What will clown loaches eat

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Are you interested in Loaches? Do you like them? Do you love them? Do you think you might be a Loachaholic? Then you just discovered the greatest community of like-minded people anywhere. Board index FAQ. Come learn from our membership's vast experience! I was wondering what do you guys think is the best food for clown loaches?

If you've kept clown loaches for years, what was the best food routine you think? I've always fed mine mostly New Life Spectrum granules and they love it, they go up to my hand for them. I can't complain, they've been healthy from day one and have bright colours.

My problem is I don't have access to live foods at all, none of the shops here sell them and it would probably be great to give them a taste of nature, but I can't. Maybe I can try starting a culture of grindal worms if I can get it, would that be a good thing?

I don't know if I am depriving mine from good nutrients because of that I've tried frozen foods like blood worms, brine shrimp and for some reason my clowns aren't mad about them at all but they'd go nuts over New Era Plec pellets for example and spirulina sticks, they fight over them and it's great fun watching. I tried to feed them defrosted prawns and although they'd go for them So it's odd the clowns don't exhibit the same behaviour although I've seen plenty of videos to say the contrary.

Maybe mine just never got the taste for such food? I read somewhere about mussels but I haven't tried it. What do you feed as a staple and what easy snacks can I incorporate into the routine that doesn't involve live food but has sufficient nutrient content suitable for clown loaches? In this article, we will provide you with the most in-depth and complete Clown Loach care guide available.

We cover all the essentials from setting up your aquarium, what to feed them, tank mates, and much more. This species was first described in by Dr. Pieter Bleeker when it was given the name Cobitis macracanthus. Since their discovery, Clown Loaches have been renamed twice. In it was changed to Botia macracanthus and in Dr.

The Clown Loach is a tropical freshwater fish species of the family Botiidae. They are native to the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They live in the flowing rivers for most of the year and at the start of the monsoon season retreat further upstream and inhabit smaller streams that are full of plant life to spawn and give rise to the next generation of these intriguing fish. This species has been extensively harvested from their natural environment for the aquarium industry for at least the past few decades.

Clown Loaches are extremely social and peaceful fish that are often found closely foraging in the substrate. They are best kept in large community tanks in a shoal containing at least 5 individuals. If you keep less than 5 you will find them to be very timid and shy, spending most of their time hiding.

These fish have a complex hierarchy and are usually female alpha. The younger fish tend to shadow the alpha, copying their behaviors and movements. Their bodies are laterally compressed and have a deeply forked caudal tail fin which propels them through the water. This species is orange, with three black bars. One over the head and eyes like a mask, one across the dorsal fin towards the caudal fin, and the other is between those two.

Whilst the possession of black dorsoventral bars is usually an indicator of aggression , this is certainly not the case for this playful and friendly species. Clown Loaches have two pairs of barbels on their snout to help them sift through the substrate to search for food.

They also have a lateral line system like most fish which senses changes in water pressure and alerts the fish to possible predators. In the wild, there are two genetically separate populations from Sumatra and Borneo. The Sumatran populations have reddish-orange pectoral fins, whereas fish from Borneo have fins with black pigmentation. This color morph still has the orange background coloration, but the black bars are replaced by white ones.

Clown Loach can grow up to 12 inches, however, as juveniles, they are around inches in length. In the wild, these fish live in clear slow-flowing rivers and streams of the islands. During the monsoon season, they migrate upstream and into flood plains that are full of plant life, both floating and submerged. At the peak of the monsoon season is when these fish spawn in small streams and flood plains. These fish prefer subdued lighting and choose to live in areas where there is a lot of floating and overhanging plant life, or areas where river banks overhang.

These areas also provide the fish with cover from predation and can reduce the stress levels of the fish. These kinds of areas will be essential in the tank. The rivers are made up of a rocky pebble substrate and the flood plains contain muddy substrate with plenty of growing plants. In the aquarium, you may want to provide a mixture of substrates like pebbles as well as sand to give the tank a more natural feel. Subdued lighting is key as these fish will become more active in darker conditions.

Submerged plants are also essential and hardy species like Amazon Sword plants would be a perfect match for Clown Loaches.

These plants not only provide the aquarium with shade but also aid in aerating your tank by producing oxygen. They also provide a form of filtration as well as areas to play and hide. The water pH should always be maintained at an optimal range of 7.

A group of these Loaches should be kept in a minimum 75 gallon aquarium as juveniles. Other good tank mates for this species would be other bottom-dwelling fish such as Kuhli Loach , Bristlenose Pleco , and the Borneo Sucking Loach. They are also incredibly easy to source from aquatic shops, bait shops and online. However, if you prefer, you can purchase dried bloodworms, like these from Tetra which are packed with everything your clown loaches need.

They are freeze dried, offering a clean and efficient way to feed your fish and if you have other species in your aquarium, they will also be suitable for them, saving you the hassle of having to purchase various different types of foods.

Mosquito larvae are a great diet staple for the clown loach, however, you must be careful about where you source them. A lot of people think that it is possible to head out into the wild and collect some larvae for their clown loaches. While you can, in theory, do this, there is a risk that the larvae will be contaminated and that is not what you want for your fish.

However, if you place a bucket of water in a safe location, it is possible to collect them yourself. This is a great method of feeding if you live in an area where the mosquito population needs controlling.

It may only be a small dent in the population but every little helps. We have stressed all the way through this guide that the clown loach is a versatile eater and this is perfectly demonstrated by the fact that these animals also love to have a choice of vegetables. But in captivity, these are both viable options. They are excellent for keeping the system moving and will prevent the fish from developing conditions such as constipation.

Moreover, they will also help to avoid swim bladder issues as a result of things like constipation. You will need to make sure that you remove the shells and chop the peas up to make them easier to swallow. Cucumber is another great option but again, it must be prepared correctly with the skin removed. While cucumbers do contain a lot of vitamins that are essential for the clown loach, you must keep in mind that they are made up almost entirely of water.

For this reason, cucumber can be a culprit in making the tank dirty so be sure to only add a little at a time. Broccoli is also something that you can offer to your clown loach and they are packed with minerals such as Vitamins K and C, as well as great levels of iron and calcium. However, much like other veggies, you must ensure that you prepare broccoli correctly. It should be boiled or steamed and chopped into small pieces that your clown loaches can swallow with ease. In the wild, the clown loach lives in the inland freshwaters of Borneo and Sumatra.

The fish have an incredibly versatile diet and will feed on everything from snails and small crustaceans to algae and rotting plant matter.