Clown Knocking

[Bigdan]

My Alpha clown loach was knockin' the glass so bad, I had to get it in another tank. It is by himself and pissed off.

Should I sell it or keep it with a lone Dojo in the tank it's in?
The reason I had to move this Clown is because it is in my bedroom, and I can't sleep when he is tappin' the glass.

He is about 3.5-4.0 inches long.
Dan

[Jim Powers]

Are you sure he wasn't just clicking? Clowns and other botinae make a loud clicking noise when they are excited. He definately should not be kept alone. Clowns are very socialable fish and need to be kept in groups.

[angelfish83]

This is why you do research before you buy fish. Loaches click. Its just something they do. Clowns are particularly loud clickers. You can't mix a clown with a Dojo. Dojo's need cool water clowns like it on the hot side, not just warm.

Your fish is not 'tapping the glass'

Also, Dojo's and clowns are both very social, even for loaches, and clowns should be in as big a group as possible, dojo's in atlease a five or six...

You might kinda wanna get out of loaches for awhile and keep some hardier easier fish while you get your 'sealegs'

[mikev]

Actually, they knock too.

There are a few small round stones in the "feeding corner" of my clown tank. They lift the stones (looking for food), and often hit them against the glass, with a definite knocking sound...

Quite enjoyable.

I fail to see why the clown who was simply enjoying himself has to be punished.... Perhaps, earplugs is a better solution.

[Graeme Robson]

Years ago, when i kept Clowns, they used to tap on the glass with a 'empty' snail shell. It was like Feed me more......Now!!

[shari2]

I'd say if the clown's tapping/clicking is annoying and you can't manage to get a few buddies for him, that yes, it would be best to take him back.

Why keep a fish that annoys?

[Mad Duff]

I have the bigger of these two terracotta pot caves in my Clown tank:

And I have noticed that the largest Clown likes to go in there with just its tail sticking out of the opening and it starts clicking and then banging and then back to clicking, and it makes one hell of a racket.

There are definite changes in the noise and the clowns have actually picked out the larger pebbles from the substrate and carried them into this cave, I think it is doing something with these pebbles when it makes the louder banging noise as opposed to the loud clicking.

[shari2]

So you have construction clowns?

[Graeme Robson]

So you have construction clowns?

With a Cherry on the top!

(Mark already explained that it is a handle)

[Martin Thoene]

Another thing you've learned angelfish83.....Clowns do tap the glass, and other species. I've watched mine pick up gravel or small stones and toss it against the glass.

So the term is might not be tapping the glass, might be clicking.

Martin.

[Emma Turner]

Before Marge and Stripes entered the mix, our old Alpha clown used to bang on the glass with small stones almost every day. We have sand in the tank, but the stones (sometimes up to 1.5" or so across) came in with some mother plants in the baskets, and when we took them out of the baskets and planted them, a few stones escaped and sunk to the bottom. We didn't take them out and the alpha loach soon realised that she could play with this and would either 'herd' them along the substrate like dribbling a football, or else pick them up and bang them against the front glass. I seem to remember posting a message about this on the old forum some time ago. Now that Marge is in charge, she seems to be the one that gets to play with the stones, although she doesn't do it as often as the old alpha used to. I have tried for years to get a pic of them picking up the stone, as sometimes they can lift it well clear of the substrate, just held by the strong barbels but to no avail so far.

Emma

[midman]

This is why you do research before you buy fish. Loaches click. Its just something they do. Clowns are particularly loud clickers. You can't mix a clown with a Dojo. Dojo's need cool water clowns like it on the hot side, not just warm.

Your fish is not 'tapping the glass'

Also, Dojo's and clowns are both very social, even for loaches, and clowns should be in as big a group as possible, dojo's in atlease a five or six...

You might kinda wanna get out of loaches for awhile and keep some hardier easier fish while you get your 'sealegs'

I have just replied to your post in my thread on angelfish eggs - which I apparently more or less murdered according to you. Is it possibly your aim in life to make everyone look stupid when they ask an honest, be it naive question about something. Who taught you exactly? I bet you didn't learn it all yourself. A little humility would go a long way you know. That's why the forum is here, surely, to ask questions that you won't get a sarcastic reply to. Ironically, you do still get round to answering the question asked.

[dlenn]

Our tanks are in the dining room - good job too. If anyone has to stay over and ends up sleeping in there I think we'll have to issue them with earplugs. The fish pick up the stones to grub around for food and then spit them out at the glass. They also start to splash at the top of the tank if we are particularly late feeding them.

The loaches when digging their breeding pits like to dig near the glass, so you hear this vibration and then stones hitting the glass.

dlenn