Oldest Clown Loach MIA!

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Tay690

Addicted to Loaches
Feb 5, 2009
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Hi there,
Not sure if you've read my threads from a few months ago...but my last big Clown Loach (Lola) has been sick with a bent spine and sunken side

Since then she's filled back out and I added some Guppies to her tank and she was swimming about, eating very vigorously and all around just better

She had been in that tank with the guppies for about 1.5 months

The guppies showed no symptoms the entire time and not a single casualty

So 2 days I decided Lola was healthy enough to move to the big tank with her loach buddies

It's a 55g (I'm working on the 125 still and I'm doing the explosion test hopefully next weekend lol) with 2 pieces of driftwood, silica sand substrate and some java moss, java fern and rotala

My problem is simple...but very complicated for its simplicity...i'm worried also

I can't find this fish anywhere...

The day I put her in which was Thursday night I watched the fish for about 30 minutes just to make sure no tempers were flaring and it was so amazing to watch

The juvi loaches (6x gold zebra loaches & 2x juvi clown loaches) all started swimming alongside Lola

The baby clowns were extremely happy to see her...they were following her like they were her babies and rubbing on her side (not sure if that's bad or good)

She instantly started heading the pack and there was no aggression that I witnessed

Yesterday in the morning when I fed them Lola was out with all the other fish...she seemed fine but wasn't much interested in food like in the other tank...I figured she was scared of me because I just ripped her out of her other home...put her in a bucket and dripped water from the new tank into her bucket until the new tank water was about 66% of the bucket volume
The process took about an hour

So up until yesterday morning I haven't seen her...I came back in the room at 6pm and I couldn't see her anywhere

I went in this morning and fed frozen bloodworms and she STILL didn't come out...I'm getting worried now

I've lifted both pieces of driftwood and checked the holes...the kuhlis I have (6x black kuhli) in the tank hide directly inside the driftwood

I don't see how this larger clown loach could possibly squeeze into there but I will check more thoroughly if that where you think she could be

She's not in the filter, I've dug through 90% of the sand (everything except where the driftwood sits normally) and she definitely didn't jump out of the tank either

I don't where she could be

If she was eaten could 6x juvi gold zebra loaches, 2x juvi clown loaches and 6x black kuhlis finish a complete 5 inch clown loach in less than 24 hours? would there be bones laying around?

Where should I check? What should I look for? I'm worried about her -_-
 

tanker

Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
Sep 1, 2003
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You maybe surprised how small of a place a loach can squeeze into. Give it a day or so.

PS--No, do not think your stock can eat a 5" loach.
 

Tay690

Addicted to Loaches
Feb 5, 2009
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Well I found her...finally

She's pretty beat up ...her tail has been pecked at by the others...maybe trying to pester her because she was stuck...maybe trying to help

her slime coat has taken a few hits I guess when she was wedging herself inside the driftwood

The only possible hole she could've gone into she couldn't swim backwards to get out of...I knew something was wrong she seemed to happy the other day when I put her in...the way she was swimming with the others and goofing around

She was wedged inside this piece of driftwood I have but she couldn't turn around and couldn't swim backwards to get out of the driftwood...I watched the tank for a couple of hours when I saw one of the baby clown loaches swim inside the kuhli loaches hideout (which is that tiny canal inside the actual piece of drifwood...they always wiggle their way out there during feeding time)

I picked up the piece and looked directly into turned towards the light and i saw the baby clown loach and Lola beside eachother

The baby clown loach swam out easily enough and Lola tried to follow out the same hole and she got stuck and backed up again...I held the piece up for about 30 minutes at different angles trying to get her to swim out through various dime sized holes...I still don't know how she got in to be honest...all the holes almost exactly fit a juvenile clown loach...somehow she did

already long story shorter...I took some pliers and made one of the holes a little wider on the driftwood...no serious damage to the wood and the fish was totally unharmed...other than what it did to itself

I'm so happy I found her...now I hope she can get better quickly

She went back to that hole in the driftwood again and looked at it and swam right past it...I hope she's learned her lesson

She's again swimming very happily with the other loaches and its lights out for the night

Yay happy ending
 

jptjpt

AC Members
May 16, 2008
334
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Glad you found her. I hope she recovers well. I had one clown loach that lived past 25 yrs. It died about 3 yrs. ago. They're just great pets.
 
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