Botia Macracantha (Clown Loach)

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Botia Macracantha (Clown Loach)

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Species: Botia Macracantha

Geo. Location: Sumatra, Malaysia

PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Temperature: 76 - 86F

Water Hardness: 5 - 12dh

Size: 6.0"

Diet: Sinking foods, worms, snails

Difficulty: 4

Photo Credit: Andrzej Zabawski

Notes: Botia Macracantha is by far one of the most popular loaches in aquariophilia. Its body is orange and covered with three black markings. It is the most colorful of all loaches and is one of the greatest bottom feeders for its colors and attitude. Clown laoches are covered with skin instead of scales. They owned four pairs of barbels and their fins are yellow with black markings. Their mouth is oriented downwards and their bottom is flat so they can dig and search the substrat.
Loaches are bottom feeder and spend most of their time in the lower part of the tank. They are very shy (although, not as shy as other loach species) and peaceful fish and are very social with other members of their species. Tankmates could include tiger barbs with whom they sometimes school. A group of 3 or more is required as these fish need to be kept in schoals. Clown loaches are known to be slow grower, however they can grow up to 1 foot in the wild (6 inches in captivity). They can live up to 15 years. A big tank is therefore required to keep a small community of this fish (at least 70 gallons).
Good conditions for loaches will include: water movement to recreate their wild habitat (streams of Borneo and Sumatra), rocks, caves, driftwoods and plants (can nibble on soft plants and dig at their base. A solution would be to add vegetable once in a while to their diet). Clown Loaches love to hide under rocks or driftwood and dig/search the substrate. The substrate must then be light and easy to move around. Direct lighting is not recommended in clown loach tanks. Water quality is very important for the well being of Botia Macracantha. Frequent water change and stables conditions are a must for them to prosper. Temperature must be at a constant level at all times. Clown loaches are prone to ich because of skin without scales. In the event of an ich outbreak, treat your loach with one half dose of medication as their smooth skin is very sensitive to medications.
Clown Loaches don't like change in their environment and are very sensitive to stress. They will start decolorating as they get stressed out.
One of the Clown Loach particularities is their habit to lay down on their sides in the bottom of the tank. This is a natural habit and one should not be alarmed with when this occurs.
Some aquarium hobbyist have reported that young/small loaches are much more vulnerable to disease and are more difficult to acclimate. Be very careful when you choose your clown loach. Look for trace of ich and look for bright colors when choosing your clown loach. Most of the Clown Loaches found at youor local fish stores are imported from the wild as very little is known about reproduction in captivity. They are therefore seasonal fish.
Clown loaches are also well known for their tendancy to get rid of snails. They are indeed very hungry for them and will control the snail population of your tank quite easily.

Breeding: Only little is known about Clown Loach breeding habits. It's been said that this process is rare and difficult. In the wild, Botia Macracantha spawns in streams and rivers and some people associate spawning to heavy rains. It's been also assumed that breeders don't have a need to develop Clown Loach reproduction farms as so many are available in the wild. Sexual maturity would be reached a 7" and sexual diphormism would be inexistent. Clown loaches are egglayers.