PSA - Clown loaches WILL scratch acrylic aquariums

[whomikebrown89]

To whom it may concern,

I purchased a 450g (8'x4') acrylic aquarium in early 2024, brand new. Tank is occupied by...

15 clown loaches (5"-10")
1 Black Arowana
1 Oscar
1 Flagtail Prochilodus
School of Red Hook Silver Dollars

The tank also contains pool filter sand. I have never used a sponge to clean the acrylic, I have always used just my hand to gently wipe the inside if there was some algae growth the flagtail could not reach.

I have literally thousands of small 0.25"- 0.5" sideways scratches everywhere. The only explanation being the clown loaches spines. I suspect when they school and rub the sides of the aquarium while swimming. They also at times may get startled and scratch while swimming in a similar pattern. It is really the only explanation. Most are very light scratches, but there are absolutely some scratches I suspect will not buff out with out some good effort.

A bit frustrating, because I attempted to search the web for instances of tank inhabitants scratching acrylic. Found some info on rays being a culprit, but never loaches. Would love to take some pictures, but the acrylic seems to distort any pictures I take making it almost impossible to picture.

So at least this PSA is out there.

 

[Midwater]

Interesting.

Not sure how it relates to my prostate.

 

[whomikebrown89]

Interesting.

Not sure how it relates to my prostate.

As a healthcare professional, I chuckled.

 

[tiger15]

Don’t think clown loaches can scratch the acrylic. They only open up their spine in defense when they engage in fighting one another, confined in a net or plastic bag.

 

[Fishman Dave]

You mention you have a Flagtail!
Well known for their mouthing behaviour and I would guess quite raspy as they remove algae I believe in nature. Could he be the culprit?

 

[Americancichlidsaredabest]

You mention you have a Flagtail!
Well known for their mouthing behaviour and I would guess quite raspy as they remove algae I believe in nature. Could he be the culprit?

Was just thinking the same thing.

 

[whomikebrown89]

You mention you have a Flagtail!
Well known for their mouthing behaviour and I would guess quite raspy as they remove algae I believe in nature. Could he be the culprit?

Was just thinking the same thing.

Probably should have mentioned that the flag tail has only been in there for about 4 months. I started noticing the scratches prior to that. About 2-3 months prior. There are literally thousands of sideway scratches. The flagtail would make absolutely no sense whatsoever. They are distinct mostly straight sideways scratches.

I had a feeling people would doubt. That’s fine. But not a lot of people have a brand new acrylic aquarium with a school of larger clowns AND never scrubbed the acrylic. There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever, has to be the loaches

 

[whomikebrown89]

Was able to picture them using something black as a background. Sorry, no way that those were made by the flagtail. They are spine gouges

Should have also mentioned. 80% of the scratches are concentrated at the bottom 25% of the aquarium.

 

[whomikebrown89]

Another possibility is the loaches have sand on their bodies and swim around pressing against the acrylic