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i have one really fat clown loach. maybe a female and there are two smaller ones maybe males. how can i sex them or breed them.

As far as I know, both are pretty much impossible. I have little knowledge of sexing clown loaches (which I understand to be very difficult), and I do know that breeding them is almost unheard of. Loaches as a whole tend to be difficult to sex and breed, even experts have trouble with it.

For sexing, I think that male clown loaches have slightly hooked caudal fin tips, which the females lack. As for breeding, you won't be able to. Not only are they very difficult to breed, they take a long time to reach sexual maturity. They also need a large tank for breeding, with a hundred gallons and up being preferable. All that I actually know about breeding is that loaches seem to breed in cool water, and have bred outside in ponds!

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Maybe if you have a jugfull of artificially synthesized botiid hormones...

the only successful way to sex them is to wait to see if your "female" develops and lays eggs around your tank. the fatness is a trait that all healthy clown loaches have, so don't count on that being an indicator that you have a male or female

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bettachris

I thought the same about my BIG FAT Clown Loach. It is still getting bigger and fatter. One day it will happen who knows or who it will be.

Keith

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ok so just wait and see. the belly is getting really fat.

Some of my clown loaches bellies would get really "pregnant looking fat" but it ended up that they were just overeating. Especially if I had fed live frozen blood worms and brine shrimp...

CLown loaches have a very expandable belly.

My 8" (almost 9" clown loach eats probably 3 food pellets a day (he steals them from the other clowns) anthough his belly doesnt get big, the smaller ones get HUGE, especially when i feed them blood worms.

Clown loaches dont reach sexuall maturity untill they hit about 12". So, if your clown loach is around 10 years old, and is 12" then you might be able to breed them. But as a note, they have only been bred in very deep tanks.