A Baby Clown Loach Has Appeared In My Tank

[daydreams_uk]

Hi everyone, I,ve not been on here for a while but i could do with a bit of info.
I'm a bit puzzled u see...I thought clown loach didn't breed in captivity?

They have either bred in my tank or its a case of disappearing fish reappearing.
I already had 3 clown loach and about four months ago i bought 3 more baby clown loach and added them to my tank. Not long after i found one of the baby loaches floating dead at the top of the tank, i removed it and searched the tank for the other babies but could only find one of them. I thought that the other fish in the tank must have killed and eaten the other one that i couldn't find!! Anyway for about 3 months i have had 4 clown loach in my tank UNTIL TODAY! I had relatives round for dinner and i was showing their young son my fish when i noticed a really small loach (about 1 inch long) swimming with the other other 4!!! My relatives must have thought i'd gone loopy or something (I was so excited!). I don't know much about clown loach but i thought that they didn't breed in captivity. I also thought that they were egg layers? Does anyone have any ideas about what could have happened and why there is only 1 baby?

 

[GuppyDude]

it would be extreamly unlikely for your loaches to have bred. not only do they not breed in captivity, they lay very fagile eggs that even professional breeders have trouble keeping alive, and the odds of it accually surviveing to become large enogh for you to notice is unlikely. probably one of you missing guys, they can dig deep into the gravle and sometimes get stuck, would not surprise me if that is what happend.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

while the odds are against it, stranger things have happened. i personally would reserve judgement until such time as the incident repeats itself. both scenarios are entirely possible.

 

[IMCL85]

I dont think thats it was breed from the clown from ur tank. Probably its the one that missing u said in ur post. In a community tank. Baby clownloach<--the new born one is good food for all fish I doubt it will survive that long. And even if it has survive why not 2 or more but 1. That clearly answer ur question. Simply u didn't look hard enought thats all. Most clown loach r attive at night after u go to bed so it probably come out during that time and hide away when u look at the tank .

 

[max11180]

The easiest way to confirm one way or the other, are you other loach are mature enough to breed? From anything recorded (autopsies, fish farm breeding accounts) that i have seen.. they are not mature for breeding until around 6" (which could take a long time since they have a reported average life of 50 years). This size makes sense for this loach, as most fish are only mature at about 1/3 to 1/2 their body size.

The accounts i have read also state that before breeding the loaches behaviour changes quite dramatically.. they start eating live fish and make a lot of clicking noises. during which time the female's girth almost doubles.

 

[Lateral Line]

There is also substantial evidence that Botias migrate to spawn. Some suggest to esturine environmets, others upstream to colder.

If you then add the ability of loaches to remain hidden in tanks for ages suddenly to re-appear....

 

[@ombomb]

Personally I think there's more of a chance that the loach was abducted by aliens than was born in the tank.

Defo a hider.

 

[SunFire]

I read an article about clown loaches breeding in captivity but you would have notice the temperature rise, do water changes and wierd behavoir. i'll post the artilce when i find it. Baby clown loaches are so cute thou!

 

[daydreams_uk]

Thanks 4 replying every1.. still none the wiser but maybe i will just wait and see if it happens again....
It's a long time for a fish to hide but maybe it was possible? There are definately no more babies in the tank so maybe it did hide..I dunno. The only other thing i can add is that i didn't take especially good care of my tank over the last few months as i broke both the bones in my leg and it took a long time for me to recover so the tank got slightly neglected. Otherwise i don't have a clue.

 

[WILDER]

http/www.bollmoraakvarieklubb.org/artikl...own%20loach.htm

 

[black angel]

So if this one is only an inch long then how big is the one you apparently bought it with?

 

[crazychris]

So if this one is only an inch long then how big is the one you apparently bought it with?

Good question. So you bought three small ones. One died and one went missing but has the third one grown then? I mean how much bigger is it than this "baby". I think it hid away and has re-appeared now!