Clown Loaches - hand-feeding?

[Gix]

I have three wonderful clown loaches, and they're my favorite fish. They go crazy over every kind of food I give them, and I was wondering if one can hand-train clowns. Are they too skittish, or just too crazy to be hand-fed? I'd appreciate any help on this one, thanks.

 

[Loach Man]

It can be done, and I've seen it done. But mine won't, but they will come up to the surface to feed, so they do eventually get bold.

 

[boff]

just out of interest wot do you feed your clowns

 

[kimmers318]

When I am feeding bloodworms my clowns will come right up and suck them out of the plastic syringe I use. Haven't tried actually using my hand since I have no desire to hold the bloodworms, but I am sure they would take them any way they could get them.
I feed a variety of frozen foods, flake, shrimp pellets, algae wafers and tropical tabs. They gobble everything up! Occasionally we have live brine shrimp as a treat. They have nibbled on lettuce.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I had an experience a couple years back when I had a community tank that held both discus and clowns, I used to feed live red worms and the discus would take these from my hand. One evening I was dangling a juicy worm for a discus who was swimming for it at a liesurely pace. Just as he was about an inch from the worm and without warning, a six inch clown suddenly dashed infront of the discus, grabbed the worm from my hand and dashed off. I do not know who was more freaked by it- me, the discus or the clown. This has never happened again.

 

[dheikell]

I also have a tank that holds some discus and clown loaches along with some other kinds of fish and occasionaly the clown loaches come up and eat out of my hand with the discus.

 

[beechey]

are these garden worms??

 

[Toy Zenki]

Two of my loaches will eat from my fingers. One is about two inches the other almost three. The smaller one I've had for about three weeks and he has been eating from my hand for about two weeks. Unfortunately they won't touch anything but blood worms. This is day two of not feeding them bloodworms. I've tried many things; flakes, crisps, algea wafers, tubifex worms, beefheart, brine shrimp, catfish pellets. But they won't eat them. We'll see tomorrow