Clown Loach – Chromobotia macracanthus – Small

This is a popular bottom scavenger mainly because of its intense coloration, most notably the vivid orange/red fins and black stripes. They are great scavengers and are also avid snail eaters. Being very shy fish they need to be provided plenty of cover in which to hide. Most other tropical fish such as tetras, livebearers, barbs and gouramis are suitable tankmates for the clown loach as they spend a majority of their time on the bottom of the aquarium.

Clown loaches have retractable spines on the snout that can cause a painful sting with large fish if the circumstance would ever arise. They will scavenge a variety of foods but prefer worms and sinking pellets. They also love snails. Breeding is generally not possible in aquaria.

These fish are also very susceptible to ich and the medications used to treat the disease because they don’t have proper fish scales. This means that caution must be taken when placing this fish into an established home aquarium. A seperate hospital tank is an excellent way to keep this fish seperate until they are strong enough to add to an established tank.