The moss has overtaken the tank so I have to remove it too as he loves going behind it/amongst it. I know that I can catch him by chasing him with a net. The tank is small and has no hiding places. He sleeps under the sponge which is the prefilter for the UV so that's about the only hiding place. I am going to try to figure a less stressful way. I have to get a ceramic tube or something and get him while he sleeps in it or similar approach. I tried putting a plastic cup and food inside it. He went in but he's too fast for me so he ran out by the time I tried to block the exit. Human vs clown loach
The hand feeding is fairly easy and not time consuming. I just grab 3-4 small pellets and he has them chomped down in a minute or two. This way several times a day alongside frozen stuff here and there. Only if I feed him the spirulina stick it takes time as in the video as he can't bite it and swallow it though he tries
But yes, alongside daily water changes it still takes enough time.
My larger clowns used to hand feed for a period of time but me being busy sometimes I left them months without doing it, just throwing the food in and now they know they don't need to work for it as it will fall down eventually because I'll lose patience waiting for them to come up....
But when they did, it helped me figure out clown loaches don't hurt when they bite, even my big clown was very gentle. And their skin is so smooth like velvet on the touch....very different from other fish.