Strange Clown Behavior

[kimmers318]

Twice now I have seen my clown loaches "white out", the first time I got concerned thinking some kind of fishy disease and I would lose it, but later the coloring was as vibrant as always so I figured it was just a quirky "can't see thru the bubbly water very well". Today I found 2 clowns both looking washed out again, only they appeared to be sparring with each other. By looking washed out I mean it looked like their normally bright coloring had developed a white coating over it that you could still see their colors under. While they were washed out they kept going at each other face to face, back off, bump faces again. This went on for maybe 10-15 minutes and then their coloring came back and they have been swimming around like nothing happened. No damage seemed to be done to either. Is this normal behavior when they are trying to decide who will be dominant? Both appear happy and healthy, love to come to surface to see what kind of goodies I am feeding from a dropper and frequently eat whatever it is! I believe they have also snacked on 2 ghost shrimp, which is fine, they were bought 5/$1 hoping to be a good meal for dwarf puffer. I put 1 in dp tank, 4 in com tank and only ever see 2 now.
Any other shrimp buddies that the clowns would like I would also be interested in hearing about!

 

[TammyLiz]

Is this normal behavior when they are trying to decide who will be dominant?

You hit it on the head there. Thats exactly what they are doing. I don't have clowns myself but I've seen a video of it happening in someone else's tanks. Apparantly it is normal for their colors to wash out while they are doing this. As long as your tank is big enough to keep them comfortable and you have at least three, they're fine. If your tank is not at least 75 gallons (US) you'll need to think about getting a bigger one before long. If you treat them right and feed a varied diet, they will grow to a foot long and can live for over 40 years. Who knows, it could even be much longer than that.

EDIT: If you already knew about the tank size, lifespan, I didn't mean an insult, just that most clown loach owners don't know this.

 

[kimmers318]

You are right...most new owners don't know about how big clowns get...they are just so irrestible in the stores! Right now, they are in a 64 gallon with plans to add 75 or 90 to my collection next fall...which should be plenty of time before they outgrow this one. Since I got some of my tanks as a deal from someone whose dad stopped raising angels we started with those and am working on cycling 2 tanks currently for some of my com. fish....a 29 gal is waiting for me to start...1 75 gallon has a stand waiting for it...and my final additions will be the 2 larger tanks this fall....already have a filter for one! As anyone knows who has gotten into fish...it can get costly...so we are taking things one step at a time! Getting what we know we will need later as we can afford it ( like when it is on sale! ) and then the tanks themselves won't be such an expense next fall when all of our summer activities are over. Unfortunately...I originally started with 4 clowns....lost 2 and am having problems finding a healthy looking one to add to the mix at about the same size. But the 2 seem to be rather happy, always active during the day and join several other fish regularly for swim sessions. Thanks for easing my mind that what I was seeing was their pecking order contest...now I wonder who will win!

 

[TammyLiz]

It's ok to have smaller ones in with your larger ones as long as there are enough numbers in the group. Have you seen this yet?
http/loaches.com/species_pages/botia_macracanthus.html

 

[silverdoller]

well i tend to differ in tank size as i have three clows had then for 3 years in a 29 tank they are growing and are very happy,but do love to have a cave to sleep in and yes they do change when upset or having a teff lol,and i have three drwf puffer mine will not eat gost srimp as it is to big,and you can sex them by knowing the males have a line on there belly,s mine love blood worms hope i helped take care by by