbs would help with that.

I have a small cave, mine love to hide in it. They are frequently visible however, especially during feeding time. Good choice.

[gomezladdams]

I always hear 5 is the magic number to get clowns to be really active outgoing fish that live up to thier name.there a group at my drs office and they are anything but shy or nocturnal.Less than 5 and you dont see thier natural behavior.They get huge like 12" or so and really phat.And that switcblade under thier eye is cool to watch out for that lol.

[ewurm]

They also make clicking sounds, can't remeber the reason, someone help me out.

[Aquaman]

They also make clicking sounds, can't remeber the reason, someone help me out.

Mine make a clicking sound when they eat larger food items. I believe they have a capacity to suck in water at a fast rate, and when food or another object meets with the loaches mouth and brings this enhaled water to a sudden stop, you get a clicking noise. Just my interpretations through observation.

[Honda12]

The clicking sound if I remeber right is when I believe they are happy. They pretty easy to take care of. You can see what I have mine with in my signature and they eat whatever I feed the fish in there. They eat flakes, blood and blackworms, krill, squid, mysis shrimp and practically whatever you put in there. If you want there best colors to come out feed them a diet with a lot of blood worms. My clowns have a bright orange color and almost blood red fins do to lot of bloodworms.

[ewurm]

I haven't been able to find a scientific reason for the noises yet, I will keep looking and post alink if I find it.

[fishnutham]

the reason why i love the members here great info guys you all make this site great!!

[AtomixIGN]

I always wrote the clicking noise to stone throwing. My big Clown Loach always click when they dig. Especially when they are after something under a 3" river pebble.

[guppy]

They absolutely love live tubifex and blackworms as well as brine shrimp, the more yuo have the happier (and nuttier) they are. I don't know why they make the noises but it always reminded me of someone rolling pebbles together in their hands.

[is300zx]

This pic is not mine. I saw it at loaches.com. I would love to get mine to be that big. It is also said that they make clicking noise when they're happy.

[fishnutham]

All the talk about the clicking has gotten me stuck closer to my tank i've yet to hear it but that could be because of the equipment covering the sound and they are small yet , but one thing i have found interesting is the rolling of pond snails in their mouths curious i thought so google i went what they are doing is sucking the snail out of the shell now i wonder with this much sucking force if this is the clicking sound could be they suck hard to remove in- bedded food(s) from the substrate causing a snapping noise..
most interesting fish they're housed in a 90g with delicate plecs and a couple sun cats and some dither fish I'm running a 900gph powerhead to keep the current strong for the plecs but the loachs spend most of their play time in the strongest area of the jet chasing each other up and down , really enjoy these guys and glad i've included them in my tank.

[FishHeadSoup]

gr8 picture!!!