Clown LoachCommon name: Clown Loach, Scientific name: Botia macracanthus, Other scientific name: Cobitis macracanthus, Botia macrocanthus. Plecos are omnivorous but, in the wild, feed mostly on plant material at night. During the day, their unusual omega irises block a lot of the light out of their eyes, but they are usually open at night. They can roll their eye within their sockets. There are a number of species that are sold on the market under the name common algae sucker, including Hypostomus plecostomus, Hypostomus punctatus, Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus, and terygoplichthys pardalis. Clown loaches can be kept in aquariums of 100 L / 20 G or more. Keep in mind that even though clown loaches grow very slowly they will get big eventually and need an aquarium of at least 540 L/ 125 G, and that should be considered a minimum.
Breeding
Clown loaches have to be quite old and at least 7 inches / 17 cm before they are sexually mature. In the one good account of clown loaches spawning they spawned under the following conditions:
- Temp: 84F
- pH: 6.5
- Ammonia & Nitrite: 0
- Nitrate: