That is great news. The Malaysians I have are determined to take over. They may have met their match! -----Original Message----- From: gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com [mailto:gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Hess, Clay A Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 1:19 PM To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Clown Loach Maturity and Skittishness Shango, My clown loaches cleaned up every Malaysian Trumpet snail I had in my 100 gallon tank. My tank used to be full of these snails when I was keeping some of my first African Cichlids. When I introduced the clown loaches the snails ended up as empty shells all throughout my gravel within a very short time. Clay -----Original Message----- From: Shango Los [mailto:Shango@shangolos.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 1:09 PM To: 'Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat' Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Clown Loach Maturity and Skittishness This discussion of Clown Loaches has been informative. Thanks to everyone who has weighed in helping me out. Does anyone know for sure of Clown Loaches will eat Malaysian Trumpet snail along with regular snails? -Shango -----Original Message----- From: gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com [mailto:gsas-member-bounces@thekrib.com] On Behalf Of Hess, Clay A Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 8:58 AM To: Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat Subject: Re: [GSAS-Member] Clown Loach Maturity and Skittishness Shango, I have three clown loaches I have had now for about 20 years. In that time I have found that there are a number of things that make them more "Active" or skittish and some things that help them seem to settle down. Sooooo, things that make them active: New fish, especially new loaches Bright lights Little cover for them to hide within Poor water conditions Having to look for food Things that make them settle down: Size.....not sure if this is age related since the two occur together. Good cover....my 100 gallon tank is full of big plants that they can sit under the leaves of, and they seem to love that....as well as hiding in and around large pieces of wood. Fish that do not occupy the same strata within the aquarium. A full stomach......kinda like me, if I eat a big meal I don't move much. Illness So, this is a short list......there are many more things that impact their activity but some of these I think the aquarist can control. For instance, the feeding is an easy one. The lighting is another. The cover within the tank is one. Water conditions should be easy to maintain, and this one I cannot stress enough (pun intended). My loaches do very well when the water quality is good, but, as it declines you can see the change in how they react to it. Hope this helps some, Clay -----Original Message----- From: Shango Los [mailto:Shango@shangolos.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 8:10 AM To: 'Greater Seattle Aquarium Society member chat' Subject: [GSAS-Member] Clown Loach Maturity and Skittishness Hello All, I have a school of 5 Clown fish and I got them about 8 weeks ago from my LFS. They are small and look young but I don't know how young. Right now they are VERY skittish. If I come anywhere near the tank they disappear to the back of the tank under cover. This does get tiring when trying to enjoy their antics. My friend has some that are at least a year older than mine and they are not skittish at all and actually nap out in the open and do that cuddling thing Clown Loaches do. Is this skittishness typical of young Clown Loaches? If so, when do they tend to grow out of it? I am wondering if it is the tank environment that is leaving them feeling unsafe or if it is simply their youth. I have been unsuccessful finding anyone addressing this topic online. Any insight would be great. I know some of you like Jack are really into these sweet fish. Thanks Shango ________________________________________________________ Shango Los Phone: 206-595-9006 Fax: 206-729-5271 www.ShangoLos.com www.SunbreakShines.com _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member