spoon Posted April 10, 2008 Report Share Posted April 10, 2008 i have 2 clown loaches in my community tank they are both around 10-12cm long they have been good up until now , 1 has become really agressive towards the other and scratches and bites it chasing it around , the wounds have become infected , it has cloudy white patches and some fin rot i am separating it 2nite i have some furnace to treat it with (furnace is like furan) will this do the trick? ane help would be great, will also raise the temp in the tank . as for the aggressive one left i dont know why he started getting like that , maybe recent lower temperatures caused breeding behaviour? im not sure i have heard they are better in groups i dont know if this is true or not i would like to get more but the lfs's here only have small 1s lately and idont wana put them with my badass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFish Posted April 10, 2008 Report Share Posted April 10, 2008 Hiya I have 2 clown loaches and they seem to be ok together, we did have 3 but one got sick a while ago, really skinny and beaten up by the others and just didnt recover unfortunately.. I think 2 are fine together obviously if they get along,I have read that they are better in bigger numbers however, and should always try and buy new ones the same size. My big clown does pick at the other one occasionally but mainly only at feeding time. Did you know that the Alpha clown loach releases a hormone into the water that slows the other clown loachs growth, this is so alpha clown can always stay in this position, I thought that was quite interesting to learn. Im afraid I cannot help you with the furnace stuff as I havent heard of or used it before. Do you have a salt tonic? isolation a slight raise in the temp and some tonic salt could do the trick. From what I've read breeding is stimulated by a significant raise in temp and poorer water conditions believe it or not, although that may sound weird Ive read a few articles about it. But hey I guess you can only learn for yourself GL I hope your fish gets better! Whatever you do, it may pay to act fast! StarFish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted April 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2008 hi thanx 4 the tips are clown loaches particulary sensitive to salt? im sure i read somewhere that they are ? as for breeding i thort that was nearly impossible. i tried to catch him again last nite but no luck the disadvantage of having heaps of plants and decor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarFish Posted April 11, 2008 Report Share Posted April 11, 2008 Yeah from what Ive read breeding is very hard, Im not sure about the sensitive to salt part (hence I wouldnt have mentioned it) youll have to do some online research, but if you think youve heard or read that somewhere then I would probably be inclined to take note of it, but then they could also be sensitive to shop bought treatments as well...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted April 12, 2008 Report Share Posted April 12, 2008 Clown loaches are super sensitive to salt and most medications. I usually use a half dose of any med but even then that can be too much depending on the individual. I know furan can be used in double doses on plecs with no ill effects but im unsure if that would be the same for clowns, best to wait for someone whos trialed that to give you their opinion. I probably dont need to say it but nice clean water will help alot with the healing process. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted May 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 just an update the clown loach didnt like furnace at all made him look really sick i put him back in the community tank , ended up buying something called tonic and treated the whole 200l tank with that 3 times( coz i couldnt catch the bugger and the other 1 had become sick 2) but now im happy to report both have made a full recovery and have stopped fighting , 1 the 1st 1 still has scars to remind him of the battle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Hi spoon, I'm really pleased to hear your loaches have recovered and are doing well! I have five clown loaches which I have had for a few years now. Three of them I have had for seven years, and two others I have had for four years. From my experience and research, I would suggest the following to reduce aggression between your loaches: 1) Make sure they both have plenty of places to hide. It sounds like you already have lots of plants, which is good. Do you also have some hollow logs, piles of rocks, and other places they can go to get away from each other? They like to squeeze into small dark places. A piece of black water pipe weighed down is always a hit with my loaches. 2) If you see aggression starting again, do what it seems you have done this time - change their environment. Just moving a decoration or a major plant around in the tank can break up the territorial aggression. Or put in something interesting and novel like a handful of marbles or a coloured rock (even if it's just a temporary distraction). 3) Loaches are indeed very sensitive to salt and meds as they don't have scales to protect them. 4) Make sure they get some kind of sinking food so they aren't competing too hard for scarce food. Algae wafers, bits of vege weighted down, a weighted shrimp... 5) Generally just make sure they are comfortable. Make sure they have an optimum (and even) temperature, you do regular water changes, they have a variety of food and plenty of places to hide. 6) Of course people will suggest adding more loaches to the school and I tend to agree. At least this will spread any aggression around and give the one who's being picked on a chance to get away. However I cannot honestly say that my loaches are any happier in a group of five than they were when there were only three of them. One of mine is bigger than the rest and always hogs the food and chases the others away - having extra friends in the tank has not changed his behaviour at all! Good luck with your loaches, I get a lot of pleasure from mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumzy50 Posted May 11, 2008 Report Share Posted May 11, 2008 Hi i have loaches and find wunder tonic to be great,but at the same time i up temp.I have also used tonic salt in tank and have not had a problem.Mine use to fight,but i now have pleanty hideing places its not a problem.good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted May 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2008 my tank was over grown with plants while they were fighting i also have 5 large bits of bog wood with holes and the like thru them in it. i have since removed 2 supermarket bags of trimmings of plants (it was a jungle in tere) i would like to get more but i can only find tiny 1s at fish shops where my two are rather large i wouldnt want the small 1s to get hurt has ane 1 had experience with small and big together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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