FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Well, i was up at that Fish place to get some light bulbs and saw a few things i liked. First thing i saw was a "balloon" Clown loach. It is short bodied with a very round stomach. It is slightly slower than my other clowns but he is a big pig and gets enouph food anyway. It took a few days for by biggest clown to stop annoying him. They are just fine together now. He(or she) is 3 inches long. It was in a tank with no other clowns so i felt obligated to buy him. He was only $3.99. Has anyone seen any Balloon Clowns besides me? He is healthy, i think it is just a mutation.
I also saw a tank full of Neomacheilus triangularis(Batik loaches). I had never seen them before or heard of them. I got 3 at $4.49 each. They are very nice looking. My only concern is that whatever little bit of info i could find on them, is that they should be kept singly. They are fighting each other right now though. They are even schooling together. They are 2 in. Does anyone else know any info about these loaches. Do you have any? They are eating quite fine and none of the new additions have gotten sick.

Personally i've never heard of a balloon clown, but this site:

http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/neomacheilus_triangularis.html

has info on the batik loaches... they are really sweet looking, nice find! And what a cheap price for a clown loach! I paid £8 for each of my two very small specimins, but they are worth it theyre so cute.


Last edited by cookypuss01 at 26-Jun-2005 16:12

I found out some more info now...

I was just reading a book on loaches and though it didn't have the triangularis species, it said that in general, Neomacheilus species need very well oxygenated water and prefer it cool, though on the loaches.com site it said they prefer warmer water, so that is a bit conflicting. This book said nothing about keeping them together, so maybe if you have a large enough tank and lots of hiding places they should be ok. I would remove one if the fighting continues.
My book said they enjoy live food very much, and like a sandy substrate or fine gravel.
Please keep me updated on how they do!

thanks for replying. They are all doing wel and are not sick. The batik loaches are only a little bit aggressive towards eachother at feeding time. I dont see this as a problem considering that they are schooling peacefully together all the rest of the time. They even rest together in the same cave. This may change once they get bigger though. There are still a few other homes in my house they could go to if they do become aggressive.

Have you got a picture of this balloon clown, i'm really intrigued!

I think what you have is a short bodied clown loach. Here are some pics:

http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_macracanthus_short.html

Last edited by ClownyGirl at 28-Jun-2005 12:40

Yep, thats what he/she looks like. I remembered seeing them somewhere on the internet, but i was not sure where. The one i bought was the first and only one i have ever seen.