Clown Shark?

A person is giving away his fish, including kuhli loaches, neon tetras, and a clown shark...I did a search and cannot find info on a clown shark - anyone know what this is or what he might be referring to? He also mentioned a "danial", said it was 5-6 cm - never heard of this one either...at fist I thought maybe danio? I've sent a message back for a better description, so hopefully I'll have more details for you soon. Any thoughts thus far are appreciated though!

The first thing I think of when I hear clown and freshwater, is clown pleco. Never a shark though.

Maybe he means a clown loach. That would look more like a shark than a pleco? And I agree that the danial is likely a danio, however, what kind?  

Probably a clown loach - a 10 inch (eventually) social fish that needs really clean water and very big tanks (it is a swimmer).

If you handle it - beware - it can spine you with a sharp (really sharp) extension under the eye. Don't try to eat it alive head first!!!!

I expect he also has a giant danio - they are common enough.

You are doomed if it is a clown loach. They are really cute and charming, but they outgrow most tanks and need a lot of room. I love them and avoid them like a plague. They are really hard to resist.

I am still waiting to hear back from him. If it is a clown loach - our dream of having a clown loach rescue tank may turn into a reality...and much sooner than expected! In all seriousness though, we probably cannot take in a clown at this point with the renos...too many other tanks to worry about - it would be tough to set up another 6 footer at this time!

If it is a clown pleco, I assume they too get large?

They are all together in a 25g right now - he is hoping to sell the tank, but is willing to give the fish away.

Hopefully I hear back from him soon...

I don't think it is a clown pleco (Panaque sp). If it is, nice find. It's a dwarf Loracarid that stays small, but that eats wood. It will gnaw down your driftwood and clog you filter with poopdust. I am not making that up.

But you'd have to be way off to call it a shark, while I guess if you had a little imagination, you could see a shark in a loach. After all, red tailed sharks are just barbs.

Yup. I am fond of mine. She sure does like the driftwood. Yeah, unlikely someone would mistake it for a shark though.

The fish rescue centre is getting inhabitants it seems.

A clown loach would be cool

Steve

you know you will just take them all and the tank...
place some that are suitable for your own tanks and find a home for the fish that may be left...............
does this make sense?!

I just spoke with him and it sounds like a clown loach and a giant danio - I'm almost certain.

What concerns me is that he said that one of the neon tertras has been bloated for about a year now, though she eats and acts fine. My first thought was dropsy, but that couldn't last for one year, right?!

As much as I'd like to take in these fish, my gut is telling me not to, namely because we would be 'knowingly' bringing in a sick fishy, and thus 'knowingly' be upping the chances of spreading a possible disease.   

Clown loaches (as with other loaches) should not be kept as singles.... they are a shoaling fish that do best in groups. By itself it is more stressed and IMO more susceptible to disease (they are prone to ich). They can live for a long time and I have seen them well over a foot long.

To add to Gary's comment on plecos.... most plecos should have some wood in their tank as they will rasp on it - they should have it in their diet as it something their bodies are designed/evolved for. Most tanks with plecos and wood will contain what looks like sawdust when you do a gravel wash - or you can use Gary's description which is what it is - first time I've heard it called that.

We plan to start a clown loach only rescue tank in the future as there are almost always people selling them or giving them away after they realize their needs.

All of these fish are in the same tank together, which is what concerns me as the neon is apparently bloated, and has been for a year or so. I asked him if the scales are sticking out in anyway, looking like a 'pinecone' and he said no, that she looks fine aside from the bloated appearance. So I am confused with regard to what this might be and, thus, worried that the other fish might have something (if so, I'm guessing the stress of the transfer to our house would definitely bring it out, especially in the poor clown loach).

Unfortunately, everything about this tank is wrong, including the tank size, types of fish, and group numbers. I was prepared to go and get them; we could have upped the number of the kuhlis, and added them , along with the neons, into the guppy tank (after a QT period of course), and temporarily put the clown loach in a 20g long until after the renovations, after which the plan would be to get another 6 footer for clown loaches only. But, I put a halt on the decision as soon as he mentioned the problem with the one neon tetra. I feel like there is a good chance they would all get sick and/or die, or at least most of them would, after moving them (assuming this is a disease)   

I'm half considering taking just the three loaches and putting them in a QT until after the renos...not sure though...

can he send you a photo of the neon?
pr where is he located...far...a good distance
could you perhaps go and see for yourself?

goldfishbetalover wrote:can he send you a photo of the neon?
pr where is he located...far...a good distance
could you perhaps go and see for yourself?

He is about 40 min away, but has offered to meet me halfway. He sent a pic but it was very very blurry, not even worth sharing as you cannot even tell it is a fish!!

Could it be a neon with eggs??? Perhaps he has several females and is thinking it is the same one always bloated??? I have a dozen neons and some of them are definitely plumper than the others.
My inexperience showing here... how do you tell a female from a male??? My "plump" ones are definitely bigger so could be females. If he only has one female he might call it bloated, too???

I've had neons develop huge bloated bellies. My read is certain species are very prone to egg-binding, which is still often due to overfeeding. We accidentally condition the fish to breed when we have no intention of breeding it, and since it needs an environmental trigger we don't provide to release the eggs, they stay there. The poor fish waddles around in misery, but isn't sick, technically. It isn't communicable and it is very common with neons, black neons, glowlight tetras and even female zebra danios.

So, this could be a case of 'egg binding' or an odd disease that does not kill the fishy quickly (assuming the guy told me the truth - he said she has been bloated for over a year now). I am going to contact him and arrange to pick up the fish. We'll set up a temporary 20g for the 3 loaches, 1 danio, and 2 "striped tetras" (still not sure what they are....maybe black skirts - his description was confusing!); and I'll find a cheap 10g for the neons so I can watch them separately.I'll also pick up a cheap vacuum to use just for these two tanks...just in case!

I'll betcha the striped tetras are zebra danios....

And so when will you be getting these fish? It'll be interesting to see what species you end up with.

GaryE wrote:I'll betcha the striped tetras are zebra danios....

Yep, he said they are silver-ish with dark stripes, so not the best description. My other guess would be black skirts...

JayB wrote:And so when will you be getting these fish? It'll be interesting to see what species you end up with.

Not unti Friday, we are meeting early evening. Gotta wait a week...oh the suspense!

Though the wait is not a bad thing as I have no clue where these guys will go in the short-term. We have a spare 10g and I can likely get another 20g cheap from the lfs if he has any left. I'm considering rubbermaid bins as well. I'm thinking I could put the clown loach (if that is what it is - I truly think so) in a good size rubbermaid bin, and put the two kuhlis in another, smaller rubbermaid bin. Then, put the one danio and two tetras in the 10g for now. I'm going to find a small tank for the neons, I'm thinking I won't add them in with anyone else in the long run, they can just have a small tank to themselves (unless we can figure out what exactly is wrong with the boated one).

uh oh... i thought that the plumpness in my female cardinals was because they were happy and well fed. but it means they are being overfed and are potentially egg bound and unhappy?? how plump is too plump?

@Shell - can't wait to see what these mystery fish actually are!

Wow - I am truly shocked. After talking to this guy again earlier, he asked if we would give him $20 for the fish. I told him I would call him back as I was stunned by this sudden request and wanted to talk to hubby. I called him back after talking to hubby, and told him yes we would give the cash, in our heads, we were thinking it would be fair to cover gas. I just received an email from him, he says that his mother thinks $20 is too low and they want more for the fish. I have a huge heart, but this just seems silly...I wish people would stick to their guns....at first he wants to give them away for free, then he wants $20, now he wants more...he sounds to be about 16 or 17, so I can't blame him completely - but I wish his mother had taken charge of this in the beginning...!

You have to be cold on this. Do you really want this mix of fish? He made some bad choices in his stock, and you are willing to take them in - a clown loach is no picnic if you don't have huge tanks, and I don't think owning those fish is the goal. I personally would send him back to sell the fish and tell him that if that doesnlt work out, to contact you.

Hi Shell
This is quite strange; to have a free offer and then to ask for money. You were doing an altruistic action by taking the fish, and to have them now ask you to pay is not transparent, in my books. Unless you really want these fish, I would walk away.

You may wish to suggest that they bring the fish back to the pet store and that if they do not find a "buyer" that you would take them if there is no other option left to them.

GaryE wrote:You have to be cold on this. Do you really want this mix of fish? He made some bad choices in his stock, and you are willing to take them in - a clown loach is no picnic if you don't have huge tanks, and I don't think owning those fish is the goal. I personally would send him back to sell the fish and tell him that if that doesnlt work out, to contact you.

The whole thing has turned me off, I'll say that. I actually found a 125g with a steel stand and sliding glass cover on the buy/sell ads for $400, and we were going to have him fill it with water and take a peek this weekend. If it looked good, our plan was to offer $350. Ah well...not sure what to do now. The kid has gone back to asking for $20 now...says his mom is the one that thinks they should get more cash...

alexmtl wrote:Hi Shell
This is quite strange; to have a free offer and then to ask for money. You were doing an altruistic action by taking the fish, and to have them now ask you to pay is not transparent, in my books. Unless you really want these fish, I would walk away.

You may wish to suggest that they bring the fish back to the pet store and that if they do not find a "buyer" that you would take them if there is no other option left to them.

A part of me feels like this was just not meant to be - it would be tough to set up temporary living space for them with the mess going on in the basement at the moment, probably more stress than fun. The other part of me was looking forward to starting my clown loach rescue tank!