Scientific name:Chromobotia macracanthus.
Common name: Clown Loach.
Distribution: Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo.
Sexual diffrent`s: Female`s maybe thicker.
Maximum size: 16 inches, 30cm.
Temp: 80F, 27C.
PH 6.5 - 7.0
Breeding: Not in the home aquarium.
life span: 30+ year`s with good care.
Aggression: Peaceful.
Tank size: Minimum of 75 gallons for a trio of 5.
Care: All Clown`s are caught in the wild. They will need to be introdice slowly to your Quarantine tank. And will need at lest a 8 week Quarantine time. They can be susceptible to Ich, if care is not given to their acclimation or tank maintenance.
Clown Loaches thrive in groups, their highly social and you need at lest 5. But the more the merrier.
Behavior: Once acclimated their hardy, inquisitive, intelligent, active, and just all around goofy. They like nothing better then to punch hole`s in your plant`s. Pull the silicone off the corner`s of the tank. Wisker other fish. Dive head first in the sand.... They sleep upside down or on their side`s. Squeeze into small places. And love to dance up and down the tank wall`s.
They have a pecking order with in their group. And At times, fights may break out and lead to scratches and nicks on the fish, but no real damage is done. At this time they will go gray or black, make clicking sound`s. And pull out their spines, that are just below their eye`s.
So care must be tooken when netting them, spines can catch in a net, damaging the fish.
Tank setup: Sand is best sense Clown loaches like to dig, and shift sand. Have lot`s of hidding place`s, made out of wood, rock`s, pvc pipes. Plants are nice but they will punch holes in them. They like low light. Good filtration.
Feeding: Clown will eat just about anything. They love fresh shrimp, frozen bloodworm, Snails, algae pellets, cucumber, zucchini, pees, carrots, quality flake food, Cichlid pellets. Beefheart Recipe and non-Beefheart Recipe.( can get here on our forum)
