is it true that some clown loaches that grow large are a different genetic variation than the ones that stay small forever. My friend bought six, 2" clown loaches together, from the same online supplier, at the same time. Two years later, five of them are around 3", one of them is pushing 6". They've all been fed the same diet, have lived in the same tank, etc.. At first, we thought that perhaps the big one just ate more than the others, but after careful observation, that doesn't seem a likely hypothesis anymore. We then read that there are two variations of clown loaches: one that take forever to grow and typically stay small in aquariums, and one that grows, fast.
clown loach genetic variation??
- Thread starter equidae9854
- Start date
I'd like to see that information, I've never heard that. I can imagine some fish have better genes and could grow more quickly. It's also possible that the more dominant fish is getting more food. I have no way to know the growth rates of individual fish in my tanks, most of them don't have distinct markings that would allow me to monitor individual growth rates.
There is still much to be learned about the nature of pheromones with regards to fish kept in the confines of an aquarium, and from the studies performed to date some of the various end results appear to be species specific. The following link is the abstract of a well known & often cited paper written by D.J. Solomon.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119626752/abstract
While much of the data presented thus far is somewhat based on individual theories, growth inhibiting pheromones is definitely something to consider. I think that another area to consider is the sex of the loach, as in growth in females vs. that of males. There seems to be a number of people that feel that female clown loaches grow larger, and faster than males, and typically do become the alpha fish in many aquarium settings.
Like many CL owners I've seen my share of juvenile fish raised from the same size, under the same conditions, with no one fish seeming to eat any more than the rest of the shoal, outgrow their tankmates by double or better, while the odd fish or two actually appears to be stunted, or a runt. For now I suppose most of this will remain an enigma, but an interesting discussion just the same.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119626752/abstract
While much of the data presented thus far is somewhat based on individual theories, growth inhibiting pheromones is definitely something to consider. I think that another area to consider is the sex of the loach, as in growth in females vs. that of males. There seems to be a number of people that feel that female clown loaches grow larger, and faster than males, and typically do become the alpha fish in many aquarium settings.
Like many CL owners I've seen my share of juvenile fish raised from the same size, under the same conditions, with no one fish seeming to eat any more than the rest of the shoal, outgrow their tankmates by double or better, while the odd fish or two actually appears to be stunted, or a runt. For now I suppose most of this will remain an enigma, but an interesting discussion just the same.