Clown Loaches Not Eating
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2021 12:56 pm
This is my first post on the forum. Been lurking on and off for a few years.
I just picked up 10 clown loaches that are 2-3" in size. I meant to buy 8 and asked if there was any discount for purchasing that number and the LFS owner said he'd give me one for free. After he caught them there was an extra one in the bag and he said he'd throw that one in too (I'm a regular customer and have given him some nice fish over the years so he was likely feeling generous).
The tank is an 8' 240G tank with a 120G sump. Previous occupants were a large group of messy belligerent Central American cichlids. They'd been in there for a few years so it's a mature tank. I've raised the water temperature to 84F. Long-term I'd like to keep it around 82. My water is hard and my pH is around 7.5 out of the tap. I don't do anything to mess with it other than add the appropriate amount of dechlorinator.
Tank mates are about 70 1-1.5" tiger barbs and a 3-4" Leopard Frog Pleco. Once the fish get bigger, I'll rehome some of the inhabitants.
Substrate is sand with a bit of gravel (for a more natural look), a few large rocks and pieces of Manzanita driftwood that span almost across the whole length of the tank. I have a few low light plants (Java fern, anubias and jungle val). Also a couple of golden pothos, one with the roots in the tank and the other in the sump. There's also duckweed usually multiplying in the sump.
There is probably about 320G of water in the system and I change out 140G once per week. I vacuum the sand almost daily as the powerheads conveniently push most of the detritus to one spot close to where the python is permanently set up.
The clown loaches went into the tank on Wednesday (today is Friday). I'd say half of them think they're tiger barbs and they swim back and forth along the length of the tank and tentatively join in on the feeding frenzy that happens a couple of times per day. One of them has been flashing a bit but is eating and is very active. I'm watching to see if I notice any changes in case it's ich.
It's the other half of the clown loach group I'm checking on. They stay on one end of the tank and swim up and down the side. Very rarely they join the other group to do a partial trip across the length of the tank but I haven't seen them eating.
I feed high quality pellets and flakes mostly. Yesterday I threw in some shelled crushed peas that went over well with all the tank inhabitants except this small group.
Do I just need to give them time? Any other suggestions?
I just picked up 10 clown loaches that are 2-3" in size. I meant to buy 8 and asked if there was any discount for purchasing that number and the LFS owner said he'd give me one for free. After he caught them there was an extra one in the bag and he said he'd throw that one in too (I'm a regular customer and have given him some nice fish over the years so he was likely feeling generous).
The tank is an 8' 240G tank with a 120G sump. Previous occupants were a large group of messy belligerent Central American cichlids. They'd been in there for a few years so it's a mature tank. I've raised the water temperature to 84F. Long-term I'd like to keep it around 82. My water is hard and my pH is around 7.5 out of the tap. I don't do anything to mess with it other than add the appropriate amount of dechlorinator.
Tank mates are about 70 1-1.5" tiger barbs and a 3-4" Leopard Frog Pleco. Once the fish get bigger, I'll rehome some of the inhabitants.
Substrate is sand with a bit of gravel (for a more natural look), a few large rocks and pieces of Manzanita driftwood that span almost across the whole length of the tank. I have a few low light plants (Java fern, anubias and jungle val). Also a couple of golden pothos, one with the roots in the tank and the other in the sump. There's also duckweed usually multiplying in the sump.
There is probably about 320G of water in the system and I change out 140G once per week. I vacuum the sand almost daily as the powerheads conveniently push most of the detritus to one spot close to where the python is permanently set up.
The clown loaches went into the tank on Wednesday (today is Friday). I'd say half of them think they're tiger barbs and they swim back and forth along the length of the tank and tentatively join in on the feeding frenzy that happens a couple of times per day. One of them has been flashing a bit but is eating and is very active. I'm watching to see if I notice any changes in case it's ich.
It's the other half of the clown loach group I'm checking on. They stay on one end of the tank and swim up and down the side. Very rarely they join the other group to do a partial trip across the length of the tank but I haven't seen them eating.
I feed high quality pellets and flakes mostly. Yesterday I threw in some shelled crushed peas that went over well with all the tank inhabitants except this small group.
Do I just need to give them time? Any other suggestions?