SniperY
01-10-2006, 09:49 AM
Botia macracanthus (Clown Loach)
Class:
Order:
Family:
Scientific Name: Botia macracanthus
Other Scientific Name(s): Cobitis macracanthus, Botia macrocanthus
Common Name: Clown Loach
Distribution:
Diet: Small crustations, worms, zucchini and other veggies, and most sinking commercial foods will be accepted by clown loaches. They are often used for snail control because of their love of snails. These guys will go crazy over different types of worms. Be sure to feed a varied diet to keep them healthy. Try to feed live food at least 3-4 times a months. Small chucks of meat are also a good food to feed on occasion. Sometimes it can be hard to get new clown loaches to eat. If you hare having problems, try feeding them earthworms or if they are very small try bloodworms.
Temperament: They are very shy and peaceful fish. As with any larger fish, they will eat anything that they can fit in their mouth. Try to keep with other tank mates that are about the same size.
Sexing:
Breeding: Breeding is very rare, after much searching I have only found one account of clowns breeding. The only successful breeding I could find was by Granville Hammond.
Clown loaches reach sexual maturity at about 7-8. There is no known way to tell the sex from outward appearance. The following was the conditions in the breeding tank:
* Temp: 84F
* pH: 6.5
* Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
* Nitrate: < 25
There were 4 loaches in the tank that ranged from 11-13. A couple weeks before the spawning the clown loaches started eating smaller fish in the tank. For the next couple weeks the only food the loaches would accept was live fish. At the time of breeding the female had doubled in girth and grown a lot in the weeks before.
The night before breeding two of the clowns would swim on the surface entwined in one another. While doing this they made their famous clicking noise. The next morning when he woke up he found about 450 eggs in different spots of the tank. He did notice that some of the fish did eat some of their own eggs.
He fed the fry liquid fry food for the first two weeks. Then they have lived on flake food ever since. They grew to 1 at about 6 weeks of age. After this time the growth starts to slow down.
As we all know, clown loaches are very susceptible to getting ick. Interestingly, it was found that these fry were not as prone to getting ick.
Special Care:
Other Comments: These fish can grow larger than 15 in the wild. In the home aquarium it is very rare for the fish to get over 10-12, even in a very large tank. Although, this could possibly take up to 10-15 years or longer for these fish to reach their full size in the home aquarium.
Keep these fish in a school of three or more because they are very social fish.
It is very important for these fish to have good water quality. Water changes are very crucial in a tank with clown loaches, at least 25% a week is recommended. As I stated in breeding, they are very prone to getting ick. When treating for ick, with clown loaches in the tank, only use a half dose. Clown loaches dont have any scales and most ick medications will harm them. They do not like changes in their environment. After water changes, tank re-decoration, or other changes you may notice they will hide. Try to keep any stress to a minimum for this species. If you have bright lighting you may also notice that they hide a lot. Provide a piece of driftwood and plants so they will have places to hide. Java moss is usually a good idea because it will provide covering in some areas of the tank.
These are one of the fish that can be kept in a smaller tank when they are younger. Although, get the biggest tank you can accommodate when they are younger. They are extremely slow growing fish, when they reach about 3 their growth really levels off. For a faster growth rate it is best to feed them 4-5 times a day in smaller amounts.
One of their favorite habits is to lie on their side at the bottom of the tank. Most new clown owners will think their clown is sick or dead, but this is perfectly normal.
It is a good idea to provide a lot of current in your tank because these fish come from streams. Usually one power head will create the current that you need. Also, clown loaches are famous for their clicking noise. This usually occurs when you feed them something that they really love.
Individual species are only caught at certain times of the year. For this reason it may be hard to find clown loaches in your LFS during their off season.
These fish should only be kept by advanced aquarists that have the room and are willing to make the commitment. Their crazy antics are well worth the trouble, they have more personality than most fish you find on the market. If cared for properly these fish could probably out live you, their lifespan is more than 50 years.
Class:
Order:
Family:
Scientific Name: Botia macracanthus
Other Scientific Name(s): Cobitis macracanthus, Botia macrocanthus
Common Name: Clown Loach
Distribution:
Diet: Small crustations, worms, zucchini and other veggies, and most sinking commercial foods will be accepted by clown loaches. They are often used for snail control because of their love of snails. These guys will go crazy over different types of worms. Be sure to feed a varied diet to keep them healthy. Try to feed live food at least 3-4 times a months. Small chucks of meat are also a good food to feed on occasion. Sometimes it can be hard to get new clown loaches to eat. If you hare having problems, try feeding them earthworms or if they are very small try bloodworms.
Temperament: They are very shy and peaceful fish. As with any larger fish, they will eat anything that they can fit in their mouth. Try to keep with other tank mates that are about the same size.
Sexing:
Breeding: Breeding is very rare, after much searching I have only found one account of clowns breeding. The only successful breeding I could find was by Granville Hammond.
Clown loaches reach sexual maturity at about 7-8. There is no known way to tell the sex from outward appearance. The following was the conditions in the breeding tank:
* Temp: 84F
* pH: 6.5
* Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
* Nitrate: < 25
There were 4 loaches in the tank that ranged from 11-13. A couple weeks before the spawning the clown loaches started eating smaller fish in the tank. For the next couple weeks the only food the loaches would accept was live fish. At the time of breeding the female had doubled in girth and grown a lot in the weeks before.
The night before breeding two of the clowns would swim on the surface entwined in one another. While doing this they made their famous clicking noise. The next morning when he woke up he found about 450 eggs in different spots of the tank. He did notice that some of the fish did eat some of their own eggs.
He fed the fry liquid fry food for the first two weeks. Then they have lived on flake food ever since. They grew to 1 at about 6 weeks of age. After this time the growth starts to slow down.
As we all know, clown loaches are very susceptible to getting ick. Interestingly, it was found that these fry were not as prone to getting ick.
Special Care:
Other Comments: These fish can grow larger than 15 in the wild. In the home aquarium it is very rare for the fish to get over 10-12, even in a very large tank. Although, this could possibly take up to 10-15 years or longer for these fish to reach their full size in the home aquarium.
Keep these fish in a school of three or more because they are very social fish.
It is very important for these fish to have good water quality. Water changes are very crucial in a tank with clown loaches, at least 25% a week is recommended. As I stated in breeding, they are very prone to getting ick. When treating for ick, with clown loaches in the tank, only use a half dose. Clown loaches dont have any scales and most ick medications will harm them. They do not like changes in their environment. After water changes, tank re-decoration, or other changes you may notice they will hide. Try to keep any stress to a minimum for this species. If you have bright lighting you may also notice that they hide a lot. Provide a piece of driftwood and plants so they will have places to hide. Java moss is usually a good idea because it will provide covering in some areas of the tank.
These are one of the fish that can be kept in a smaller tank when they are younger. Although, get the biggest tank you can accommodate when they are younger. They are extremely slow growing fish, when they reach about 3 their growth really levels off. For a faster growth rate it is best to feed them 4-5 times a day in smaller amounts.
One of their favorite habits is to lie on their side at the bottom of the tank. Most new clown owners will think their clown is sick or dead, but this is perfectly normal.
It is a good idea to provide a lot of current in your tank because these fish come from streams. Usually one power head will create the current that you need. Also, clown loaches are famous for their clicking noise. This usually occurs when you feed them something that they really love.
Individual species are only caught at certain times of the year. For this reason it may be hard to find clown loaches in your LFS during their off season.
These fish should only be kept by advanced aquarists that have the room and are willing to make the commitment. Their crazy antics are well worth the trouble, they have more personality than most fish you find on the market. If cared for properly these fish could probably out live you, their lifespan is more than 50 years.