my clowns are too shy...

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angyles

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so I have a large pack of clowns. I've added to them gradually over the last 5 years or so, hoping to make them more comfortable. there are now 12 or 14 (can't remember and never see them all!!) they range from 2" to 8" in a 150 (72X20X24), heavily planted. My ultimate goal is for it to be a loach only tank, once more of them get larger. for now, they live with some smaller loaches, cories, a couple gouramis, and some oddball straglers from previous groups that are gradually dying off.

So I often read people say they're loaches are so social, but mine are absolutely not. They come out when the lights go off and when they're hungry, but otherwise they all dog-pile in a back corner. I used to have several caves for them and they would ALL pile in to 1 cave together, and never come out! I've removed those and now I see them a bit more, but they still just chill behind all the swords.

When they do come out, they don't seem scared of the other fish at all. they're absolutely the kings of the tank, but if I even look at them, the dart away from the front. after 4 years of this, I'm curious what others thoughts are.
 

angyles

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Also, I do often see pairs come out here and there. 2 at a time. But the biggest ones are always in the back corner hiding. Big hossiena is the 8" I got 1 year ago. She is so deathly afraid of people, she'll freak out and stir up the whole tank if she sees you look in her general direction.
 

EmilyMarie85

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You need dither fish.
 

owenodin

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That's strange. I have 4 and they are always at the front of the tank in the morning watching me and giving me the "feed me" look. They have some caves but rarely use them, although they love to dig under driftwood. My tank is a lot smaller though, so perhaps they don't have the room to hide that yours do.

I do have to say I'm surprised by that though, mine are very social swimming around the tank and playing.

Could it be one of the other tank inhabitants? Or maybe your dog or another pet?
 

owenodin

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That's a good point -- I have a bunch of rasboras swimming around that the clowns see, and probably know would be food before they would.

You need dither fish.
 

tonergirl

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Mine change all the time. For days they're out dashing about , chasing each other and doing what I call the "Waterfall dance". They pick a corner and one after the other they go all the way up to the top, like a chorus line :) and then they do the same all the way down, over and over again and then they'll change corners and sides and repeat. Sometime the cories join in for a few laps. They also have days where you only see them when the food comes out. They are the most unusual fish I've ever owned. I'm surprised that you never see them. You know dither fish might be just the thing you need, like the other poster suggested. I used to have 5 Tinfoil Barbs(?) and my Clowns loved them!! They're really, really fast, very pretty and they were never aggressive with my other fish. The only problem was they grow ginormous really fast and my tank was not big enough but your 240 should be big enough. My Clowns would follow them all over the tank for most of the day. It seems like these guys never stop moving!!
 

fishorama

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Where in your house is the tank? When we had them in an area we walked through a lot but didn't hang out in the clowns were way, way more shy. My later tank with different clowns was right next to my computer & they'd often lounge near my shoulder. They seemed to like fast mouse clicking games, lol.

I found too with more caves they hid less. I made "high shade" areas that blocked the top light but allowed me to see them easily. They are naturally crepuscular/nocturnal & prefer dim lighting, do you have bright plant lights?

The big newer 1 is probably making everyone else a little nervous. Maybe try feeding very small amounts of food several times during the day & not any bedtime meals. That might help with overcoming any light phobia & people=food is why many of our fish like us. Try a few thawed bloodworms, that always made mine dance to see the dish coming.
 

Wren

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I'd agree about the dither fish. I actually only have 2 clown loaches (I know they like larger groups than that). Mine are 6-7 inches long. They aren't the boldest fish in the tank, but I sure wouldn't say they hide, either. I have rainbows in the tank (been there for ages) and a school of tiger barbs (these are fairly new).

Maybe you could train them to associate you with good things? I would try frequent (but small) random feedings of frozen bloodworms and other favorite foods. Don't feed them every time you go near the tank, but often enough and irregularly enough, that they come out when they see you just in case.

Lisa
 

EmilyMarie85

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I used to have the same problem with my clowns being skiddish, especially my largest (9"). I added dither fish (I chose various rainbow species) and started feeding smaller amounts several times a day. Worked like a charm. Worked so well that I have a few clowns who will eat out of my hand now, still working on the others..
 

angyles

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Maybe I have the 'wrong' dither fish right now. I have 6 rummy noses that are always hiding, 6 fire ring danios 3 white clouds as well as 3 odessa barbs and 3 mollies. As I said, leftovers from previous setups LOL. I previously had 14 odessa barbs as my primary school and didn't really see any improvement with the clowns. I do think it may be a bit worse since I got big hossiena though. I think she was in too small of a tank with only 3 clowns in her previous life. In the year I've had her she's grown a good 2" and that's a LOT for a clown that was already a good 6".

I'm thinking maybe if I filter the light it will help. I just ordered some frogbit. IT's pretty bright in there right now. Also, if I add a powerhead for a spot with good current, it might help draw them out??

The tank is in our living room, behind the couch. My Shih Tzu sits there on the back of the couch all the time and they don't even notice her, but when I sit on the couch BOOM they all take off.
 
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