Wondering if our Clown Loaches may be trying to spawn?

[wild bill]

We have 2 Clown loaches that are acting rather strange. They are mouthing each other and snuggling and shaking side by side. Their color while doing this is washed out as well. These loaches are about 7 to 8 inches long and about 6 years old. They are in a community tank and I am thinking we should move them to their own tank and see what happens. If we do should we move all the loaches or just this pair? Also how should one decorate the tank they are put into and how long should they be left in there if they appear to spawn?

 

[joe jaskot]

Most likely normal behavior to determine pecking order. It is a very, very, rare occurrence to have clown loaches breed in an aquarium. Even places like Segrest Farms can't figure out what triggers them to spawn. Spawning clown loaches is like the Holy Grail of fishkeeping.

 

[tlindsey]

I personally would leave them be because even though its rare like stated CL'S bred in a home aquarium so anything is possible. I am saying this from my experience with my polypterus it is rare but had them spawn in my aquariums a few times lol.

 

[wild bill]

I know how rare it is but have neever seen them behave like this before.

 

[paulW]

I would not move them to another tank. The odds of them spawning is just so slim.
If you do a web search, there are a few scattered reports of other loaches spawning in captivity. Most that I have read, the aquarists reports seeing the females swollen with eggs.
So look at what you think might be a pair.. does one look like it is loaded with eggs?

I know it is exciting, and I do not want to be a downer, but the odds of you having an accidental spawn are probably a million to one.

 

[slippery slimecoat]

They are doing what many people with clowns call "greying out". It is a struggle for dominance. Nothing to do with mating. It's been my experience that they do best in larger numbers and will tend to disperse the aggression a bit (*edit* just reread your first that said you had multiple clowns). Normally they will not cause serious damage, but they can scratch each other up pretty good. I usually see it in my shoal when a smaller one starts to catch up in size to another, or when I feed shrimp as a treat and two of my largest go for the same piece of food.

 

[RD.]

There is not a single documented case of clown loaches breeding in captivity, unless hormones have been used. Using hormones to breed them has been accomplished by many, it simply proves to be too time consuming and costly for large scale commercial applications.

 

[dat_tiger]

I know how rare it is but have neever seen them behave like this before.

mines does this all them time, it's not breeding behaviors

There is not a single documented case of clown loaches breeding in captivity, unless hormones have been used. Using hormones to breed them has been accomplished by many, it simply proves to be too time consuming and costly for large scale commercial applications.

that's not true. here is a linked to a documented case without use of hormones.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/cyprinids-atherinids/clown-loach-breeding-documentary-8962/

 

[Coryloach]

mines does this all them time, it's not breeding behaviors

that's not true. here is a linked to a documented case without use of hormones.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/cyprinids-atherinids/clown-loach-breeding-documentary-8962/

There is zero proof to that article...I read it many years ago..

I had a strange encounter in my tank after I moved my clown loaches to a round plastic pond. I have a thread about it..However, they only did it with the lights off so I couldn't take a video...another unrecorded encounter....They were on their own at the time and have lived as a group for about 5 years.

I am not sure it was spawning behaviour but it looked similar to that of corydoras...They've stopped since...I haven't seen them anymore...I don't think they'll ever spawn but I am certain that in rare cases they do a spawn like behaviour. I've had my loaches for about 5 years with one loach being older because I bought her(him...who knows...) when she was 5-6 inch...now a 9 inch fat and the friendliest of all...The rest I grew from babies and I have a couple of youngsters as well. As I mentioned, when it happened, they were in their own in the tank. I've since added a group of denison barbs, SAEs and kuhli loaches so not sure if that has anything to do with them stopping...

Loaches mouthing each other and greying out is a fight for dominance...What I saw is totally different...Slim loaches chasing fat larger loaches and displaying..The fat loaches were trying to get away. The slim loaches were in the mean time fighting who'd get first to the fat loach....Watch some corys spawning online...very similar. They'd do it for 20-30min and then get back to normal. They may have been doing it later in the night but I didn't sit through to see... The only light was from another tank that's at lower level, giving just a glimmer to make out the behaviour...However, no loach was greyed out but the chased ones seemed to be under stress...and desperately trying to get away....

Having said that....mine is just another unrealized myth or wishful thinking

 

[Coryloach]

By the way, to follow up on my above comment and quoted text, having read the first paragraphs of Colin Dunlop's description of the spawning again....after I have kept my loaches for long enough, it sounds quite right to what I saw...only mine never laid eggs...Plus no proof of either encounters. Until clown loaches produce recorded fry in a tank....its going to be a myth for years to come....By the way...I have hard water..ph 7.4... TDS 275ppm....I never fiddle with it...

If you want to read more about clown loach breeding attempts...unsuccessful scientific study...

Here:...I posted this somewhere else too...in case some wonder....

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:916235/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Some interesting quotes.....some may not know about clown loaches...


PH:

Quote: The pH was monitored throughout the study, although not altered to a desirable level since it
was already within the values of the previously proven window. The values 6.86-8.00 are
similar to the values in Legendre et al. 2012

Temperature:

Quote: It has been shown in a previous study were
clown loaches have been monitored over several years that a higher proportion of individuals
were sexually mature at 26-27ºC than 30-31ºC (Legendre et al. 2012), something to consider
in future studies. This fact is strengthened by the discovery of 26ºC as the optimum
temperature for clown loach egg incubation (Baras et al. 2012b), maybe this would also be
the optimum temperature for spawning since this could reveal that throughout the evolution of
this species this has been the most consistent measurement value.