Clown Loach Spot or not(w pics)??

[djoneser]

I haven't posted much in a while, but have a question about one of my clowns. All of them are in great shape, moving well, nice and thick and active. I was cleaning the tank yesterday and wanted to get some pictures to see if anyone can tell me if they think that I have a medical issue or if this is just a coloration thing. Just one (maybe 2 now that I've looked thru all the pictures again) of my clowns have a "spot" on them, a small patch that is darkened, sometimes nearly black. I'm inserting a shot here of the fish in question, with the spot, I cut this out for better clarity.

Main image with the clown in view under the EBJD


Cutout of 'spot'


Couple of other shots I took trying to get a good picture of 'spot' and his spot.



Will have to set this up as my avatar I think..

[Diana]

Color variations like that are common among Clown Loaches. Not a problem at all. Here is more info...
http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-l ... variations

[glenna]

beautiful, beautiful loaches!
lovely pics, thanks!!!

[Loaches4Life]

Wow some pigs! What are you feeding them as a staple?

I have had several of my loaches develop spots as they got bigger. Its nothing to worry about

[Martin Thoene]

You'll probably find that spot becomes more defined as the fish matures. It's very typical in a fish with the third stripe shaped as in this fish.

Fabulous fish, including the Dempseys.

Martin.

[djoneser]

Thanks for the compliments all. I've had this group of 7 loaches for nearly 3 years now, and got most of them at good size to start (nothing under 3" iirc).

They are primarily fed hikari sinking cichlid pellets (medium reds, fit in their mouths just fine), with some allternation with hikari cichlid staple and hikari tropical sinking wafers. I do remember to buy them some veggies now and then, but mostly they eat the pellets.

They moved from a 75g glass tank to a 125g recently and love the extra running room. Water changes are 80%ish every other week. (also know this is not recommended for loaches in general, but have been on this schedule for 3 years now..)

I probably should not admit to this, but I will...
My loaches 'let' me pet them during water changes, and I never see their spikes come out during that...

Every morning before work, the whole crew is dancing at one end of the tank where they can see me coming down the hall, just waiting for breakfast..

[zenins]

I have a clown loach with a spot as well:





Seems normal, enjoys being with friends