Clown loach bullying?

I have 3 clown loaches 2 are about 4 inches and one is about 3 inches and very skinny, the other 2 are fat and healthy. Question is the bigger 2 where the sAme size as the small one I had an ich break out about 4 months ago when I added a clown pleco. Basically is there a way I can help the little one catch up the little one they all eat like pigs. He looks and swims around like normal. They all ave there own space to hide and hang out the other two are just quicker eaters. U think he may have a parasite? I do water changes every 2 weeks and have a healthy environment since the out break. Tank size is a 50 gallon hex tank with a hob filter rated for a 60 gallon tank. I need a better filte with a high filter rating.

Also I see the bigger clowns lock mouths and do barrel rolls but I never seen em abuse the smaller one. I know the is supposed to be the way they establish (king) loach lol.

Sounds like clown loaches to me. lol. They are establishing a hierarchy, i.e. leader.

When you mention the smaller one being very skinny. Not to alarm ya as it seems the small clown appears fine in your eyes. Keep an watch out for it cause there is a known disease called "knifeback" or skinny clown disease. Any visual indication of this is the latter stages. This is where the back on each side is caving into the body. What I suggest is if you observe the clown and it is eating and pursuing during feedings and not gaining weight after a couple weeks/month, or rarely see the belly bulging full of food. Then this is a red flag for the beginning stages. Plus a great indicator is that they swim differently than the other clowns and are lethargic. I'm hoping this is not the case for you as newly clowns, especially when small such as 1"-3" can be skinny at the LFS. But they get fat pretty easily and fast. I have quite a bit of clowns and other loaches and been through some trials and tribulation with them. Wish them the best and feel free to let me know if there are any questions.

this is kinda obvious, but maybe overlooked... could it be sex? the smaller one be a female? I dont know much about loaches, but thats the first thing that would go threw my head.

sandnuka wrote:this is kinda obvious, but maybe overlooked... could it be sex? the smaller one be a female? I dont know much about loaches, but thats the first thing that would go threw my head.

Clown loaches don't reach sexual maturity until they are 9-10 years old at much larger sizes in the wild. Although, breeding is possible but hardly unlikely in the aquaria from what I read. To support this theory, all forums relating to any type of loaches from what I've seen do not have any pictures or topics containing them to breed successfully in the aquaria. Most farms that claim or have a rep for breeding clown loaches emulate the rainy season (rise of streams) somehow and pump them with hormones, so from what I read once again.

fishfreak360 _ Any updates?