Loaches Online Forum

will clown loaches flash even if nothing is wrong?

there are no spots, there is no red gills, they are hanging out at the bottom, they are not breathing heavy.

I have 4 of them and only 2 seem to do it.

oh and they are doing it to the flat tumbled river stones(aquarium safe) I just added. not really anything else.

oh and it was right after I took out there vegetable.

I'm not sure about clowns, but I know my striata and sids do this. At first I was worried and spent weeks waiting for a condition to present. After weeks of observation I concluded that it was in fact another facet of their hierarchy and now I no longer worry about it. It's almost as though a sub-dominant loach will approach a larger loach and "flash" it's underbelly to show that it's approaching without threat. Many species of fish do this from my understanding, I know many gourami do something similar.

Have there been any other changes to the tank? Medications added, change in the pH, TDS etc.

Might not be, but also check them with a flash light. Velvet is one which is not easily visible.

Had similar problem a day back with my juvi Barilius that I got. Searched a lot and found the flash light comment in a old post. To my horror, they have velvet. Right now at 30c and salt. After 24hours they seem to be ok but will run everything for the whole cycle.

yeah I check all that, no ich, no velvet, but my 2.5" inch had a weird mark on his head I treated the tank with a half dose of a parasite med and it and the flashing are gone.

I also read somewhere that they will flash to get food off the bottom.

Hello,

I've never seen my loaches flash to get food off the bottom. They've only flashed when something was bothering them. Ich was bothering them in the three times that I can remember them flashing.

Hello cloudgodd,

White spots may show up a few days after fish starts flashing so, be advised to start increasing temperature and make sure you have the right medication if necessary.

Let´s hope it´s not Ich but be prepared...

Marcos.

Hi there,

My loaches never flash to get food off the bottom. Only when anything was upsetting them did they flash. The three times I can recall them flashing, it was because Ich was irritating them. spend elon musk money