When you’re new to taking care of clown loaches, there might be certain things that you’re not sure about. You could still be learning how to care for them optimally.
Even if you have the care needs of the fish down, there’s a chance that you aren’t able to tell which of your fish is male and which is female. Sometimes it’s tough for an untrained eye to pick out the differences.
Below, you’re going to learn about the physical and behavioral differences between male and female clown loaches. This will make it so that you’ll be able to identify the sex of your fish much easier.
Don’t worry if it takes you a while to pick up the differences. You’ll get better at it as time goes on, and you’ll understand what to look for once you’ve finished reading the information below.
Are There Physical Differences?
There are some physical differences that can help you to tell the difference between mature clown loaches. Females are going to have plumper bodies than their male counterparts.
Usually, the easiest way to identify the sex of a clown loach is to take a close look at its body shape. The plump fish are generally going to be the females.
Males are also known for having tails that are just a bit different. A male clown loach will have the tip of its tail curved slightly inward.
To the untrained eye, it can be difficult to spot these slight differences. It’s also notable that the differences won’t be as apparent when the clown loaches are young.
Most people buy clown loaches when they’re in a juvenile stage. They’ll be fairly small when you first get them, but they will mature and grow to be a lot larger.
Only during maturity is it easy to spot differences between male and female clown loaches. If the fish are still quite young, then it might be too difficult to determine the sex of individual fish.
It takes time for the fish to mature and develop telltale characteristics. Therefore, it might be better to just wait until the fish are a bit older to determine the sex.
Are There Behavioral Differences?
Typically, people try to look at behavioral differences to determine whether fish are male or female when it isn’t obvious from a physical standpoint. Sadly, this isn’t going to be possible with clown loaches.
Clown loaches are considered to be one of the most difficult fish when it comes to identifying the sex. The physical differences between males and females are very minor, and they only become apparent when they reach maturity.
To add to this, there aren’t any real behavioral differences between male and female clown loaches that enthusiasts are aware of. This makes it really frustrating when you want to know which fish are male and which are female.
Clown loaches do have common behaviors, but all fish seem to do the same types of things no matter if they’re male or female. These fish love to hide in aquatic plants or little caves.
These fish are well-known for following each other around. They’ll sometimes jockey for position when hiding and try to cram into small spots.
It wouldn’t be unusual to see a group of clown loaches swimming in circles around the tank. Clown loaches will follow the edge of the tank and just keep swimming around with one clown loach following the other.
These fish love to be in small groups, too. It’s normal to keep them in groups of five to nine.
Which One Makes for a Better Pet?
Honestly, it isn’t easy to tell the difference between male and female clown loaches. You might be able to do so by looking at the bodies of the fish when they’ve reached maturity.
Since male and female clown loaches don’t appear to have significant behavioral differences, one fish isn’t going to be a better pet than another. This isn’t a situation where you’re going to want to try to only buy males or females for your fish tank.
You’re supposed to keep these fish in small groups. It’s considered to be cruel to keep one clown loach by itself in a fish tank.
The recommendation from experts is to keep five to nine of them together in one tank. When you go to buy the fish, there’s a good chance that the pet store will have no idea which sex they’re selling you.
You’ll just be buying several fish, and you likely won’t know which are male and which are female. It won’t matter, and the fish will do well in your tank so long as you meet the necessary care requirements.
Clown loaches are hardy fish that are pretty good for beginners overall. If you’re worried about the fish breeding, then you should know that it’s rare for clown loaches to breed in captivity.
Don’t hesitate to buy clown loaches for your fish tank if you’re interested. These are great fish that will be fun to own for beginners and veteran aquarium enthusiasts alike.
You do have to be sure that you have room for a large fish tank, though. Clown loaches will grow to be fairly large at maturity.
They often reach 10 inches in length in fish tanks. In the wild, these fish grow to be even bigger than that.
You’re supposed to have a 75-gallon fish tank at a minimum when caring for clown loaches. It might be better to go with a 100-gallon fish tank, though.
Other Considerations
When setting up a fish tank for clown loaches, you’re going to want to put lots of plants inside. These fish really appreciate having hiding spots that they can utilize.
It helps to make the aquarium feel more natural if there are aquatic plants. Try to pick out a variety of live plants for the tank that the clown loaches will enjoy.
Remember that you can also put in little caves or other hiding spots that the clown loaches will like. It’ll be fun to watch them use everything that you place in the tank.
It’s also necessary to put sandy substrate at the bottom of the tank. Most people choose to make things a bit more decorative by adding pretty rocks or gravel to the sand.
Clown loaches will benefit if you put a good filter on the tank as well. This helps to keep the tank clean and to ensure high-quality water for the fish.
These are hardy fish, but they do best when the water is kept clean. You should be sure to do weekly water changes to keep things safe.
Feeding the fish will be easy since they’re omnivores. Just remember that loaches like to hang out at the bottom of the tank.
Buying nutritional pellets that will sink to the bottom of the tank will be good for these fish. They also like things such as algae wafers.
Feeding the clown loaches live food once per week is recommended. They enjoy feeding on earthworms and bloodworms.
It’s also common for people to feed clown loaches snails. They love chasing pond snails and forcing them out of their shells.
Final Thoughts
It might not be simple to identify the sex of a clown loach. However, you can do so by looking for certain physical traits.
Females have plumper bodies and males have tails that curl inward slightly. There aren’t any incredibly obvious differences outside of those two things.
Clown loaches are great aquarium fish that you will enjoy owning. Just be sure to care for them well and you’ll have a good experience.
Jeff has always enjoyed having pets, but as a child, he was drawn to his family’s fish tank. Being able to maintain a small ecosystem and observe the behaviors and interactions in the underwater world peaked his interest early on and has kept him hooked until this day. On Avid Aquarist, Jeff shares everything he’s learned about helping aquatic life survive and thrive in a home aquarium.