Clown loach growth thread.

[RD.]

Just to add to this, I have been keeping clown loaches off and for a lot of years, usually eventually passing them off to locals with larger set ups, and In all of the loaches that I have owned over the years I have never had one with health issues, nor have any of them been treated with anything, with the exception of my current group of 4 odd balls, that were fed NLS Hex shield when I got them. Just lucky maybe, but I have never had any skinny symptoms.

 

[RD.]

IMO the vast majority of fish coming out of Asian waters, including holding or grow out ponds, have a very high risk of harbouring internal worms.

 

[Backfromthedead]

IMO the vast majority of fish coming out of Asian waters, including holding or grow out ponds, have a very high risk of harbouring internal worms.

Do you think the prevalence of the skinny symptoms has anything or even a lot to do with how they were imported? For instance a group of fish that spent much more time in transit and in holding tanks vs. a group that was shipped with some level of expediency?

I only ask this because it seems to me the source/supplier could be very important. When i found this group it was obvious they were in much better shape than the sad loaches you can find at the big box stores, all swarming in a ball begging anybody who walked by for food.

Without being too presumptuous i hope, you seem like the type of keeper who takes great care in sourcing your fish which is why i ask.

 

[RD.]

I think that there are a lot of variables that could be at play, especially today. According to the member from Indo that I was in contact with years ago when I posted the Kalimantan vs Sumatra sticky, many of the loaches collected in the wild during the rainy season, are kept in holding ponds until much later when they are much larger, and fetching much higher prices in the off season. That, and according to others there are now a number of domestic breeders, using hormones and also growing out in ponds, in Asia, the Czech Republic, and no doubt elsewhere. If there is a $ to be made, someone will be making it. So today not all imported loaches are necessarily wild caught, so worms etc may not be as much of an issue, as in the past. Also, those grown out in ponds may be getting prophylactic treatment long before being exported. Not sure which thread it was in, possibly the export study thread I posted some LFS pics of captive F1 clown loaches, that came from Florida years ago. Most died before they were sold, very small loaches, tiny, and apparently too fragile for the care given by employees at the local Petland.

 

[esoxlucius]

I've had some awful luck down the years with the industry standard tiny store bought clown loaches. We've all seen them. The inch and a half skinny little things that cower in a bare tank ready for sale, or are scurrying about trying to get their place in the single small piece of pipe that is provided as cover for them.

I just believe that clown loach of this size are shockingly fragile. Is this "skinny disease" thing that is associated with very young clowns even a real thing? Is it actually down to parasites, or just the fact that they completely lose their appetites due to the immense stress they are under?

On the flip side, as fragile as they are when they're tiny, when they settle down and start growing they are possibly one of the hardiest fish imo. But when they're so young even an experienced hobbyist has their work cut out.

 

[FJB]

Thank you All! Very informative thread.

 

[RD.]

Check these out, some as small as 1/2”.

Domestic, hormone induced, bred clown loaches sold locally at 1/2 - 3/4 inch TL. This was several years ago, I have not seen any since.

View attachment 1303916

View attachment 1303917

 

[RD.]

FYI …… I have seen 2-3” clowns that have skinny symptoms, at LFS over the years. Not diet related IMO.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Just for some additional clarity on my experience with skinny symptoms with this particular group. This is the earliest picture i have of this group, right when i took them out of qt.


All three circled showed obvious wasting symptoms at first, in addition to the one other that eventually began to seizure and i removed. You can still see the cranial bone sticking out on all of them. The one circled in red is the one that still appears skinny today. The other two circled in blue more or less became healthy to my eyes and i cant tell them apart from the others. Same food, same treatment, same care.

 

[RD.]

The PraziPro treatment doesn't seem to have resolved the issue. Did you try anything else? Prazi is really only an effective treatment for certain flatworms, and ectoparasites, and is not always going to have any noticeable effect on internal pathogens, such as spironucleus aka hexamita, etc. You might find this paper interesting. Praziquantel use in aquaculture – Current status and emerging issues - ScienceDirect

Personally, I would also try feeding them epsom soaked foods for several days and see if the fish in the red circle comes around. One of the 4 oddball loaches that I currently own (6-7 yrs old now) initially came to me as a runt, and on the skinny side. The previous owner thought that he was sickly. I fed the entire group NLS Hex Shield (basically a garlic/epsom salt infused pellet) for several days, then again a week later for several days, and he seemed to make a noticeable improvement shortly after. He's still the smallest loach in the tank, but filled out, and I believe that he is also the only male, so being smaller than the rest makes sense. Good luck.