Wild big clown loach import question

[lee1]

I just got 4 12 inch clown loach and did the acclimation thing and all went well ... question they are not very skittish at all and the first few days stayed out now they do their usual hiding which I’m use to.. feeding time they do move around and eat a little bit not as much as my old clowns which is expected ...

So question are these really newly harvested clowns or are these acclimated and raised in ponds before coming to the US ? I’ve seen a huge amount of these guys for sale lately form wholesale vendors ...

Never seen such big fish this calm now they will dart off of a movement is sudden but not everyday traffic flow

 

[RD.]

It's quite possible that your clowns were kept for some time in a concrete vat, or other large holding vessel before being shipped to NA. That might explain them being used to human activity.

 

[lee1]

It's quite possible that your clowns were kept for some time in a concrete vat, or other large holding vessel before being shipped to NA. That might explain them being used to human activity.

Just seem way too calm for wild caught fish .. I wonder how long they hind them for and do they actually QT them .. they all seem fat and healthy

 

[RD.]

It's impossible to say with any certainty, unless you know someone on the other end. But consider this, almost all clown loaches sold in the trade are wild fish, and they all tend to calm down in short order.

 

[Coryloach]

Never seen such big fish this calm now they will dart off of a movement is sudden but not everyday traffic flow

My first group of baby loaches I bought was extremely skittish and it took them years to "accept" me near the tank. Some of the subsequent ones I bought started off being friendly from get go, hand feeding, not hiding in my presence, swimming around the siphon, out in bright lights, etc...I think they just have different individuality/personalities and one is lucky if they get friendly ones. A few friendly ones in a group also gets the other ones out.

 

[RD.]

I have to say, out of thousands upon thousands of juvenile clown loaches I have seen over the years, almost all imported from the wild, most have settled into the life of a glass box by the time they have reached a tank in the LFS.

When this species is small, like most fish, in nature they tend to spend most of their day in hiding from larger predators. Remove that part from the equation and IME they become tame fairly quickly.

Larger loaches, not so much, some can take months to settle into a new environment, which I imagine is why the OP is wondering about his new imports.

 

[tiger15]

IME, CL is not shy fish if you keep them in a group. My definition of shyness is that when they see people, they get skittish and immediately hide. But CL habitually like to hide in caves as a habit regardlesss of size and familiarity of the environment. I had 3 decade old CL that would disaappered for hours daily, only to come out to feed or when they felt like it. I don’t know how they could disappeared as they were huge 7 to 9 inch fish. They just squeezed into tiny crvices between carved rock, often worried me by pushing the rock aside. Sometime two would fight for the favorite hiding place. But once they were out, they are bogus and swam all over.