Clown Loach

Author : Efrain Silva

Appearance

Now we come to the glorious Clown Loach, and hmmm….do these fish make me laugh in any way (like a real clown would)? Perhaps it’s just their name. Their maximum size can vary, most uniquely, and some have been noted to mainly stay within the range of 20 - 30 cm, respectively (the largest recorded being right around at 30). They’ve got a long, laterally compressed figure of a body, which is slim like a hot dog, some say.

They’ve got red fins and tails, along with orange - yellow torsos. They cut through waters fast. Can you keep up?

Diet

To keep up with keeping them on a proper diet would be no less than to get them the very best quality live foods you can, along with high - grade premium dry foods. The key, like with any diet ever, is balance. All creatures, human or animal, are the same, in this respect. Too much of one thing is bad, so avoid overconsumption. Worms, you will find, are some of their favorite live - food favorites, and they can eat a few on any given day. Earthworms, if you had to choose a type of worm, are the best, in this case.

Origins

It comes from Indonesia’s lovely island waters, but more specifically, the island of Borneo. It may also be found in Sumatra, another island nearby. This fish is sold on nearly every continent of the globe and is one of the most common, popular freshwater selections of fish around. In fact, it is so popular that it now answers to more than one name — some also know it as the Chromobotia macracanthus, or as the Tiger Botia. The former is its scientific classifier name, and the latter is another common name for it.

Roommate Situation

Finding buddies for it is not hard, given that you’ve looked around and found some other unaggressive types for it. This fish is a group - minded fish and prefers to be in groups of 4 or more, so keep that in mind, too —- not only that, but it also likes to have its own little hiding spots or sleeping spots. So with other tank mates in the tank, make sure to create plenty of these little ‘niche spots’ in your tank, so that all fish may be accommodated as needed. Plants, rocks, holes, little play castles….these are all ideal, and the pet store’s fish section will sell them.

Other Facts to Note

There is a very unique way that you can tell whether your Clown Loach is a male or a female, and that is simply by identifying its tail. If it happens to be a dude, for example, its tail will be bigger and actually form what looks to be a pointy sort of V shape (that is, by the way, quite brightly - colored). Breeding in captivity, in the case of this peculiar fish, may vary from case to case. Nothing firm has been documented, and this fish requires further study, as experts themselves have claimed.