Oddball clown loach pattern

[FSM]

I bought 6 clown loaches yesterday, 1 of which has the "saddle" pattern - the middle stripe is incomplete. Is this a permanent pattern, or will it likely grow out of it? The loach is only about 2 inches.

 

[ewurm]

If they are small, the bars may fill out or change.

 

[Rockbass6]

The bars should not change. I have had clowns from 1.5 inches with strange patterns keep the patterns to 4-5'' currently. I have a clown with one stripe on a side, a 4 stripe clown, double saddle back, puzzle piece, all were small and are 4-5'' now and still are complete oddballs.
It could be hard to tell on a "saddle" if the loaches belly mid section is only .5 inch, but time will tell. I think it will keep it.
Be very careful with small loaches high mortality rate/ich rate/stress rate from my experience. I don't like to buy them under 3'' enless I really like the pattern and feel it is worth the risk.

 

[FSM]

The store I got them from was having a 50% off sale. I got the small ones for $4 each.

 

[Rockbass6]

The store I got them from was having a 50% off sale. I got the small ones for $4 each.

That is a good deal, but be prepared to be a babysitter. Maybe its just me but small loaches can be a pain. Be sure they have plenty of hides to retreat to to keep stress to a minimum, and don't redecorate, in my experience that alone has caused enough stress on them to lead to an ick outbreak. Kind of crazy huh? Good luck, the saddleback is most likely a saddle back it is one of the most common oddball patterns as far as I have seen.