Clown loaches

[northboy]

Preferred water conditions are a bit of a myth for a lot of species, because water changes throughout the year between the dry and wet.

Most wet season water is softer than dry season, but that depends largely on what the groundwater flows through to and large Lakes are reasonably stable

A lot of the right water conditions come from collectors going at one time of year or going to a spot once and that becomes the supposed right water conditions, where the creek/ river changes all the time and that is not a blanket rule it applies to heaps though.

Bob

[Baccus]

Couldn't agree more with you about the water stats, and how they are only generally collected once and that one off measurement becomes the "norm" for that species. Look at all the fish collected in Amazonia, collectors can usually only get out to the less populated and over fished regions in the height of the dry season, so even any oxygen readings taken on that water are not going to be the usual conditions that the fish need to live and breed in. On an overseas forum that I am on a member had a whole thread about weather loaches that they had accidentally bred, many people scoffed and sore black and blue the member was lying. But they proved the nay sayers wrong by getting the loaches to spawn again and keeping photographic evidence of the egg and offspring development. My best bet for getting your loaches to spawn would be how they are in a mostly undisturbed tank, plenty of live foods in the form of black worms, blood worms, snails and vegetables. An area of course rocks (larger than usual tank gravel) might also help because this will trap micro organisms and give any fry a safe haven. And then just like shrimp thick plants seem to also be a help for loach species like the weather loach and khuli loach. And as most people have discovered a drastic water change with temp change encourages a lot of species to spawn. I have Borneo Suckers and would love to accidentally spawn them, they are in my coolest tank with corys (which are almost always breeding), and even though all the literature states that Borneo Suckers don't need plants mine love the large leafed plants to feed on and the mosses to hide in/ behind.

[ineke]

No real update but both fish are in the plane now. Still coming out for food but much shorter period.

[ineke]

I'm a bit flabbergasted I think my fish are telling me they want out. I now have my bristle nose in the front of the plane crash ornament and the clown loaches in the back. The poor Betta that lived in there has been kicked out. The ornament is long and thin and they can only just squeeze in. I have other tubes and caves for them to use but the plane is the preferred place at the moment.