How do i sex my Clown Loach

[Clairel]

I have 2 Clown Loaches, bought at different Stores, one is slightly bigger than the other, one about 2 inch, the other about 3 inch, i have no idea how to sex them, although they are getting along just fine, and sleep together ) Lol, in a little artificial tree trunk, that they love....

Also are they egg layers? Or live ? Is it hard to breed them? Not that i am going to, i just wondered thats all, if i wake up one day, and have a tank full of babies Lol

Claire x

 

[Lateral Line]

There isn't a reliable way to sex Clown Loaches without cutting them open and looking. They are egg layers, and despite a few dubious/unsubstantiated reports, require special techniques to breed them involving injections with hormones. They are not routinely bred by even the most advanced hobbyists.

>>> if i wake up one day, and have a tank full of babies

You do that, and work out how you did it and you'll be VERY popular with A LOT of people.

They are an extremely gregarious fish. 2 is btter then 1, but 3 or more will be much better, if you have the space. They do, of course, grow very large in time.

From the Fish Index, Clown Loach.

 

[emma12321]

I've only read two reports of clown loaches breeding in captivity and in both cases the fish were over 11 inches long and kept in groups of 5 plus, in huge tanks.

Emma

 

[IMCL85]

impossible until they reach their adult size and I have seem a dude in toronto that successfully breeding CL at his house. Damn he made his tank looks exactly like the surrounding in indo which where CL comes from. His pair cl breed once every monthes.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> I have seem a dude in toronto that successfully breeding CL at his house.

Link or source?

CL migrate to their spawning areas which are different from their normal living areas. Would be difficult to duplicate in a single tank.

 

[Teelie]

I have my own doubts about that too based on several things, of which most important is it's not clearly known what triggers them to spawn. Plus some of the other claims he's made are somewhat out there.

 

[CFC]

I read a interesting artical a while back which said that clown loaches migrate to esturine areas to spawn, which would mean that they were actually entering BRACKISH waters!! Strangely this would tally with the other clown loach breeding tale that is floating about where the guy came back from a extended period away to find that a large amount of water had evapourated from the tank (as well as other problems caused by a lack of maintainance) and that his clown loaches had spawned, the higher density of minerals in the water due to the evapouration would have made the water harder and more like brackish conditions.

Of course this doesnt mean you can just dump a few cupfulls of salt in the tank and have your loaches get busy, there will be another trigger which sets them off on their migration and possibly causes them to generate a thicker slime coat to protect them from the salinity.

 

[Teelie]

I read a interesting artical a while back which said that clown loaches migrate to esturine areas to spawn, which would mean that they were actually entering BRACKISH waters!! Strangely this would tally with the other clown loach breeding tale that is floating about where the guy came back from a extended period away to find that a large amount of water had evapourated from the tank (as well as other problems caused by a lack of maintainance) and that his clown loaches had spawned, the higher density of minerals in the water due to the evapouration would have made the water harder and more like brackish conditions.

Of course this doesnt mean you can just dump a few cupfulls of salt in the tank and have your loaches get busy, there will be another trigger which sets them off on their migration and possibly causes them to generate a thicker slime coat to protect them from the salinity.

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Interesting theory though I have to wonder about the truth in it. Clown Loaches aren't too keen on any salt in their water, so why would they enter an area that is brackish with a much higher salt density? If it's true, then it would explain why almost no one has been able to breed them before, but it also contradicts the anatomy of the Loaches themselves. If they were regularly spawning in brackish water, eventually they would develop the necessary adaptations to tolerate it. Thicker slime coat might help but I'm kind of doubtful on that. Besides which, there's still no evidence to what triggers it in the first place making the attempt to breed them in brackish water even more dangerous.