Mysterious disappearing Horse Head Loach

[SteveG]

Hello,

How long will Horse Head loaches burrow? I have 3 in a 55 gallon tank with sand, but I have not seen one for at least a week now. No fish bodies laying around the tank and no signs of a body in the tank if it did in fact pass away. There are no fish in there that are large enough to swallow it. Just hoping against hope that this guy is extra timid and spends like 99.999% of it's time covered up

[Diana]

Can you tell them apart? Could you be seeing 2 at a time, but a different 2 each time?
Are there spots in the tank where you cannot see the substrate? Perhaps an odd angle through the glass, and maybe behind a rock or plant?

I have 'not seen them' for several weeks, then seen them acting just fine. The missing one is probably popping out and swimming around when you aren't around. Mine were almost always buried with just the top of the head sticking out. They blend really well with any tan-cream-brown substrate.

[SteveG]

Thanks for the reply.

I have one that is at least 6 inches. Unfortunately the other two are about the same size and it is one of them that is MIA.

You're right, they're so hard to see when they just poke their heads out. I moved the substrate around some today hoping that the missing one might pop out..and of course that backfired because the other two completely submerged themselves lol.

I'm new to keeping this type of loach, had these for about 2 months now. They are absolutely fascinating.

[SteveG]

Ha! And I kid you not, within 15 minutes of writing this post..there all 3 of them are!

[Diana]

Loaches of many species seem to enjoy making us worry. Glad the missing Horse Head Loach showed up