Clown loach spawning behaviour?

These clown loaches are between five and eight years old. The biggest one is named HatuPatu and I think she might be a female. I know clown loaches are not known to breed in captivity, but I think this is interesting behaviour.

Sorry about the poor quality - it was recorded on a phone.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• clown loach
• spawning
• fish
• breeding
• chromobotia
• macracanthus
• botia
• macracantha

[rhyukinfin]

there is a product called bactinett .It comes in a tub filled with ammonia it is in black granuales what it really is are billions of bacteria so you dont need to cycle your tank just stock it slowly.

[whetutu]

@rhyukinfin Yes there are a few products that contain beneficial mocro-organisms and are meant to help cycle the tank. Personally I wouldn't like to rely on them, although I have used them in cases of emergency (like when my whole biofilter was killed by chlorine - a very sad story!)

[whetutu]

@whetutu Of course that should say "micro-organisms" rather than "mocro-organisms"

[x3jazz]

Just bought 7 loaches to fit in with the 3 i had .

they are all so active now . could sit there and stare all day haha

but this is normal behaviour they even know how to play dead which scared me at first, until i looked it up

was wondering is there a way to breed these guys cause i could never find any information on it. ty

[whetutu]

@x3jazz Congrats on your new loaches. Yes, they are very entertaining little beasts and people often get scared when they palay dead (I did too).

Unfortunately there is no reliable account of loaches spawning in the home aquarium. Most people believe it can't be done. But there has to be a first time, right? ;)

[icemanchuckliddell]

I have had loaches for years and iv seen this behaviour many times before clown loaches are social fish and and love to shoul or even play in large numbers. i think the best option to get them to breed would be to install an undersubstrate tunnel at the rear of tank with a power filter or 2 attached to 1 end and the other open for access then mid tank a larger open area to keep fry safe but again under the gravel just less current. just a thought

[whetutu]

Thanks for your suggestion!

Yes I agree it's a commonly observed behaviour (although mine don't usually dance quite that vigorously!)

I would love to get them a really huge tank - just to make them happy more than to breed them! But unfortunately budget restrictions don't allow it. :(

[GaToRxxx420]

These are some of the most entertaining fish to watch, I just recently got 4 with plans to get 4 more. Aside from when my Dempsey's spawn and declare war on the rest of my other tank, Clown Loaches are my favorite to watch. They keep my baby Convict X Cutteri, Convict x HRP and baby Salvini on their fins. It's like watching puppies play. 

[goodeid608]

@x3jazz

and no unfortunantly they are not known to breed in the aquarium, though i have read and article about a guy who got a couple of large ones from a friend, they ate his danios and then later that night they laid eggs, and they also farm raise em in asia, but id suggest that you just try cause ive bread grass cutter catfish (only been bread in india with hormones) i just bought for wild ones and a month later i found babies in the filter so you never know what might happed

[RS4primeassasin]

@shayan000 my 2 clown loaches killed my 5 neon tetras, in a matter of nights they all vanished from the tank, one sunday i saw them and the next sunday they were gone. :\