|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Jan 11, 2009 21:11:06 GMT -5
my new loach doesn' have a spot on him today! must be the maracide, salt and temp increase helped - keepimg my fingers crossed - odd behavior in the tank today though.....fish are swimming around like they're on speed! even my almost 5 year old silver dollar has been tank cruising all day! loach is always on the go - maybe he's stirring them up - they don't latch onto other fish do they? noticed a mark on my silver dollar that wasn't their before - looks like alamprey eel mark! he seems fime but keeping a close eye on him - have noticed a decrease in snails as well - all is good except for the unusual "activity" - any thoughts here?
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 11, 2009 21:18:20 GMT -5
This is good news!
My guess to the higher 'tempo' is the temperature increase.
Carl
|
|
|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Jan 11, 2009 21:31:19 GMT -5
you making a funny or for real - it's 80 degrees in there now
|
|
|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Jan 11, 2009 21:37:36 GMT -5
and what about loaches sucking on other fish?
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 11, 2009 21:59:40 GMT -5
I wasn't making a funny  My understanding is that you brought your temperature up a few degrees and this can account for more activity. I have not observed Clown Loaches sucking on other fish, although maybe the pair of hooked claws that loaches have retracted against the face were used. I am guessing an injury for your Silver Dollar (maybe from the high activity? or maybe the loach and he tangled?). CArl |
|
|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Jan 11, 2009 22:20:38 GMT -5
have you ever seen the mark on a fish that a lamprey eel makes? it look just like one except it doesn't seem to have drawn blood os is open or raw......thanks for the info on the ingreaded temp! I learned something today - I know it makes platys mate! (78)
|
|
|
|
Post by bikeguy33 on Jan 11, 2009 22:44:59 GMT -5
many fish....especially suckers like some cats and plecos will attach for the o so tasty and nutritious slime coat....
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 11, 2009 22:50:01 GMT -5
have you ever seen the mark on a fish that a lamprey eel makes? it look just like one except it doesn't seem to have drawn blood os is open or raw......thanks for the info on the ingreaded temp! I learned something today - I know it makes platys mate! (78) No I have not seen a Lamprey Eel "bite mark". But I am sure it is ugly looking at this mouth:  Carl |
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 11, 2009 22:52:54 GMT -5
Using my imagination, I cannot figure how a Loach could leave a mark similar to one the mouth above would leave nor can I figure out what may have unless you have a Lamprey Eel hiding in your tank Carl |
|
|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Jan 11, 2009 23:04:06 GMT -5
the mark of a lamprey you can imagine is round like the moth - they attach themselves to wish via their teeth and suck the blood right out of them, or maybe just the slime coat - have caught lake salmon marked before and on fish even had a small one attached - small being 1'! I have seen them over 3' before - the mark on the silver dollar is oval shaped about the diameter of a pecil eraser, maybe a little smaller - on the direst opposite side are 3 little marks....if after all these years of not having a troublesome loach, if he harms or kills my silver dollar, I'll use him (the loach) for pike bait! never had a pleco do that, but mine grow so fast, they're way bigger than my other fish! learned something new again today! thanks......
|
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Jan 11, 2009 23:09:16 GMT -5
I have never seen a loach harm another fish until it was cornered. If the mark was round I have no idea how a loach could make a mark like that. Also, loaches are generally pretty hyper when they are first introduced into a new tank. They seem to investigate the tank at super speed and then go back to their resting place and then pop out again to take another lap. If you see your loach swimming up and down one side of the tank do not be alarmed, they do that, some people call it "loach dancing". I'm sorry that your silver dollar has a wound, I hope he is ok. I really don't think loaches ever go after other fishes slime coat, and I've been doing a lot of research lately on top of my own experience.
|
|
|
|
Post by babygeige on Jan 12, 2009 12:06:11 GMT -5
Ew, that eel picture looks like that giant sand thing that Jabba the hut was going to feed everyone to in Star Wars!
|
|
|
|
Post by Carl on Jan 12, 2009 12:12:55 GMT -5
Ew, that eel picture looks like that giant sand thing that Jabba the hut was going to feed everyone to in Star Wars! Your right, I never thought of that until now. One of my favorite scenes though Carl |
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Jan 13, 2009 0:39:53 GMT -5
How is the loach doing? Is he doing goofy things and being entertaining?
|
|
Penycat
Full Member
Angels, Guppies & Bettas
Posts: 104
|
Post by Penycat on Jan 15, 2009 8:04:15 GMT -5
All I can say is wow...ewww...glad to hear the loach is doing well...and Maybe you've got those little leach looking things in your tank? I had some once in a guppy tank about 20 years ago, but still remember them clearly, they had a triangular shaped head (no clue what the mouth looked like) sort of clear/white looking and the biggest I found in there was like 3/4 inch long. No clue if those thing hurt the fish or not, but they freaked me out:) And I had no clue how they got into my tank either
|
|
|
|
Post by murdock6701 on Jan 15, 2009 11:56:55 GMT -5
rest assurred, there are no lampreys in my tank and the loach is doing well, especially at keeping after the snails - think he's lost his apptite for them - saw a bunch in there this morning after not seeing more than 1 or 2 for a few days....
|
|
|
|
Post by kagome on Jan 16, 2009 14:08:51 GMT -5
He's probably so stuffed he can't eat anymore! I'm sure he'll get back to them and eat them up for you. Hopefully you have a girl because they get bulkier quicker and therefore eat more. It's hard to tell male from female until that start getting bigger and you see how their body shape is developing. It's kind of subtle but I've figured out to tell. Once they're big adults it's pretty unmistakable.
|
|
ctendoh
Junior Member
Filling my room with water, one tank at a time...
Posts: 39
|
Post by ctendoh on Jan 20, 2009 7:23:25 GMT -5
Well, back in my younger years of fishkeeping I once bought a trio of clown loaches, because they were so cute and tiny... Sadly they never lived long enough to grow too big for my tank...
Anyway, I kept adding more as one died out, and soon I was left with one that was a year old and one that was six months old. These guys were the ultimate cleanup crew, constantly scouring the bottom for new foods to enjoy. Probably their favorite was snails, but it took me a while to figure that out. I probably went through 3 beautiful apple snails before discovering that loaches love the taste of snails. Then I moved the loaches into my community planted tank, which had a small snail infestation that never really climbed out of control, and i didn't really mind anyway cause I think they're cute little buggers. But at any rate, it was only about a week before they had it cleaned up fairly good, but there was always a population of snails they just couldn't get their hands on. I figured, just like kagome said, that they were full of escargo, and that they'd start up again after a population bloom. I was right, and they kept my population under control for a good long while until I decided to give them back to the store before they grew too large (the one was a good 2 1/2 inches long).
Somehow my snail population has stayed low even after the absence of my beautiful clowns, why that is I couldn't tell you. But if you really want to get rid of EVERY snail in your tank, I would suggest getting about 2-3 more clowns (they're really funny when they shoal), and being patient over the next few months. If they don't get rid of it completely, I'm sure they'll put a big enough dent in it that you'll be able to get the rest through some other methods.
I'm serious about them shoaling though. My two used to team up and pick on my lacefin catfish by swimming in both ends of his tube at once. They would get him so riled up, and then they'd just calmly swim and hide behind an ornament on the far side of the tank... hehe. Smart little buggers.
|
|
|
|
Post by cashay on Feb 2, 2009 11:20:12 GMT -5
 EEWWWWW I dont like the looks of that thing! I'd be scared to have anything like that in my tank...
|
|
EEWWWWW I dont like the looks of that thing! I'd be scared to have anything like that in my tank...