Loaches Online Forum

Hi all,

I have 5 clown loaches, each about 2" each. Out of the school, one has grown a great deal during the past week, I'm assuming he must be the alpha clown. They were all about the same size, now this alpha is 50% bigger than the rest!

There are 2 clowns from the pack that stand out"

1 is a bit skinnier than the other 4, though this was the case when I got him. While he is relatively more skinny than the other 4 (which are starting to get chubby), he does eat during feeding time, but not as much as the other 4. He schools with the others and doesnt seem to be a loner, so at least thats a good sign.

He also seems to have darker black stripes then the others. His body isn't the traditional orange colour you get in juvenile clowns but its a very pale, almost white colour. Is this normal?

The other odd clown is the opposite to the one above, the orange on his body is darker than the other 3 clown loaches.

Are the 2 clowns with different orange colours something to be worried about?

I'd love to post a pic, but not sure how to, could someone please point me in the right direction?

Cheers

from what i've heard... it's regional varitations... or at least it could be.. emma's good on this one..

poeticpyro wrote:from what i've heard... it's regional varitations... or at least it could be.. emma's good on this one..

Thanks for the reply Pyro. I have read up on Martin's article about the colour and markings variation, but the reason I was concerned is that all 5 clowns were bought from the same LFS and are from the same batch.

I wouldnt have been as surprised if the 2 with different colours came from a different LFS.

Another weird thing is all 5 seemed to have the same "orange" coloured body when I got them, but one has since gone paler orange and another a darker orange. This has been the case for the last few days, so I don't think its a temporary colour change either.

it could be because of pecking order.. my big kahuna of the tank is the darkest and it gets even darker in "battle" also.. just because they're from the same "batch" doesn't mean they are from the same region... trust me..

Yes, I did notice a lot of little fights between some of the bigger clown loaches...the darkest clown is the second largest one in size, but so far I've seen him fight the alpha clown, and two of the other clowns. Note he doesn't take them all on at once!

If he is the darkest of them all, does that make him the alpha (leader) of the group?

no not always...

My "alpha" clown's black stripes are paler than the other clowns

When I first got my clowns, the smallest one was a pale "yellow" sort of colour (rather than orange) with VERY black stripes, and I successfully treated him with Levamisole for what appeared to be Skinny Loach Disease (as he was critically thin as well).
I think mikev also mentioned one of his that was a pale yellow, turned more orange once he got better...

EdenAU wrote:My "alpha" clown's black stripes are paler than the other clowns

When I first got my clowns, the smallest one was a pale "yellow" sort of colour (rather than orange) with VERY black stripes, and I successfully treated him with Levamisole for what appeared to be Skinny Loach Disease (as he was critically thin as well).
I think mikev also mentioned one of his that was a pale yellow, turned more orange once he got better...

Hi EdenAU, thanks for your reply.

I'm also in Australia (Sydney), where did you get your Levamisole from? Can you get this in Oz, without having to order online?

Cheers

I am no expert, but when one of my clown loaches goes pale it is usually because they are about to come down with something - usually ick. It is usually just one of them first, and can remain so if one is more suseptable than the others. I usually just wait patiently and keep an eye on them to see what the cause manifests as, and then treat it straight away. They always change colour temporarily during feeding, but that's to show who's boss.
Kathryn

Pale orange may be a sign of a disease, as EdenAU's and my experience showed, and if he is also less active/feeds less than others, deworming is a good idea. (Actually, deworming is a very good idea for any loach).

Incidentally, my yellow clown also had the best black color. Yellow is fully gone now (=>orange), but black is still pretty good.

If you are getting clowns from the same "batch" it does not mean that they came originally from the same place: either the store or the distributor could mix them up.

ey wrote: I'm also in Australia (Sydney), where did you get your Levamisole from? Can you get this in Oz, without having to order online?

Cheers

I'm a greyhound trainer by profession, and it just so happens that Levamisole (in a liquid form - it's GREEN) is used as a "non specific immune stimulant" in greyhounds
I had a bottle in my "First Aid Kit", so I tried it on the loaches - the concentration in the bottle is 12.5 mg/ml; dose rate for the Clowns was 10 mg per litre, so I added just under a ml of liquid per litre in my tank

You should be able to get it (Levamisole liquid) from any vet that is recommended for greyhounds in your area - Let me know if you need some help finding one, as I can ask a few of the trainers I know in NSW.

EdenAU wrote:

ey wrote: I'm also in Australia (Sydney), where did you get your Levamisole from? Can you get this in Oz, without having to order online?

Cheers

I'm a greyhound trainer by profession, and it just so happens that Levamisole (in a liquid form - it's GREEN) is used as a "non specific immune stimulant" in greyhounds
I had a bottle in my "First Aid Kit", so I tried it on the loaches - the concentration in the bottle is 12.5 mg/ml; dose rate for the Clowns was 10 mg per litre, so I added just under a ml of liquid per litre in my tank

You should be able to get it (Levamisole liquid) from any vet that is recommended for greyhounds in your area - Let me know if you need some help finding one, as I can ask a few of the trainers I know in NSW.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know if the Levamisole stuff is expensive? Just wanted to a fair idea of how much it would cost.

Firstly, I'm not 100% sure if my clowns have the dreaded skinny disease, I'm hoping its not. Should I wait another week or two and see if the skinny clown gets any better or get the Levamisole ASAP and treat the tank?

I'll try get some photos up later today. If I do need to treat with Levamisole, I will do a search on some vets in Sydney and let you know if I have trouble finding one.

Cheers

i've asked enough questions about levasimole to predict that people will recommend you treat loaches with levasimole immediately. Given what i've heard about tropical fish prices in australia, i'd say its a good investment...

My Alpha Clown is Palest of them all. When they spar one of the others will pale out but just for s couple seconds. Then he/she backs off and darkens again.