Clown Loach Trouble

That would be worse for the fish than staying where it is

ncguppy is right, I'm afraid; a 250l tank isn't big enough for clown loach.

update ive separated it and put some food in and it has made easy work of the food and looks very healthy

just put some more food in and it is like a Hoover so gonna let it back in to the main tank now that it has eat and see how it goes

There's probably nothing wrong with you loach, sometimes they are like that. My dominant loach is the least playful and spends a lot of time inside the caves compared to the rest.  I'd suggest putting the loach back with the rest as that's the least stressful and keep an eye over the next few days.
250L tank is plenty for now if yours are just 2-3 inches big. You do need to either rehome them at some stage or buy a bigger tank but they'll be fine for a good while for now as long as you don't overstock your tank with other fish and do weekly maintenance. They don't automatically get stunted because the tank isn't 6f long. They just need excellent water quality and due to their large size when grown, and high activity, they literally can't fit in anything smaller than 6x2x2 once the reach 4-5 inches.

thanks snazy this pic is the clown in question, i do 25% water changes each week so ono problems there Il keep you updated btw he has just jumped out of the isolation tank lol and back into the tank lol

If you don't know what's wrong and can't see anything visible/obvious, best action is up the water changes and observe. Clowns are a bit awkward and not like other fish so sometimes they can scare you for no reason. But they are quite hardy fish.  He seems greyed out a lot on the picture but that's probably because you placed him in the trap under bright lights. They hate that.  Try feeding them in the dark if not doing it already.  Also, they really get used to a certain food regime and learn to come out if you feed at the same time of the day each day if your schedule allows it. They start begging around that time at the front of the tank and aren't skittish because they know food is coming. Mine sometimes wouldn't come out for a second meal in the rare cases I drop food twice during the day because "it's not feeding time" in their minds.  I hope you've got lots of caves for them to hide in as well to feel secure, the more they have, the more they'd come out.
 
If you can do 50% weekly water changes for them, even better. Don't forget clowns are babies for a long time due to their slow growth and need excellent water to grow and lots of water changes.

Have a peek here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/chromobotia_macracanthus_napping01.jpg/view
or here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/Chromobotia-macracanthus-47.jpg/view
 
but especially here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/Chromobotia-macracanthus-48.jpg/view

TwoTankAmin said:

Have a peek here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/chromobotia_macracanthus_napping01.jpg/view
or here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/Chromobotia-macracanthus-47.jpg/view
 
but especially here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/Chromobotia-macracanthus-48.jpg/view

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Such cute pictures

thanks again for the advice, ive done a 50% water change, see how it goes hopefully he is ok but he is still lied on his side in the ornament, two tank amin them pictures are pure class are they your loaches ?

update he came out before but it seems that another clown that it has been fighting dominance with is bullying it what should i do?

gtigaz said:

update he came out before but it seems that another clown that it has been fighting dominance with is bullying it what should i do?

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Just leave them be, they'll establish themselves who the dominant one is and then they'll be a happy family again.  It's normal. They have a complicated social structure.  Just keep the water quality up in case they scratched each other a little when fighting.
 
Here is an old video of mine fighting
 
[media]http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzGhiN2wVQg[/media]

No not mine. I wanted to illustrate how they do nap. They also do establish a pecking order. What most folks do not realize is clowns carry a nasty pair of switchblades called suboccular spines. If clowns wanted to do real harm to each other, these would be out. They will lip lock, they will tussle. The will establish a pecking order which now and then will get challenged.
 
Those were not my clowns. But to see the switchblades have a look here http/www.loaches.com/species-index/photos/c/chromobotia_macracanthus_02.jpg/view
 
To see my clowns a few years ago:
 

 

gtigaz said:

thanks again for the advice, ive done a 50% water change, see how it goes hopefully he is ok but he is still lied on his side in the ornament, two tank amin them pictures are pure class are they your loaches ?

Click to expand...

 
TTA is basically trying to say, the lying on their side is pretty normal - like playing dead almost.
Does it try to escape or swim away when you get near?

that clown with the spines out is a beast lol thanks for the video mate Sophie no it didn't even try to get away i think it had been bullied by one of the other clowns that is bullying everything else in the tank, its not a good atmosphere at all so i think im gonna give the bully away and get a few more as the fish shop are getting a delivery on Tuesday the one i was posting about originally has died so replaced it with another today, ive also got some tubing for them to go inside aswell