# Clown Loach Fighting



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Mine chase around, but they never fight.....and I even have the ideal setup for bullying. I have one large loach, and added a little guy one year later. If they were cichlids, this would spell disaster. If there is only one small 'hiding place', I would recommend you construct more. My two guys have a 12" by 12" system of dark tunnels to scamper through; this may be the reason they aren't competitive.....just a thought.


----------



## blk (Oct 25, 2003)

Do they fight all the time, or just during feeding? My clown loaches are very friendly with each other most of the time. However, during feeding time the competition over food can get lively. It's not violent, they just bump each other away with their noses.


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Alec said:


> I know what all the fighting greying out stuff means


I don't understand what you mean...

Those clowns might be under stress. A 20 gal tank (is that where you keep them in?) is not suitable to keep fish that can reach a foot length.

I know... "I had my clown loaches for 3 years, and they haven't grown a little bit" ... poor excuse.


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

Alec, 

Here's a few shots of my clowns' home. It's kinda dirty right now, but it seems that they like it that way. As I understand, their native waters are pretty dirty. *note* the flash is casting light - it is actually very dark under the slate.

Wasser, 

(for what it's worth) I feed em Tetrabits and [once in a while] brine shrimp. They grow like weeds. The little one has been in the tank about 4 months....the big guy - a year.


----------



## cich (Aug 5, 2003)

My Green Tiger Botia is also being a prick. It likes to play tag. There are no other bottom feeders around, and it just seems to enjoy coming out and bugging everyone! I'm thinking more hiding places to keep it down there, and make sure to feed it, to make sure this isn't a hungry thing?

--cich


----------



## unirdna (Jan 22, 2004)

I have no experience with the tiger botia, but I do know that clown loaches are one of the more passive species. They aren't as timid as the 'snakey' loaches (like the khuli), but compared to skunk loaches :evil: , they are puppies :wink:


----------



## anonapersona (Oct 19, 2002)

I had a problem with the larger of the two filters on my big "fish only" cichlid tank and all of the sudden had a few fish die. One, then a week later another. I didn't know why. Then suddenly, two more fish are under attack and looking like they might die. I changed 50% of the water, which I also tested -- 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 20 ppm nitrates -- nothing bad there. 

I had parts on order for the filter for the last two weeks and when it started leaking also, I called the manufacturer and we worked out what the problem was, then got the filter working much better than it had been in the 2 months I've had it. 

As soon as that filter was working, the fish stopped attacking each other. 

Now, 2 days later the torn up tails are starting to heal, I only hope the torn off scales grow back soon and the scars color up from the biting. Aggression levels are back to normal for cichlids.

So, the point of this long story is that even if you test the water and it SAYS it is OK, there are still things that may be building up that are causing the fish to want to eliminate some of their competition. To them, a dirty tank means that there are more fish than there is room for -- so someone must die.

It is not normal for clowns to attack. 

Clean your filter, clean your gravel, do a large water change. I'll bet they will behave normally after that.


----------



## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

Weird! Mine have never done this - no hint of aggression. Just goes to show it depends on the fish though. They do have some nasty barbs should they choose to use them
though!!!

http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/freshwater/images/loach/clownloach/spines.jpg


----------



## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

I stand corrected - check out these naughty guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGkZPu5HP8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EeG2HbpET0


----------



## newshound (May 9, 2005)

Wasserpest said:


> I know... "I had my clown loaches for 3 years, and they haven't grown a little bit" ... poor excuse.


thanks wasserpest
I agree
unless stunted (left in toxic water) during shipping clowns should grow. If they don't the tank could be under filtered or not have enough water changes (50% weekly).
loaches are alot of work they need clean water.


----------



## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

That's bizarre. I have kept clowns for years. I have 5 now and they always play so nice together- and I didn't get them all at the same time. Never saw ANY aggression. If I didn't see the video I would never have believed it.


----------



## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

I also didn't get all of mine at the same time. Some started showing aggression towards each other, basically for dominance. After a few more weeks, they got more aggressive, then after awhile, it tapered. I've had mine for over 10 years now (lost track, maybe 15 years), they don't show any type of aggression at all.

I would have to think that it is basically on their personality. It's like people. If you get 2 or more dominant people in a room, you will probably get the dominant ones arguing until they have established who is the boss. If you get only one dominant person in the group, while the other's are passive, then there's no arguing at all.


----------



## dirkgent001 (Nov 20, 2007)

My clowns have grown like 2 inches in the past 1.5 years.. then I got 2 more.. and 1 of them grew real fast, and the other seemed to not grow much at all. The large ones never fought with the new little ones.

Its seems to me like they have growth spurts. You look at them everyday, and one day, they are just bigger.

Is that just me?


----------



## mtmd (Feb 22, 2007)

Great link to the Youtube video, Ive had clown loaches for >10 years and currently have 3 -- 1 big one and 2 smaller ones. They often fight at feeding time - a lot of clicking and pecking each other on the head to get to the food pellets. Randomly, the smaller ones will occasionally 'loach fight' just as in the video. They will turn very pale, circle each other, fins straight up, and lock snouts. This sometimes goes on for 15 minutes or so. Never seen anyone come away with any damage, though. I think its just their way of establishing the pecking order, and I guess probably isnt too much different from younger dogs that play fight amongst themselves.


----------



## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

*mating behavior?*

I showed my husband the utube videos. He thinks the second one is actually mating behavior. I looked at it again, and it didn't really look that aggressive. They kept swimming side by side after they "locked lips". Since breeding clown loaches in captivity is nearly impossible, we probably don't know what their "courtship" looks like.


----------



## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

Wow this thread is nearly 4 years old...


----------



## loachlady5 (Dec 9, 2007)

Yeah...but who gets tired of loaches:smile::smile::smile:!


----------



## crazy loaches (Sep 29, 2006)

:icon_wink 

I've only witnessed very minor skirmishes between my clowns, none of which has yet involved the alpha so maybe this is unusual. Mine arent that old yet, my oldest 3 are around 2-3 yrs. Out of the group of the oldest 3 the smaller two have fought a little recently. I dont know if they are fighting for the second position or what. Or maybe since they are still younger, its something like teenage fighting, IDK. But the biggest of the bunch just kind of hangs out and doesnt do a whole lot, never has been in any fights I have seen.


----------

