Missing Clown Loaches !

[Chantal]

Can anyone suggest a possible explanation for our 2 missing clown loaches ? They seemed to have both disappeared within the space of a day. Could it be that the other fish have killed and eaten them? Find it really odd as they have all been in the tank for quite a few months now, and seems strange that both would suffer the same fate on the same day. There are no traces of them at all. They were both around 4cm long. Other fish in the tank include, 2 silver sharks, 2 redtail sharks, a peppered catfish (small), a Rusty Plec (large!), tiger barbs, pseudatropheus lombardi, crypticaro Moori and 2 x Croys (sorry, sure the spelling not so good here!)
Any advise - missing the little guys !!

 

[Teelie]

What sized tank? With some of those fish, they'd be able to pick the body clean but there'd still be skeletal remains, and I don't think they'd polish off the bodies that fast.

Clowns also have a penchant for hiding and sometimes disappearing into ornaments for days or even weeks at a time being unseen. They prefer being in groups as well.

 

[Blade118]

Look everwhere, Including the fillter, behind the filter(if poss)
Just look every single hiding place, they mite be trapped somewhere

 

[KyleJ]

Can anyone suggest a possible explanation for our 2 missing clown loaches ? They seemed to have both disappeared within the space of a day. Could it be that the other fish have killed and eaten them? Find it really odd as they have all been in the tank for quite a few months now, and seems strange that both would suffer the same fate on the same day. There are no traces of them at all. They were both around 4cm long. Other fish in the tank include, 2 silver sharks, 2 redtail sharks, a peppered catfish (small), a Rusty Plec (large!), tiger barbs, pseudatropheus lombardi, crypticaro Moori and 2 x Croys (sorry, sure the spelling not so good here!)
Any advise - missing the little guys !!

You sure there not hiding, mine hide in some really small places takes a while to find them sometimes, they can hide a long time too

 

[Chantal]

Its a 3 foot tank. Is it possible they are breeding? The only place they could be is inside a shell that we have in the tank, but we did pick that up and shake it around... definitely no skeletons !!

 

[Teelie]

No, Clowns don't breed in the aquarium and even if they did, it would be at adult size, which is around 1 foot. How many gallons is it? 3 feet by what?

 

[PaulEbs]

Are you using an internal filter?

If so, turn it off and check the powerhead..

..One of my crossbanded loaches used to get stuck in my filter sometimes!

If that is the case, put some fine mesh or cotton over the vent..

Hope you find your loaches!!

 

[Teelie]

That post reminds me, you might want to look outside the tank, behind it if you can. Sometimes they'll jump.

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

Other fish in the tank include, 2 silver sharks, 2 redtail sharks, a peppered catfish (small), a Rusty Plec (large!), tiger barbs, pseudatropheus lombardi, crypticaro Moori and 2 x Croys (sorry, sure the spelling not so good here!)
Any advise - missing the little guys !!

Don't worry about your spelling, worry about what the two fish in bold are going to do to your community when they decide they have had enough of them. they are malawi cichlids and should be in a tank of their own kind, please take them back to your lfs and exchange them for something more suitable (if thats where you got them anyway) keep an eye on your redtail sharks too, they are territorial and don't usually tolerate each other in a tank your size.
As for your clown loaches, if they were small, they could have been killed by either of the malawis, or just died and have been eaten, or maybe they are just really good at hiding!!

 

[Chantal]

Thanks for advice about the fish. I didn't make the selection, and am worried about one of those mentioned as it is - he terrorises any other fish of a similar size to him... Keep threatening to get rid of him ! Think it's good advice so thanks

 

[stephen2825]

it seems likely they were eaten by something bigger. have you any piranaha in your tank?

 

[The-Lion]

To say clown loaches are good at hiding is an under statement they can get into yhe most unlikely spaces, i've picked up a cave two or three times only to find them tucked right up in the smallest crack on the forth time of looking

 

[cableguy42]

Missing clown does not normally happen! They could be hidding anywhere, if you dont find them something could of ate them.goodluck!

 

[max11180]

i thought all 7 of mine had disapeared once...i'd moved the tank, checked back, front under and around anything possible, and in the end gave up, and came to the conclusion that the tiger barbs had bullied, and ate them. 2 days later, when the weather was back the usual rain.. i came home from work, and all 7 were sat in a line on the bottom of the tank?! where they went, and what they were doing, will always be a mystery!
After watching them dig and burrom a while afterwards, i toyed with the idea that they dug in under the gravel for some reason, but i find it odd that all 7 would do so. Anyways, not long after this, i added 6 zebra danios, and since i added these, the loach are much more relaxed, and theres usually at least 3-4 out all the time. I guess the loach see them as dither fish.

 

[geezer]

my loaches did the same thing. one day two of them disappeared. On the third day i turned the tank upside down looking for them. day four they reappeared as if they were never gone. The funny thing is mine are about 4 inches and really FAT!!! So where they went is a total mystery. they are really good hiders and are probably doing just that.
good luck!