Hiding clown loaches

[lastmanstanding]

I have 5 clown loaches about 4" long that constantly hide. They are housed with 5 bala sharks, 4 denison barbs and 30 tiger barbs. I have a piece of drift wood with a hole and they stay inside the hole. I have never seen them eat but I see them scavenging at about 10 PM every night so I know they are eating.

 

[tlindsey]

I have 5 clown loaches about 4" long that constantly hide. They are housed with 5 bala sharks, 4 denison barbs and 30 tiger barbs. I have a piece of drift wood with a hole and they stay inside the hole. I have never seen them eat but I see them scavenging at about 10 PM every night so I know they are eating.

How long have you had the Clown Loaches?
What time do you feed?
Have you noticed any aggression from the Tiger Barbs?

 

[Nm1]

Happens every now and the, they will be out and about soon.

 

[esoxlucius]

What temps do you run at and are your lights very bright? I run around 80 degrees and have quite subdued lighting and mine are active.

But whatever changes you make you need to keep your other fishes needs in mind as well.

 

[lastmanstanding]

tlindsey: I have had the clown loaches for 2 weeks. The tiger barbs haven't really been aggressive. I usually feed between 1800 and 1900 every day (fasting on Monday).

esoxlucius: I have the fluval 3.0 light and use the preset river setting as it is dimmer than the other 2. My Temps are set at 79 and have 2 digital thermostats for accuracy.

 

[philipraposo1982]

Group too small imo

 

[esoxlucius]

tlindsey: I have had the clown loaches for 2 weeks. The tiger barbs haven't really been aggressive. I usually feed between 1800 and 1900 every day (fasting on Monday).

esoxlucius: I have the fluval 3.0 light and use the preset river setting as it is dimmer than the other 2. My Temps are set at 79 and have 2 digital thermostats for accuracy.

I suspect your answer is right there, "I have had the clown loaches for 2 weeks". It can take a while for new fish to become totally confident in their new surroundings. I wouldn't worry too much yet.

 

[David R]

Group too small imo

While more clowns would be ideal, I've seen (and kept) smaller groups of clowns that were still active. Two weeks is not long for them to get comfortable in the tank so I think more time is really what's needed here. Also, as backwards as it may seem, the more cover and hiding spots they have the more you'll see them out and about too. If that piece of wood with the hole is their only hiding spot ou should think about adding more.

 

[Matteus]

+1
I have had loaches hide for months when just arriving. Give them time. Also as was mentioned earlier, if you have more hiding spots they seem to be more confident. I thought I would never see them when I added all the hides, but now I usually see 5-6/7 at almost any given time.

 

[lastmanstanding]

I will add some more hiding spots and monitor for changes in their behavior. Thank you.