Clown Loach not eating -- HELP!

[suya1]

I have three clown loaches in a tank with other fish. Their sizes vary from small to medium to big (as I see them). I just bought the medium one yesterday and it seems to like to follow the big loach around. My smallest one is the one that isn't eating. He hasn't been eating for a few days now. I used to see him nibble on the plants I have in the tank, but he didn't seem to do anything today. He just sits on the bridge structure I have in the tank. I have isolated him in a nursery tank to treat him with the old salt n' temp. treatment and a drop of Ich cure (he seems to have a very small white dot on his head) to see if that will help. Do you know what could be wrong with the little one?

[Pickerel]

Hi Suya1,

When your botia has he been introduced in your tank ?

It sometimes takes many days for fishes to become acclimatized.

Small specimens can give impression of not eating, though they eats however ; not beeing very demanding in sort and quantity of food, they satify their hunger with almost anything : leaf crumb, food residues, molluscs etc..
And they're fine with it, till acclimatation is done and having learned what is "good to eat in a tank", from is acclimatized companions.

It's very frequent, mostly with wild taked off specimens who cannot imagine industrial food as "good stuff to eat" (hope i'm understandable...)

Have you tried living, frozen or home-made food ?

Does your nursery tank present anythin to eat ?
If not, this could deprive your fish of his last feeding ressources, maybe bringing him to death.

The second point that attracts my attention is that botias should not be cured unless illness is clearly identified.
The reason is that they do not bear scales, thus rending them highly sensitive to chemical treatment and salt.
Treatment should be applied in restricted proportion, according to this sensibility.

Another point is that you do not need any chemical for white dots treatment : 4/5 days at 29/30°C wild cure the tank with no money expense or need of coal filtration after cure.

As far as i'm concerned, i prefer when it's free, ...

Hoping you'll letting us know about your baby botia,

Cordialement,
Dom

[suya1]

Merci beaucoup Dom for your advice. Unfortunately, my poor little clown loach passed away the day after my post for help. I had given the little one some food, but it didn't eat. It's always sad to lose fish. The other two clowns I have in my tank seem to be pretty happy. They eat as soon as food is given and swim together some times. Last time I was lucky to see them sleeping one stacked on the other on their sides. What fish and how many do you have? How long have you had them?

[Pickerel]

Hi Suya1,
First, sorry for your botia, some of them never reach to get old in a tank.

To reply to your question, i keep botias for a year now in a 200L tank.

Home-made substrate, Loire river sand, roots, slate stacks, small blue and red rolled coryndons (not much, expensive and quickly kitsch), vallisneria gigantea wall, hygrophilia polysperma grove, many cryptocorines, pistias and lemna (for my trichogaster), cladophoras and some unknown strange plants from a nearby washtub.
And a little sack of dryed oak leaves and ash tree fruits for water acidification.
All of this looking a bit shambolic, but fishes seems to be ok with it.

Filtration is done through a tetratec-ex-700
Water changes are 20L/week with a mix af osmozed water/rain water according to availability, and well water.
Feeding is : pellets,flakes, fresh vegetables, frozen, earth worms, living bizarre creatures (cyclops, worms, moskito, dragonfly larvas picked from ponds...), melanoides and planorbis eggs.

Population is actualy : 4 lohachatas (one of them never having eat any indus' food for a year, and beeing fine, anyway), 3 (two of them, idem since 3 months) striatas, 3 pangio anguilaris, 7 rasboras trilineata and a single juvenile trichogaster leeri female (?).
This not beeing definitive as, around christmas i hope, according to finances, i'm planning to offer me a 450/600L to acclimate :
Around 12/15 lohachatas, 12/15 rasboras trilineatas, a harem of 3/4 pearl gouramis (1 male,2/3 females), thus freeing the 200L for 7/8 striatas, 7/8 black kuhlis, a small school of yet undefined rasboras + maybe a couple or little harem of colisa lalias (if, by luck, i manage to find some robusts and natural ones, not the kind of strangely modified lalias usualy available in french shops)...





What kind of tank(s) and fishes have you ?
Which is/are the layout(s) of your tank(s)?

In the USA, where do botias come from ?
Wild ? breeding farms ?

Cordialement,
Dom.

[suya1]

Bon soir Dom (or is it Pickerel?),

The pics of your tank are wonderful! I wish I had the room (and finances) to accomodate my fish so well as you have. I have a teeny tiny Nanocube with the following fish: 2 clown loaches, 1 blue gourami, 5 zebra danios, 5 neon tetras, 2 cory catfish, and 1 pleco. They're a motley crew, but get along. I would like to upgrade to a bigger tank, but don't have the space for it. How long did it take you to put together your tank that way? Was it expensive to obtain your fish? Most local pet stores here have the clown loaches or other types of Botia, but they are more on the pricey side compared to other fish. What got you interested in having fish?


Suya1

[Pickerel]

Hi Suya1,

Ouch !!!


I' ve searched for some informations about nanotanks, the biggest seam to be 24gal. am i right ?
Anyway, it's much too short for your actual population as situation will soon become unbearable for your fishes and for you : water parameters instability, suddent no2 pikes, territorial "wars", stress...

Let's try to find some solutions (if possible for you) .
Should go back to pet store (or friend's big tank) :
Pleco- adult : 2 feet tall !
Clown loach - adult : 1 foot tall, gregarious.
blue gourami - adult : 6 inches tall, territorial, real tough fighter.
Zebra danios - Fresh water dwellers (max. 24C°) very good swimmers (need a mini 3 feet tank facade), gregarious : at least 7/8 specimens
Neon tetras : idem as for danios, except for temp.

Done.

Now, you could upgrade your cory population, as they're gregarious, too.
Around 6 would be ok.
You seem to love gouramis, in your tank, it should be possible to keep a little harem of chuna or lalia.
10 caridina japonica
And that's all !

All of this according to compatibility with your water parameters.

Have you been advised you in your population choice by your pet seller ? If this is the case, is real job seam much more like " fishmonger".

Otherwise, i'm very glad to know that my tank pleased you.
It took a year to be "watchable", it's now far from beeing strictly beautifull, but more important to me : liveable and, i hope, friendly for my animals.
You can call me Pickerel or Dom, as you prefer.

Here in France, most commons botias are relatively easy to find, and a bit expensive, varying from shops to shops. For exemple every shops have clown to sell, range of price beeing between 3 to 12€ (3 to 12$). Sources are always open secret, everyone knowing they come from german, czechs or thai breeding farms.
Striatas/lohachatas are rare, within the same range of price, but more and more tiny. sources unknown
Kubotais, modestas, tiger ... very very rare and very very expensive.
Never seen any Hillstream loach in 20 years, though some french aquarists(?????) keep some.

I like tanks firstly because : it's beautifull !

Don't be too worried about your overpopulation, you've got solutions (not compulsorily mine), as with carefully choosen population and layout, a small tank can really be beautifull.

Cordialement,
Dom

[sophie]

Hi Suya1,

Ouch !!!


Have you been advised you in your population choice by your pet seller ? If this is the case, is real job seam much more like " fishmonger".

this, THIS is why I love this forum.
quote of the year, and from a non-native speaker, too.
a non-native speaker with wonderful tanks.

sigh.

[suya1]

Thanks Dom for your sage advice. When space and funds are available for me, I do plan to upgrade to a bigger tank. As long as I don't get any more fish, I think things should be okay. Although it's always hard to walk out of any pet store without any more clown loaches. They are my favorite.