The Clown Loach comes to us from Indonesia. Their name comes from the Greek word “chromo“ [colour] and the Asian word “botia“ [warrior] … colourful warrior ! With their gold / black stripes, and bright red tails, they bring lots of color to your freshwater tank and grow up to be 7 to 10 inches and live from 1-3 years.

They are a very busy [during the day] and friendly fish and do best with 2 or 3 other Clown Loach’s in the tank. You’ll need a 60 - 100 gallon tank for them. The tank needs to be half in the sunlight and half in the shade, with real plants, other fish, and lots of rocks for hiding places [they like hiding]. They like swimming against a current so you’ll need a powerhead for that.

The guys and girls look a lot alike but, the girls are usually heavier and have a straight tail and the guys tail is curved a bit.
 
They can do something really different with their spines, their backbones. They can push it out a little and use it to protect themselves. It can stab at whatever is trying to hurt them. They can also use it to get food for themselves. Because of this always use a bag, not a net, if you need to move your Clown Loach to another tank.

The other thing they do is make a clicking noise when they are happy or eating ! They make this sound by grinding their teeth.

Once in awhile they will swim on their sides, or upside down. Or they will lay on their side on the bottom of the tank. Don’t think they are sick … it’s just what they do sometimes. Remember, they are clowns ! If you are worried, call your Vet just to be sure.

They like to eat bloodworms, flake food, sinking pellets, brine shrimp, small snails and plants.

For Health Information about this breed please speak with your Veterinarian. If you do not have a Vet, or are moving to a new city, check out sarahs vetXchange.