Are my clown loaches figthing or playing?
- Thread starter Reventon
- Start date
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I did a little research and I found this for you
"Clowns are able to change their coloration within certain parameters. These changes can be based on mood, aggression, possibly stress and other factors. The illustration shows a fish sitting at a slight tail-down attitude with fins spread. This position will often be taken accompanied by "graying out", during mock fights between Clowns. These fights are often referred to as "Sparring", and are used to determine the natural pecking order within a group. People have theorized that "gray" fish are sub-dominant when they remain this color for prolonged periods, but I have noticed that my Dominant (Alpha) fish is often the one showing this color. They can change from regular coloration to "gray" quite quickly, particularly at feeding time, when many squabbles break out. Depending on one's tank lighting, this color change may show a kind of greenish, metallic sheen to the whole body, most noticeable over the stripes. The edges of the stripes tend to have a sort of paler area than the rest of the stripe."
Source: http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-loach-coloration-marking-variations
Theres a lot of useful information on this site when it comes to clown loaches I would recommend taking the time to read the information. I also would recommend as other have that you keep them in a group of 5 minimum.
"Clowns are able to change their coloration within certain parameters. These changes can be based on mood, aggression, possibly stress and other factors. The illustration shows a fish sitting at a slight tail-down attitude with fins spread. This position will often be taken accompanied by "graying out", during mock fights between Clowns. These fights are often referred to as "Sparring", and are used to determine the natural pecking order within a group. People have theorized that "gray" fish are sub-dominant when they remain this color for prolonged periods, but I have noticed that my Dominant (Alpha) fish is often the one showing this color. They can change from regular coloration to "gray" quite quickly, particularly at feeding time, when many squabbles break out. Depending on one's tank lighting, this color change may show a kind of greenish, metallic sheen to the whole body, most noticeable over the stripes. The edges of the stripes tend to have a sort of paler area than the rest of the stripe."
Source: http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-loach-coloration-marking-variations
Theres a lot of useful information on this site when it comes to clown loaches I would recommend taking the time to read the information. I also would recommend as other have that you keep them in a group of 5 minimum.
Definitely get more, and tiger barbs are a decent choice for a "dither." Basically any active swimming fish with a healthy appetite is going to make them feel safe and secure and they will eat better IME. As long as they aren't overly aggressive, although a lot mid to top dwelling fish will ignore them aggression-wise anyway because they are bottom dwellers and so differently shaped.
You cant party with two its just not that fun. they need a bigger possyrobmcd;4910712; said:Neither. They are partying. Its their way of saying ''we need 5 more in our gang!!''
Thanks erk419 that is an excellent article. My fish were 'graying out' and everyone said they are playing and never heard of them fighting but they looked like a pair of cichlids bumping and lip locking and usually during a meal. actually this fight for dominance in the group is common as I have had the same occur in 2 tanks both with at least 5 in the group. I did not see this occur though when I had 2-3 fish. In lower numbers they seemed perfectly happy so I am not sure if you necessarily need to have 5 or more as it seems to bring out a little more aggression at the top of the order. When this occurs it's always the 2 largest and everyone else in the pack is fine with no issues.
