Loaches Online Forum

I recently purchased three 2 1/2-3in clown loaches. I have put them in a 10 gal quarentine tank. Its been about two days and i tried to feed them some frozen bloodworms and they wouldnt eat. Parameters are fine and two seem healthy but one's dorsal is down and not erect like the others. So this kinda worries me...they dont seem to have the "skinny" disease or any parasite i can see. But i would really appreciate some in sight on the matter. thank you
-Jonathan

Clamped fins is definitely a sign of stress. Are there hiding places in the tank?
To further tempt them to eat you might flavor their food with garlic. You can defrost frozen food in a shallow dish with some finely minced garlic. Feed both the garlic and the defrosted food.

Well there are some coconut caves and some plants for shelter but i guess stress is the most logical answer. Minced garlic huh? does this usually apply with most fish? Ill try it out. What about fish granules? How do i get them to eat those? Because bloodworms are just a suppliment right?

What temperature do you have your clowns at? I have always kept my clowns at about 82 F. Keeps them from getting Ich and speeds up their metabolism (makes them hungry). Hope this helps.

Tammy

Hi Jonathan,
Give the store you bought them from a quick call and ask what they feed their loaches on. That way you can use the same and then gradually mix in other stuff to wean them onto a variety of foods.
Have you got good water movement and oxygenation in the QT? How are they all looking today?
Emma

fish_frenzy wrote:What temperature do you have your clowns at? I have always kept my clowns at about 82 F. Keeps them from getting Ich and speeds up their metabolism (makes them hungry). Hope this helps.

Tammy

I hate to post anything about ich, but keeping the temperature at 82F won't prevent ich. Sometimes it may be hidden and only infect the gills, but it's still there. Don't fall into this trap.

Alright ill give the store a call but im pretty sure they fed them flakes lol. but today i only see one out and the rest are hiding. the QT does have ok movement but my main tank to put them in is made for them but until i have actually gotten them to eat i wont put them in.Im going to try the minced garlic and bloodworms today ill give a report on wat happens. Thank you

Good news! they totally devoured the bloodworms and ate the garlic but the bad news is that they would not come out of they caves so i removed the caves and put them back. I dont know if i should have not done that but it seemed to get them to eat...any other suggestions that i should know about before i actually introduce them to the main tank?
-Jonathan