Here's one of my new young ones, about 48hrs after he died. Sort of demonstrates why leaving the smaller bodies in the tank, is not such a worry.

What about if the body is diseased ?

Piker !

He's probably been in the tank long enough to already have passed infection. And I realise it depends on what the actual ailment is.

But in my judgement, he died of malnutrition. Unfortunantly I didn't hand pick the young Clown Loaches, like I normally do. I just said 'three from that tank thanks'. Once home, I noted he was sufficiently thinner than the others. And I'm not convinced he was doing all he should to get a feed. There were no other indications of parasites or infection.

It was no surprise when the kids called out 'Dad!...'

One of the main things to look out for when buying clown loaches is the emanciated look, as the ones that look like that, normaly dont last long

Now you tell me !

Goes for any fish, I guess.

Quite possibly, but especialy with clown loaches, sorry i thought i had said Must admit one of the things i look for in any prospective purchase is a full belly as it shows they are feeding

I certainly remember you mentioning it in regard to Plecs, etc. And I must admit, when I was selecting Giblet, I heeded your words.

I just got complacent with the Loaches. I guess it's the lesson that will pull me back into line for a few more years, until I get slack again...

Ah but the beauty of lessons, is that hopefully you learn from them, remember you never stop learning

Very true.