I think my clowns are pregnant.

[Whisper Odinsky]

we just purchased a pair of clown loaches, only 2 weeks ago, just little ones.. yesterday my mom was over to look at the fish, and she noticed a loach sitting ontop of a rock, on her side, not moving, but breathing.. she thought it was "cute" but i was fearing the loach was dying, but that brat hubby mikey told me not to think about it.
well today, while we were adding in a pair of golden gouramis, the loaches were very, very seldom around- they were both hiding in a log decoration, and just wouldnot come out. it was very hard to try to get a photo for you to help me- but the one loach's belly is MUCH bigger then it was last week!

THIS is how they both looked when we first got them

and this is how the one looks.. im so sorry for the blurriness, i only saw them once today.. they've been in this log cave all day!

and (same fish)

If this loach is pregnant, what the heck do i do??

 

[Feline]

Don't think ur clown is pregnant. They hardly breed in captivity.

I've never seen a clown with such a big tummy. Check ur other fishies, may b it's finished off a big meal! But then may b not if u can see only one of them having a big tummy. Perhaps there might be something going on with ur clown if the stomach is as bloated as this. Does it eat? poop? any abnormal behaviour other than hiding?

They r very shy and basically nocturnal. So that's one reason they like to stay in the log most of the time.

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

i have no idea whats goin on at all with them the behaviour started yesterday- this clown lies on its side, and doesnt move, then it will eventually start zipping around like normal.
there's been no real huge meals, nothing has changed except her behaviour.
i need all the advice i can get.

 

[AquaNut]

Depending on what you've been feeding her, she may just be getting really chubby, or she may be constipated/bloated. Has she been getting plenty of green matter in her diet? Loaches aren't livebearers, so she wouldn't be pregnant, she'd be gravid, which means full of eggs. As far as I know, clown loaches are extremely difficult to breed and I wouldn't worry about it at all. If you have a male/female pair and they want to breed, they will, but they'll probably proceed to eat all their own eggs. If they don't eat them, someone else in the tank most likely will. As far as worrying about the clown lying on its side, your bratly hubby was right. lol Don't worry about it. It's natural behaviour for loaches to lie on their sides, looking rather dead. It's most disconcerting when you're new to loaches and wake up one morning to find one's dorsal fin sticking out horizontally from under a piece of wood, but when you try to net the casualty, it scoots away with lightning speed! For what it's worth, clowns are ridiculously prone to ich, and if one of yours wasn't feeling well, it would most likely break out in little white spots, sooner rather than later.

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

ok!
so i should just watch this fishy over the next day or so and see how this fish is?
green matter- as in plants? all of my plants are live plants, and i know all the fishes munch on them, and i do put in the algae tablet every so many days.
its upsetting to know this fish is so sick and i just got them!
ah- thanks, both of you, i'll post back with news..

 

[AquaNut]

Try some cucumber or zuchinni, weighted or wedged under a rock so it stays near the bottom of the tank. Leave it in overnight. Also, bloodworms are supposed to be good for cleaning out digestive tracks. He doesn't really look sick in the picture... just bloated. Also, because clowns like to be in fairly large shoals, you'll probably find that with just two of them, they'll likely hide most of the time during the day. They're new to your tank, though. It takes them a while to settle in and get used to you. Let us know how you make out

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

ok. now i have to ask the biggest question i've ever had with fish keeping.

food-
stuff that WE eat too.
ok.. how do *prepare* cucomber? and all of the other greens i have heard about- i have peas, lettuce, cucomber and zuccini (all fresh)- do i just wash these foods and that is it?

(my fish and i sooo thankyou)

 

[Feline]

AquaNut is right. From the look of the pictures they look happy. U can tell straight away if they r feeling unwell, coz their colour change with their mood! They'll go all pale (the black strips will turn into grey strips) when they r not happy.

Btw ur clowns r really young (I can see that they r still transparent-like )

As for the food, slice the uncooked cucumber to mayb 1cm thick (depending on the size of the fish that'll be feeding on it), then use a metal ring to weight down so it sinks to the bottom. They love it!

 

[wuvmybetta]

clowns are pigs , seriously, I have 6 in a 29 (which is a no no but they'll have a bigger tank someday and they're fairly small still), I have to feed them often or they'll destroy my plants and they all are chubby, not THAT chubby ,but chubby
But keep an eye out for any odd behavior because a lot of clowns have internal parasites .
Mine are forever swimming off when we approach the tank too , they'll all speed into their house and peek out to see if we're "gone" yet, they'll kick the smallest one out to make sure the coast is clear ,goofballs,I've always heard that they're nocturnal but....mine are SO not, they wake up early in the morning,stay out all day and they all retire to the house at about 10 at night and we don't see them again until morning
But the odds that it's pregnant are extremely slim as already said. They don't breed until they're their full size of 10" or so. I know of a guy on another forum who keeps about 70 clowns in a HUGE tank, has had them for YEARS and has never had a spawn

 

[AquaNut]

Different people do different things with their veggies. A lot of people recommend blanching them for a few moments before putting them in the tanks, to soften them for the fish. I have never found this to be necessary. I have veggie clips for my tanks (just plastic clips attached to suction cups) so that I can put the veggies wherever I want in my tank. If you don't have a veggie clip (which obviously you wouldn't ), then just wedge the veggie under a rock or piece of wood or whatever. If it's lettuce, just wash it. Peas need to be de-skinned and, depending on the size of your fish, crushed or cut in half (large fish gobble them whole). With cucumber or zuchinni, I usually slice a canoe shaped piece, leaving the skin on. I scoop out most of the seeds and mucky part, only because it seems to foul the water much more quickly if I don't. You can leave the veggies in for a day or sometimes two, just make sure they're not getting mushy in your tank. Cucumber seems to last better than zuchinni, ime.

 

[wuvmybetta]

they do look young
they also LOVE snails
I take the skin off of the zuchinni and such because of pesticides

 

[Feline]

Just don't feed them too much of those "human veggie". Brown algae will probably build up fast bcoz of extra organic matter in the tank!

Oh n the metal ring I mentioned is the ones that can be bought in lfs, not the ones that can go rust

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

awww thankyou SO much you guys- all of you- thankyou sooo much!

 

[AquaNut]

I take the skin off of the zuchinni and such because of pesticides

This is true. I grow all my own organically, so it's not an issue.

Also, I feed veggies at least four times a week to all my tanks and have never had an algae problem of any sort. Just don't leave them in long enough to start to break down into the water. Maybe not blanching them first helps.

 

[Whisper Odinsky]

today i turned on the light to feed the fish.
to my surprise, she was back to normal, her tummy not NEARLY as big as in those photos. i shall remember to give her cucomber regualrily.
thanks again you guys