Clown Loaches?

[allan45121]

Are clown loaches "nocturnal" because i hardly ever see mine, they are hiding in a cave that i bought for them but rarely come out..

 

[The-Wolf]

most loaches are nocturnal yes.
they can be encouraged out by food, bloodworm is good for this.
also clowns are quite shy at first and may hide for weeks after being introduced.

 

[allan45121]

ahh i see you are the danio expert?
well what does it mean when my danios are at swimming at the bottom of the tank. they are not unwell but i think looking for food. does this mean that i am under feeding them or just that they are greedy ba*^"@ds
also when i am feeding them one leapord danio acts, i can only describe as, "Scatty"! it swim fast up and down the tank and looks mental. i think that it is excited...

 

[The-Wolf]

danios will always look for/ want food 24/7 lol

 

[stargirly1208]

my clown loaches are out all the time, but i hear they come out more if you have 3 or more, and i have 3 but you do have a cave for them to hide in so that might be it also... my cave isn't completely enclosed, you can see through it. but mine seem to sleep at night, which is odd i suppose. so maybe if you got another one they'd come out more

 

[max11180]

what else is in the tank? they might be hiding from something, or on the other extreme, if theres very little, they might be hiding for fear of a predator. Mine hid a lot until i added 6 zebra danios, now they are out and about all day...it's at night i don't see them, lol.
They must see the danio as dithers.. "hmm..well if there out and about, and haven't been eaten by anything, we must be safe! lets go play!"

 

[geezer]

For the first two weeks I didnt see my clownloaches at all. I wasnt even sure if they were alive! But now they are out and play all the time. If you can get some buddies for your clown I am sure you will see him more!
Good luck

 

[Barracuda518]

what else is in the tank? they might be hiding from something, or on the other extreme, if theres very little, they might be hiding for fear of a predator. Mine hid a lot until i added 6 zebra danios, now they are out and about all day...it's at night i don't see them, lol.
They must see the danio as dithers.. "hmm..well if there out and about, and haven't been eaten by anything, we must be safe! lets go play!"

I agree. Mine hid for a week or so and are now out and about all the time. I also have Zebra Danios that help the loaches come out more.

Also like Wolf said, they go crazy over bloodworms and cucumber. If one sees any food, they all go after it.

 

[allan45121]

i do have danios and the most scary fish thats in the tank is a RTBS but they seem quite pally with it and they all reside in the same cave. i have 3, 1 is slightly older. do the dark lines become lighter as the fish grows? because the larger one has quite pale lines on it .

 

[max11180]

mine go through shade changes all the time, they seem lightest during mid day, and darken off as night approaches. I think, from what i have seen, that it's generally the boss loach that is the darkest, and they go lighter according to rank in their little group

Ironically, mine also share with a RTBS, but also get along with it very well.. the RTBS has mixed feelings towards the tiger barbs tho, but its nice to see the barbs get chased for a change!