Loaches Online Forum

Ah, the never ending fun with loaches. "What the heck is wrong with him now?!"

I've got a clown loach with a "stuck" sub-ocular spine. Right hand side spine's out, left isn't. I don't think he can get it back in, frankly. Looks a little odd just swimming around happily with his group, brandishing his face-knife.

Should I leave him be, or try to give him a hand getting it back in? Anyone else had this problem?

-V

Yes, one of my largest clowns called Stripes sometimes has this problem. He's an 11" fish with a spine that's just bigger than a cat's claw. We've seen him go around for a good hour or so with it sticking out, following a confrontation. With Stripes, it's the left hand spine that sometimes gets stuck, the opposite to yours. Hopefully yours will relax and put it back down in a while. Stripes has scratched quite a few of his tankmates when this has happened.



Emma

Emma: Thanks for the input (and the picture). I'll keep an eye on him.

If it doesn't retract, is it something to be worried about? No damage to his tank mates yet.

-V

I basically answered this question on another forum weeks ago. Someone's fish had been fighting and it appeared that one of them got the spine slightly stressed. It was inflamed at the base and non-retracted. I advised that they wait patiently and within a few days the swelling went down and the fish folded in the spine.

Martin.