is my new loach stressed or sick?

[sarahlloyd14]

i finally added three clown loaches to my tank a week ago. they are around 2 inches long. have noticed that the smaller one seems to be less social often hidding while the other two are off exploring. its color is much paler than the others. they were all pale but some decent food fixed the other two. the small one seems to get tired easily. offten panting when feeding. is this just stress? i am new to loaches and a little worried. any help would be appreciated.

can you also give me an indication of how old these guys might be. they are about 2 inchs

also credit to everyone on this site. ive learnt so much. luckily

[Emma Turner]

Hi Sarah, and welcome to Loaches Online.

Could you tell us a little more about your tank as it will help us to work out if there is something wrong.

How long has the tank been set up for?
What other fish are in the tank?
Current water parameters - ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, pH?
What sort of filtration are you using?
How often do you carry out maintenance, and what do you do?
What temperature is the tank water?
Are your clowns breathing heavily all the time, or just at feeding time?

Emma

[Hell Fire]

Mine were similar to this when i fist got them at a similar size. Remember they have to adjust still to being caught from the wild, after traveling, having proberbly 4 dif homes then in your new one is all too much for some. Water stats etc as said above how long has the tank been up for etc will be helpfull. Some are greyer and yes sometines its illness etc. My dominant Loach doesnt come out as much as the others and often turns grey when he gets annoyed and puts the others in thier place.
Well whatever the problem hope its ok and you get a lot of pleasure out of them. they all have such individual charecters!

[sarahlloyd14]

sorry its been a while.ok. my tank is new but set up 2 weeks before i put them in. although i put a betta, angel and pleco in after one. the little one is still going but still slower. ph, water hardness, all fine, not sure about ammonia or nitrates, but i do a 25% water change weekly. he is still smaller than the others, but has grown slightly as the others. not panting as much so i think it was stress or maby it was ill and is recovering. eating well.

do you think under 2 inchs is too small to buy. i looked at others in the pet shops today that were all bigger.

[Emma Turner]

That is way too early to be adding that amount of fish, particularly the clown loaches who require very mature set-ups and shouldn't be added until the tank has been running for 6 months or so.
Get yourself an ammonia and nitrite test kit ASAP. These are the two most important things that you should be measuring whilst the tank is so new and still maturing. I have no doubt that you'll have elevated levels of both which will stress and even kill your fish.
What size is the aquarium by the way?
Sorry to say that whoever sold you these fish so early on has given you very poor advice.

Good luck,

Emma

[sarahlloyd14]

its a 90 lr tank which i will upgrade when the time comes. i am new to fish and did ask a million questions to the person who sold me my loaches. and the others. all but this guy are healthy and he is improving. a lot.

should i do more regular water changes to help with water quality. i want wats best for them but i obviously have had bad advice. any help appreciated

[Emma Turner]

Your best bet is to go out today and buy a master test kit which will enable you to monitor water quality (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH). Without one, you cannot have an accurate idea of the quality of the water, no matter how clear it might look.

Whoever sold you those fish has given you really bad advice, no matter how genuine they might have seemed. A good honest store would not have sold you them so early on, and certainly not for a tank that small. A 90 litre tank is simpy not big enough for juvenile clown loaches (which under the right conditions will grow quickly) as they need a lot of swimming space and a decent amount of water movement and filtration. They are also mightily sensitive fish which should not be introduced whilst the tank is still maturing, which it will be for some time. Adults will need a tank at least 6ft x 2ft x 2ft, as will the pleco, if it is of the common variety.

Emma

[helen nightingale]

Emma's advice is excellent, but too many shops are not as good, and sadly it seems like lots of shops dont seem to have any idea that clown loaches should only be put in a mature aquarium. a good honest store, as Emma mentions, is so hard to find always take advice from most shops with a pinch of salt. sorry you had a bad experience.

you are in a good place to find good advice from the experts on loaches here though.

i hope you enjoy your clowns.