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View Full Version : Almost killed a clown loach today!


Lady Hobbs
07-26-2008, 09:06 PM
I have one of those fake tree stumps but it has always worried me as fish can get up inside of it and get stuck in the legs of that decoration. I thought I had solved the problem by jamming a trash bag into the hole where the fish liked to hide.

Doing my cleaning today, I removed that bag ....don't know why. Just felt like I should, for some reason. Out tumbled a loach. Somehow he had gotten in there. Suddenly I decide I had better do a head count and sure enough, another loach was missing and I could hear him in the leg of that stupid decoration. I shook the blazes out of it and he couldn't get out. Problem with this decoration, the openings don't stay the same size and get very tight in places.

I took my hammer to the darned thing and smashed it in about 20 pieces before I could get him out. Might know it was my big fat loach stuck in the smallest of the legs. Since it now is in about 50 pieces, at least I won't be tempted to use it again. Twice now this stupid thing has almost cost me a loach.
Pearl Trade
07-27-2008, 12:01 AM
good thing you decided to take out the bag. that was luck right there!
gm72
07-27-2008, 12:34 AM
...and you had a tragedy with a castle decoration too if I remember correctly.

Maybe you should just stick with driftwood and rocks!
Lady Hobbs
07-27-2008, 02:11 AM
You got that right. I still have the castle and plan to use it someday when I had a tank of nothing but neons or fish that don't think they need to hide.
angelcakes
07-27-2008, 08:35 AM
coconut caves are a good idea........i had your problem with a large shipwreck that i had,that also got taken out when one of my clowns got stuck,now in the tank its all caves,wood and fake plants.:19:
OscarFan
07-27-2008, 08:44 AM
when I first saw this post I thought clown fish then I saw your name and thought actual clown(with balloon animals and water flowers) but then I read the thread and titles can be misleading.


Wow that was a close one glad u decided to pull the bag out
calix10
07-27-2008, 02:16 PM
So in the past you have another problem with decor, Remember Nature Its Always Right.

Keep with rocks and wood, Nothing artificial
Lady Hobbs
07-27-2008, 02:21 PM
I only have two fake pieces from my "starting out" days. That log that is no more and the castle that I thought was so darned cute and cost me over $30. That has survived the hammer so far. That thing caught two gourami's and one clown a long time ago and it haven't used it since.

Come to think of it, I think I will put it in my shrimp tank! See, I wouldn't have thought of that had you not posted. :)
Lady Hobbs
07-27-2008, 02:23 PM
Angel......I would love the coconut caves. Just haven't figured out how to cut the coconut in half yet. Wonder if my jig saw would work or if it will take me two hours to cut it in half.

OK......one only needs to look!

http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-decoration/87.asp
ILuvMyGoldBarb
07-27-2008, 02:41 PM
Even those natural piece of driftwood can be hazardous to the health of Clown Loaches. They have this strange propensity for sticking themselves in small spots where they don't fit. I had to pop a clown out of a piece of driftwood twice, I figured the fish wouldn't be dumb enough to do the same thing twice. WRONG!!! The stupid fish stuck himself in the same spot twice. I ended up covering the hole with substrate, never had a stuck clown loach again.

Glad you got them out Hobbs.
Lady Hobbs
07-27-2008, 02:46 PM
That huge log I have has several holes large enough for them to sneak in and become stuck. Problem with these guys they will keep wiggling in with no thought of getting out or others will cram in behind them. I used a black plastic bag (again) and jammed it in those small holes. Can't even see it.
gm72
07-27-2008, 03:01 PM
I'd worry that they'd be able to wiggle into a fold in the bag and get stuck that way.

Can you use a drill to enlarge the potential death traps in the log?
Lady Hobbs
07-27-2008, 04:37 PM
I jammed the plastic in there very hard with a pencil. Those will never come out. The holes went up into the log too far and it would have destroyed it cutting too much away.

I think my loach has a headache this morning from hearing the hammer bashing away at his hiding spot.
C-Dub
07-27-2008, 07:15 PM
whoa, close call, lol. Happy to see you got em out though
angelcakes
07-28-2008, 08:04 AM
Angel......I would love the coconut caves. Just haven't figured out how to cut the coconut in half yet. Wonder if my jig saw would work or if it will take me two hours to cut it in half.

OK......one only needs to look!

http://www.aquariumlife.net/projects/diy-decoration/87.asp

http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Coconut-Cave-Pet-Tech-Lizards-Dart-Tree-Frogs_W0QQitemZ230226192405QQihZ013QQcategoryZ1164 21QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp 1638Q2em118Q2el1247
well if you cant make them there cheap to buy,i even went in to ebay us for you:hmm3grin2orange:
Gemstone
07-28-2008, 08:18 AM
methinks the clown loach is now a hammerhead shark...........:hmm3grin2orange:
angelcakes
07-28-2008, 08:28 AM
methinks the clown loach is now a hammerhead shark...........:hmm3grin2orange:
:hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: very good
Futureboy
07-28-2008, 11:27 AM
should have filled up the gaps with silicone or something like that hobbs
Lady Hobbs
07-28-2008, 01:52 PM
http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Coconut-Cave-Pet-Tech-Lizards-Dart-Tree-Frogs_W0QQitemZ230226192405QQihZ013QQcategoryZ1164 21QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp 1638Q2em118Q2el1247
well if you cant make them there cheap to buy,i even went in to ebay us for you:hmm3grin2orange:


Awesome! Thanks so much.
I don't know as they're be big enough for my featherfins but they will work for the loaches and the cory's.
Pamela_S.
07-28-2008, 02:18 PM
I am glad to hear that your loaches are okay!!!

I am wondering though, the coconut caves (like the one in the link), will they not deteriorate in the water? Will they automatically sink, or do you have to do anything to them beforehand? I never thought to use one, but I have a couple of them laying around that my corys might like......
angelcakes
07-28-2008, 03:24 PM
I am glad to hear that your loaches are okay!!!

I am wondering though, the coconut caves (like the one in the link), will they not deteriorate in the water? Will they automatically sink, or do you have to do anything to them beforehand? I never thought to use one, but I have a couple of them laying around that my corys might like......
those brought off ebay put straight into the tank and they will submerge very quickly,no need to soak or boil its all been done for you, but if it makes you feel better give them a quick 10 min boil,and these do not deterioate,ive had mine for well over a year and still going strong:19: :19: