My new 1000 liters clown loaches tank (page 22)

[shari2]

I don't know but what your Mr. BB might actually be a Miss BB.

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Hi Shari,

What´s up?
Do you think he is a she Loach?
Guess most of us agreed it was a he Loach based on caudal fin and body format. Please explain reason you think he is a she.

Waiting...

[shari2]

You posted this at the end of November.



And this one today:



Looks to be deepening in the body to me. That could simply be because you are taking good care of him/her.
I'm not sure the caudal fin is a definitive test, but I'm more than willing to defer to the general consensus.

[Marcos Mataratzis]

This drawing bellow I´m not sure where I get it but was a hint to find if a Loaches was male or female. If my mind is not tricking me, according to place where I got this drawing all females are like drawing but male could be both.



Based on the photo bellow we wondered if Mr. Big Botia was really a male or not:


Anyway... important thing is he/she looks very happy in his new home!!!

BTW, does anybody know why every Clown Loach that comes to my tank first come pale yellow like this photo of Mr. Big Botia (taken the day he arrived) and a few days later the pale yellow becomes an orange/yellow like this bellow:

Here you have Mr. Big Botia and another one much more orange than he was:



Now look at this one:

1.5" newcomer close to other 4 older Loaches. All are oranger than the newcommer that is, like Mr. Big Botias was, pale yellow at arrive (and at fish shop).
I don´t think it is adaptative period isue as some of my friends also have Loaches and their Loaches looks pale yellow like my newcomers, not as orange as mine becomes.
Can it be caused by excess wood on my tank? Some special food rich in carotenoids?

Any clue will be most appreciated

[shari2]

Have you seen this article?
http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-l ... variations

[Diana]

Marcos, I wonder if your Clown Loaches are staying a little closer to yellow because your rocks and substrate are closer to that color?
Are the Clowns trying to camouflage themselves by looking more like their surroundings?

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Hi Shari,

Yes, I have already read this article. Thanks, but no clue there.

Hi Diana,

Are the Clowns trying to camouflage themselves by looking more like their surroundings?

Mimetism...
Could it be?

What do you guys think of it?

[Rubix]

diana's suggestion is very possible. fish tend to "color up" to the substrate, which is why you commonly hear people saying black substrate really brings out the colors in fish. ive seen it firsthand with my danios, their shade definitely changes based on the color of the substrate, i havent experienced this with my loaches (i dont move them around) but i imagine it's the same.
additionally, loaches often tend to get pale when stressed; perhaps they are uneasy when being moved and introduced to your tank, but once they are acclimated they color up.
great pictures as always marcos, thanks for sharing

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Hi folks,

As you might remember I got a big Clown loach recently to my tank. Today it happen again. A friend of mine had a couple of 7 year old 6" Clown on his primitive fish 200 gal tank but one of them died. He called me and asked me to take care of the other one as he would not be able to find another 6" to put in his tank.
I went there to get it. Transportation was made on a big bucket:


Before release it in the tank I took advantage of the situation to caress him. His/hers velvet skin was very pleasant to my touch:





A few more shots:







Well, that´s it. I´ll do a video soon and let you know.

Marcos

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Some new photos taken today:

Lateral view of my tank showing part of Rivertank system:


18 Botias:


14 Botias:



2 big ones swimming close to Labeo bicolor:


My big trio - 7.5, 6 and 5.5":


Mr. Big Botia eating Sera Vipachips:


Hidden Clown loach:


YoYo and Clown hidden together:


Also available is a short video:

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=f1dwG3KIYCw

That´s all folks by now. Hope you like it!

[chefkeith]

Great pics. The clowns are looking fantastic.

[Graeme Robson]

Nice one!!

Lovely pictures and Clowns.

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Hi friends,

Bad news here. Today, after a WC, about 2 hours later, my helodes was dead in tank. I use to check water parameters before and after WC. All parameters were same but pH. It was 6.4 before WC. I adjusted fresh water pH in order to have final pH to 6.8. WC was done carefully and not imediatelly. I changed about 20% (as usual).

Shot taken about an year ago when she was introduced (about 10cm):


Today:

[chefkeith]

Sorry to hear it. Man, that stinks.
So how did you change the pH?

I know pH adjusting can be difficult because pH is not independent variable. Factors such as Carbonic acid (CO2 content changes due to photosynthesis) and other acids (such as humic and tannic acids from driftwood) are countered by the carbonate alkalinity or the KH,
Phosphates also play a role in pH, but I don't yet understand how it cycles.

Water temperature also plays a role in the gas content (such as oxygen and CO2) of the water, The higher the temperature is the less gas the water holds
(higher temps = less CO2 = higher pH)
Fish aren't affected by pH changes that are due to CO2 changes though.

You're probably better off focusing on the water's TDS instead of the pH.

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Thanks chefkeith,

I recently moved some fishes to my 200 liter tank. Guess I didn´t yet get the touch on how often to do WC as now there are other fishes. So, pH has changed a bit during week. That´s the only thing I can figure for this isue as fish was normal until WC.
BTW, other fishes on this tank are absolutely normal.