Clown Loach Dying

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SidKarver

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 7, 2011
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Gone fishin...
It seems every time I buy a clown loach it dies. None have lived over a week. And surprisingly, they eat (bloodworms) fine, but then die. It's aggravating..

My current tank is a 55 gal housing 2 baby Oscars, a baby Jack Dempsey, an 8" Pleco.

Water parameters are normal. Tank is cycled, and functioning very well with a 550gph cannister filter.

Clown Loaches just go belly up after introducing them to my tank. I keep the lights off and the tank room quiet upon introduction. Also I should mention, I always acclimate them to the water for 30-45 mins first. And the tank temp is a steady 76°

What am I doing wrong?
 
I should also mention, I've bought Clown Loaches from several different local pet stores, as well as big box chain stores like Petsmart and Petco.

They all die off. Please help me.
 
What are your parameters, are your nitrates high? Are you sure they aren't getting murdered and also are you adding only a single fish cause thye are social creatures and do better in large groups.
 
+1, I have always found that social fish, need to be social. Ive had many seemingly healthy fish die for no reason when kept alone instead of in a group. Salts and pollutants are not handled well by clowns but would not bother your other fish.

Also, oscars and jacks are a little rowdy for small loaches. I would not be surprised if they kill them in the night, even if the loach is too big to be eaten.

Clowns have always been a sensitive variety of loach. There are many other easier species if you wanted to try something similar. I would first consider the pollutant/social problems
 
I have never had a problem with clowns. I didn't think that they where hard to keep possibly the aggression in the tank?
 
Clown loaches also like warmer waters the 76 degrees. Most the fish your dealing with would prefer around 80 degrees. Clown loaches are very susceptible to Ich, and secondary infections. Depending on how small they are they can be quite frail when very little. I have also seen them when smaller have plenty of issues with internal parasites.

Are you using heavy amounts of salt in the water? I know you said your water parms are fine but what exactly are they PH, Am, NI, Nitrate? What is the substrate. Loaches and botia do prefer a sof substrate that wont rub their barbs off.

Need more info about your situation.

How long do they last?
Any indicators of issues before they die?
Actual water parm data?

They do need to eat other things then blood worms.
 
What on earth are "normal" parameters? 76F isn't normal for clowns for a start, they prefer (need) soft, warm, highly oxygenated and fast moving water to really thrive. If you're serious about keeping CLs you should;

-test your water for hardness and pH and compare it to the stores water. Ideally your hardness should be quite low and the pH not much above 7 at the most.

-bump the temp up to at least 27C and provide enough water movement to keep it aerated.

-consider the growth rate of your oscars vs the clown loaches. If you're starting with young LFS-sized CLs you could be in trouble in 8-10 months when your oscars are getting to ~10" and the clowns have only grown a couple of inches.

-and consider if you're prepared to commit to housing a school of active potentially-foot-long fish. IMO to keep them well you will want to move them on from your 4' tank to something at least 6' in length by the time they get to about 4-5" at the most. They are very active fish, even at a small size, and really need to move.
 
Do you use aquarium salt? They are very sensitive to it and it will kill them.

Sent from my SGH-T889 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Okie Dokie. I wish I had the time to reply to each reply individually. I don't think Clown Loaches are going to be my best option for tank mates with my south American cichlids. Wrong substrate is just one issue I have. The tank is now at 80°, there is plenty of airflow and water movement.

It's a learning experience. I've learned, research is priceless. So let me ask, what would be a good bottom feeder with my current stock? I want maybe a few Pictus Catfish, or something else? That'd work out well? Any advice is appreciated.

By normal parameters I meant PH is 7,no Ammonia, nitrite is very low, nitrates are steady. I don't have enough time to go into great detail.. Basically I change 30% of the water every Sunday. My fish have always appeared happy semi-agresive and healthy. But Clown Loaches unfortunately aren't for my tank. I've added as much as 5 and they die within a week. No I don't use any aquarium salt. Only frequent water changes. Yes to the poster that you mentioned the blood worms, I feed a varied diet... Especially with the Oscars. Seems the Loaches favor bloodworms over anything is why I mentioned it.
 
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