Sexing clown loaches

[Cardeater]

It's hard to get good pics of these two but the fish closer to the camera is the one I think is a female. She's in the pics a few posts above alone in a 10g and about the same size as the ones I got from liveaquaria at the time.

The fish behind her is my twenty something year old male. I think she's definitely taller now and it is hard to see the length but I think the male is only about half a tail longer. I'll have had her for about two years in April.

I'm still amazed how she's outgrowing everyone else. If I'm fortunate to have her as long as my alpha "Mama Loach" I bet she'd be bigger in size .

 

[Coryloach]

They look gorgeous. Beautiful loaches.

 

[Coryloach]

It is a special feeling to keep clown loaches for many reasons and I am glad I am in a position to write about it, after having mine for 8 or so years....They live so long that one actually develops a relationship with them. They get used to feeding habits, They get used to being stared at eventually.........., after some years if one makes the effort to provide a calm environment. They get used to the fussing during water change and get excited over the bonus feed.

My clown loaches are really aggressive in the morning, when they expect their food. And they always let me know, even if I am in a hurry for work and forget, splashing and throwing themselves out the water. I love that, because they used to hide the first few years.

 

[Cardeater]

When I wasn't really into my tank and just had the 3 loaches and the pleco from when I was into the hobby in the mid to late 90's they didn't really do much. It also.didnt help that nitrates were probably in the 100's.

Now that there are 7 loaches total (2 remaining originals), rainbowfish and panda Garra,.plus powerheads.and twice a week water changes, the loaches are more active. My big loach hides a lot.when the lights are on but she still comes out for food. When lights are off i see her out most of the time and of course swimming with them other loaches.

The male I pictured above that i call "Baby loach" is out a lot, even with the lights.on. He's out just as much as the younger loaches.

What's great is what Cory described. The loaches have distinctive behaviors. They have their own spots where they like to hang out. I even notice that certain loaches seem to spend more.time with certain loaches vs the rest of the pack.

I really do hope we can get a bigger tank in here within the next 1-3 years. It would be amazing to have 20 clown Loaches in a tank. Ive debated if I'd want to have kubataoi loaches or something else.for variety.in a future.tank upgrade but I think bottom dwellers being all clown Loaches would be the way to go.

 

[Cardeater]

Here are some pics of them from last year First, I believe is the female above where I first got he
Four of them May last year:
View attachment 1369195

That was from post #48. Just snapped this pic below now. You can see how the female is significantly bigger now compared to when they were all the same size in the QT tank two years ago.

I think she's bigger now than my 20 something male that I posted a comparison pics of in this thread as well.

I'm pretty sure that out of my seven Loaches, I have two females and 5 males. The three males from that QT pic are all about the same size still.