Clown loaches unhappy

I have 4 clown loaches . They are 14 years of age. They are in a very large tank. I have tried putting other fish in the tank but they appear intimidated. Right now they are off their food. This has happened before . They seem to follow an alpha female everywhere and crowd into a large tube and spend their lives in it. When the alpha female decides she’s hungry then they all eat , otherwise I rarely see them.

im just wondering , as I have had little luck with other species should I buy a couple more clown loaches? They will of course be very small and I wonder if the established loaches will accept them. Will my old clown loaches be more outgoing in a bigger pack

thanks for any advice
Karen

What size is the tank?

Around 600 litres

Clowns are a schooling fish and tend to be timid in small numbers. They will be more outgoing if you add more. You need a very large tank indeed to keep more than a few though. Aquarium Coop on YouTube had a very large clown school in a tank if you want an idea.

Kazzaye said:

Around 600 litres

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Yes you can buy more of them, they’re more happy in the shoal.

Clown loaches are my favorite fish. I've only ever housed mine with other Asian fishes (I never mix continents). Mine are in a deep tank with tons of cover (plants and driftwood) & a pair of blue Gouramis.. I'm surprised to hear that other fish intimidate your clowns; do you have lots of plants and cover? That's what mine like. Their favorite food is freeze-dried tubifex which I tie into a piece of nylon net with a big pebble so it'll sink & drop into the tank at twilight. Anyhow, without seeing your tank, my guess is that your loaches might want more vegetation. This isn't a photo of my loaches, but it's the tank where they seem happy (despite the gouramis spontaneously breeding a month or so ago & a couple dozen surviving fry still there w/the parents ) ~ I like a very natural-looking tank so I can sit & watch & feel like I'm peering into a river in SE Asia. Excuse the bad photography (at least you can see how cool Mr. Gourami looks in breeding colors & what I meant when I said "natural" tank).

Ye I have heaps of cover. I would like to see them occasionally. I had gouramis in my tank and I had to remove them because they would crowd my loaches like they were herding them. The loaches developed these spots on their underside which worried me. They seemed stressed I removed the gouramis and the spots disappeared.

I heard someone say that you can have loaches in a smaller tank as long as you have a stronger , adjustable current which I have.

LindaJanie said:

Clown loaches are my favorite fish. I've only ever housed mine with other Asian fishes (I never mix continents). Mine are in a deep tank with tons of cover (plants and driftwood) & a pair of blue Gouramis.. I'm surprised to hear that other fish intimidate your clowns; do you have lots of plants and cover? That's what mine like. Their favorite food is freeze-dried tubifex which I tie into a piece of nylon net with a big pebble so it'll sink & drop into the tank at twilight. Anyhow, without seeing your tank, my guess is that your loaches might want more vegetation. This isn't a photo of my loaches, but it's the tank where they seem happy (despite the gouramis spontaneously breeding a month or so ago & a couple dozen surviving fry still there w/the parentsView attachment 98891View attachment 98892) ~ I like a very natural-looking tank so I can sit & watch & feel like I'm peering into a river in SE Asia. Excuse the bad photography (at least you can see how cool Mr. Gourami looks in breeding colors & what I meant when I said "natural" tank).

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How many loaches do you have?

Check your water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
If any of them are up it will stress the fish.

Clown loaches are nocturnal and don't spend much time out and about during the day when the tank light is on. Having lots of plants in the tank, and floating plants on the surface can encourage them out more during the day.

The behaviour you describe with the alpha female and everyone following her is typical of loaches. They are matriarchal and a dominant female rules with all others following her.

Loaches are territorial and adding a couple of smaller fish might help but they could also get killed.

Try doing a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week. Then do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate once a week.
Make sure the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Make sure there are lots of plants in the tank, including floating plants.

If you add more loaches, monitor them closely for the first 24 hours. If they get attacked by the bigger ones, get them out. On no account add big loaches to the tank because they will definitely fight.

I concur with Colin here. But I will go one further and recommend you not add more loaches. Given the fact that the four have been together 14 years, and there is an "alpha" female in charge [completely natural as Colin said] I can all but guarantee that any new loaches introduced to their established space will not be welcomed at all. That is just not fair to the fish, so please don't try it. This fish develops its hierarchial shoals early in life, which is why the intended number must be introduced together, and others not added later.

Kazzaye said:

I heard someone say that you can have loaches in a smaller tank as long as you have a stronger , adjustable current which I have.

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This is completely false. You cannot somehow "make up" for too small a tank with any fish, with one exception. Grow-out tanks for fry (like discus) can be "overcrowded" because the breeders make one, often two or even three 90% water changes every single day, and the fry grow faster. But when it comes to adult fish including clown loaches, they must have the tank space early on or they can develop serious problems. Being an active fish, the physical space as well as the water volume associated with larger tanks is important.

Clown loaches should be in a tank that is no less than 8 feet (240 cm) in length. And this during their first or at latest second year. I've no idea how long a 600 liter (158 gallon) tank is, but after 14 years there is not much to worry about now, though what if any impact a smaller tank may have had we cannot tell.

A 600 litre tank in Australia is 6 foot long x 2 ft wide x 2 ft high. It might be different in other parts of the world.

Thanks Colin. To the OP, I would not worry over this. While a group of clowns would be best with five or six in the 8-foot tank, you seem to have managed well here. But don't rock the boat. Maybe more "hiding" spaces so they can have choices (if not already provided). The fish seem to be normal though, which is good, even if rather bashful. That is not uncommon either; I have to sit quietly in front of my tank with loaches before they will feel safe to venture out.

I just put food in my tank and the loaches would all come out and be swarming around looking for it.