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I bought 3 clown loaches from petco.

They were very light when I bought them, almost white. The article says that they were stressed out (which i can def. believe)

Now after a few months of having them, my other 2 clowns have darkened up But the one is still a pale color.

This clown loach does look different from the others, his back is more arched than the others.

This clown also doesnt school with the other 2, and i never see him "fight" over the food, acually I never see him eat.

He looks smaller than the other 2, and might not be fitting in, but us there anything i cn do? Getting another clown is out of the picture right now. But I fel sorry for the thing because he doesnt have any buddies, and the other 2 are probably alone.

I was thinking of putting him in my 55g tank, maby he would play with my other clowns, but probably not.

Any tips on how to get him to come out more, and play?

when i first read your idea about moving him into the other tank, i automically though "NO!" this will just stress him out more.

something is stressing this guy out, whether its disease or something else who knows.

Do you have any other species in that aquarium? I have been in situations where some CL just suddenly go bad, don't eat and eventually die for no apparent reason. I have been told that its usually because a lot of CL's are wild caught and therefore carry lots of parasites with them. Apparently some can live all their lives with these parasites, others are affected more seriously.

Before I bought CL's a year ago I read that same article and found it brilliant. I followed all the instructions and haven't had many problems at all.

If you say that only one of the 3 CL's is acting strangely and that they all started off pale, then I'd assume that they all brought something with them and the other two got over the illness.

Also, as you probably know, CL's are very sensitive to water changes. If your CL started off stressed and was then put into a new tank with different water, it could have pushed him over the edge into 'seriously-ill-ville'.

I'd suggest keep a contant supply of food, just so there is always something for the odd one out. Don't worry if the other 2 keep eating it all as it is pretty difficult to overfeed them. Making an appetite for this little guy seems like the most important thing. Provide lots of blood worms and fresh food like peas, lettuce and zuccini.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

victimizati0n

Shawn is it one of the clowns you sent the photo to me?

Certainly do not move it as this could cause more stress.

I have also heard from reliable sources (I was told they can get the big ones if I want but they do not have a good life span) that some of the larger clowns are caught and imported directly from the wild.
This could cause added stress also these seem to have a higher death rate rather that the small ones raised in a tank.

Try different foods mine love the frozen blood worms, and a mix of sinking pellets.

Keith

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Getting another clown is out of the picture right now. But I fel sorry for the thing because he doesnt have any buddies, and the other 2 are probably alone.

I was thinking of putting him in my 55g tank, maby he would play with my other clowns, but probably not.

I'm confused... are all three of the clowns currently together in the same tank? Do you have another 55g tank with more clowns, in addition to the three new ones? :%)

These fish are in a different tank than my 55 gallon, which has clown loaches.

No, the clown that is like this is only like 2" not one of the big ones.

And I dont think i would move the clown loach, because if he is stressed out, it would probably stress him more.

I will try to feed them shrimp pellets today.