Loaches Online Forum

Hi! Been lurking around on this forum for a few months, haven't posted yet. Got my first question

I purchased 4 CL's a few days ago. They are all a little over 5" -- they were at a LFS, and were not being kept very well. They were in a 120g tall w/ fake plants, 1 piece of driftwood & small clowns (most infested with skinny) and their colors were faded really bad. I have gotten clowns in this condition before and never had any issues with getting them healthy, their colors usually start to return by day 2 at the latest... I am however a little concerned about these new additions.

They are in their QT tank right now (set it up with established filters n' all that, driftwood for them to hide, etc.) Going on day 3 now, and when I got up this morning they were still all stressed out -- zipping around the tank, faded colors, and as far as I can tell they haven't eaten anything yet. I didn't try to feed until day 2 and so far I have tried cucumber, clams, shrimp, Hikari pellets -- they didn't even touch the live snails I tossed in (which are now crawling on the side of the tank!!). I have been testing the water daily, it is pristine. Temp is at 81 degrees. I have had the tank on blackout since they arrived, and one of the filters is a powerhead filter, so it provides a bit of a current. I know it can take awhile for clowns to "snap out of it", and that I haven't given it very long... but I am just racking my brain trying to figure out what else I can be doing to help these guys chillax. Any suggestions?

Thanks
Emily

Sounds like you have some really lucky rescues. I would give them more time. With my new fish, I sit near the tank and look in. I try not to walk to the tank. I move really slow and give them a chance to get to know me.

If they are super thin, I would treat for internal parasites.

Nope - these are not thin at all (sorry should have mentioned, they are not showing signs of skinny, just their tanks mates were).

2 of them will stare back at me if I sit in front of the tank, but the other 2........
All 4 have faded colors and are overall skiddish I would feel better if their colors improved, or if they would eat... But, I haven't really given them much time to settle in I guess -- =/

If they aren't skinny they should be able easily to go a few days without eating. Any natural foods in the tanks? I have gammarus shrimp breeding in all my tanks. I know my fish snack on them. Maybe some live foods would help out fish like some brine shrimp. I would let them settle, make sure there are lots of places to hide.

I added 2 more pieces of driftwood last night, and I have been tossing live snails in -- maybe I will try some RCS, I have a breeding tank full of them... thanks for the suggestions!

starsplitter7 wrote:? I have gammarus shrimp breeding in all my tanks. I know my fish snack on them.

Sound pretty interesting! Are they a steady self sustaining live food source then? Just done a quick google search but didn't find a lot, except a few comments about them being terribly invasive? If you have some more info I'd love to hear it.

Lambi wrote:

starsplitter7 wrote:? I have gammarus shrimp breeding in all my tanks. I know my fish snack on them.

Sound pretty interesting! Are they a steady self sustaining live food source then? Just done a quick google search but didn't find a lot, except a few comments about them being terribly invasive? If you have some more info I'd love to hear it.

Yeah -- I would be interested to hear more about these too. Are they a pain to keep?

I have no idea where I got them, probably with a bag of plants or fish. I would say they are invasive, because they reproduce like mad, but in any tank with Cories, there is no problem -- I have not a one. I grow them in a tank with a betta, another tank with snails and a Nursery tank. I don't do anything for them, they grow themselves and reproduce. Then if I have ill fish or a fish not eating, I grab a few, and throw them in the tank, and the fish do pretty well with them. I am very happy to have them. They cause no problems as far as I can tell, and they keep my fish well. I do spend lots of time picking them out of buckets and filters and throwing them back into the tanks. I don't like any animals to get swept down the drain. Bad for the environment, but I have a live and let live policy in my house. Even though a few get eaten by my fish, the rest eat, reproduce and frolic.

Would you be interested in selling & shipping some?

EmilyMarie85 wrote:Would you be interested in selling & shipping some?

Yer I'd Luke some too although I don't think that they would survive the trip to England!

Lambi wrote:

EmilyMarie85 wrote:Would you be interested in selling & shipping some?

Yer I'd Luke some too although I don't think that they would survive the trip to England!

I am in Idaho, USA so I think they would survive shipping to me

I wouldn't worry about new loaches not eating for a week or even 2, the bigger they are the longer it may take. But few loaches can resist frozen blood worms or live black, white or red wiggler worms. Good luck!