Clown loach general question

[cheetos81]

Hello People, I have a very healthy aquarium with lots of java fern; also somejava moss,a couple of baby tears plus the contents as mentioned in my profile of aquarium 1. I bought this aquarium 3 weeks ago as is from someone and he only had 1 loach. I added another one and they both seem very happy (devouring the Malaysian snails in my tank :) ) by the 1 inch per gallon rule, Im not overstocked, but I feel like I should add a third loach to make them happier, what do you think ?

[Sharkman]

I'm not sure on your tank size, but loaches like to be in schools of 6 or more. Depending on your tank size you can get more loaches to fill out the school. They grow slowly so you could keep all 6 if your tank isn't bih enough for 6 full grown clowns which will get 8+ inches and most likely bigger. You could give them away once they get too big or upgrade to a larger tank when the time comes.

[Zilla]

The 1" rule doesn't account for fish mass and a number of other factors. If you had a tank and only put Neons in it, then I suppose the 1" rule would apply, but since you have a strange mix in your tank, it doesn't.

[Aeonflame]

Clown loaches are very rare here and I managed to acquire 2 of them from different places. One was a rescue from a friend who kept it in a 10 gallon tank with 2 comet goldfish and the other was from a LFS that only had one left. Ive been desperately looking for more to increase the size of the school but so far they seem to be doing pretty ok.

[domjd05]

Clown loaches are very rare here and I managed to acquire 2 of them from different places. One was a rescue from a friend who kept it in a 10 gallon tank with 2 comet goldfish and the other was from a LFS that only had one left. Ive been desperately looking for more to increase the size of the school but so far they seem to be doing pretty ok.


We get them everywhere in Maine! But.. try finding some of the rarer africans in Maine... doesn't happen.

Weird how they'd flood one part of the world with that species and starve another.. I don't think Mainers particularly like keeping clown loaches or anything.. lol, from what I've seen most of them don't know how heh.

[wolf_eyes]

Here's his stocking and tank from his profile:
55 Gallon,2213 Eheim,150watt Eheim Heater:
2 baby clown loaches,2 Adult Angel Fish,5 Gold /pearl gourami,5 neon tetra,2 cory cats,3 zebra fish

I see a few problems with the stocking. I know you're not the one who stocked this, but some problems may arise with the stocking as is.

first the clown loaches can and will get over 12". Granted this will take some time, but I suggest you have a plan to deal with them when they get bigger. This includes selling them, taking them to the lfs, or getting a 125 gallon or larger tank. You can get another but I would make sure you have a plan first. It may be easier just to take them to a local fish store now before you get really attached to them.

The angelfish: They will probably start eating the neons here soon as they are small enough to fit in their mouth. In the fish world, if it another fish can fit in it's mouth, then it's going to end up there.

The gouramis: Gold and pearls are two very different fish. Pearls are more social whereas Gold gourami's should probably be kept as the only gourami in a tank. here are pictures of both to help you see which one's you have:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] gold
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] pearl
If you have both, I would suggest taking the gold gourami(s) to a local fish store.

Cory cats: They prefer to be in groups of 6. If you can, try to find the same species.

Zebrafish:(zebra danios?) They also like to be kept in groups of 6.

[annageckos]

I agree with wolf eyes. Clowns loaches get large, should be kept in schools of six or more and have some mass to them. They are also sensitive to water parameters. I would return them and get a more suitible species. I resently added burmese loaches to my 55 and really like them. Other than the pearls, gouramis are best kept one per tank. Golds (which are three spot gouramis) can get really territorial with other gouramis. If you don't have problems now, you likely will in the future.

[cheetos81]

Here's his stocking and tank from his profile:
55 Gallon,2213 Eheim,150watt Eheim Heater:
2 baby clown loaches,2 Adult Angel Fish,5 Gold /pearl gourami,5 neon tetra,2 cory cats,3 zebra fish

I see a few problems with the stocking. I know you're not the one who stocked this, but some problems may arise with the stocking as is.

first the clown loaches can and will get over 12". Granted this will take some time, but I suggest you have a plan to deal with them when they get bigger. This includes selling them, taking them to the lfs, or getting a 125 gallon or larger tank. You can get another but I would make sure you have a plan first. It may be easier just to take them to a local fish store now before you get really attached to them.

The angelfish: They will probably start eating the neons here soon as they are small enough to fit in their mouth. In the fish world, if it another fish can fit in it's mouth, then it's going to end up there.

The gouramis: Gold and pearls are two very different fish. Pearls are more social whereas Gold gourami's should probably be kept as the only gourami in a tank. here are pictures of both to help you see which one's you have:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] gold
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] pearl
If you have both, I would suggest taking the gold gourami(s) to a local fish store.

Cory cats: They prefer to be in groups of 6. If you can, try to find the same species.

Zebrafish:(zebra danios?) They also like to be kept in groups of 6.


Thanks for the detailed reply. I'll try putting up some videos and pics of my tank as well. You are right about all the points. I have fish which need to be in schools.

The 3 gold and 2 pearl(/blue ?? now im confused. perhaps a video or pic will help identify) are super shy, but look very healthy from the outside.

Loaches, yes I will get a much bigger tank in a couple of years for them.

The guy from whom I bought this tank has had the 2 angels as babies along with the neons. And they never attack/fight with each other. I know that in nature they are natural prey/predator, but in my tank, they are well fed. I doubt the angels will grow any bigger. They are HUGE as is. Having said that, I didnt feed the fish from 2 days and they did eat 1 out of the 7 neons.

I didnt mention, but I have about 5 bunches of Java fern growing and numerous baby ferns. In addition I have H.Cuba (dwarf baby tear), another plant whose name i forget and java moss

[cheetos81]

Here's his stocking and tank from his profile:
55 Gallon,2213 Eheim,150watt Eheim Heater:
2 baby clown loaches,2 Adult Angel Fish,5 Gold /pearl gourami,5 neon tetra,2 cory cats,3 zebra fish

I see a few problems with the stocking. I know you're not the one who stocked this, but some problems may arise with the stocking as is.

first the clown loaches can and will get over 12". Granted this will take some time, but I suggest you have a plan to deal with them when they get bigger. This includes selling them, taking them to the lfs, or getting a 125 gallon or larger tank. You can get another but I would make sure you have a plan first. It may be easier just to take them to a local fish store now before you get really attached to them.

The angelfish: They will probably start eating the neons here soon as they are small enough to fit in their mouth. In the fish world, if it another fish can fit in it's mouth, then it's going to end up there.

The gouramis: Gold and pearls are two very different fish. Pearls are more social whereas Gold gourami's should probably be kept as the only gourami in a tank. here are pictures of both to help you see which one's you have:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] gold
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] pearl
If you have both, I would suggest taking the gold gourami(s) to a local fish store.

Cory cats: They prefer to be in groups of 6. If you can, try to find the same species.

Zebrafish:(zebra danios?) They also like to be kept in groups of 6.


Here is a link to video of my aquarium. Pardon the amateurness :P

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[jimw/oscar]

I love clown loaches but I never had good luck with them. They always got sick in my tanks irregardless of how hard I worked to keep them healthy.

I wonder if, since they are very sensitive to water parameters, if there are just some places in the country where the local water isn't good for them.

[jcclark]

I think all this talk of clowns getting so big is a bunch of "malarky"
I've kept the same ones for about 15 yrs, in a 125 gal, and I can't
get them to more than 5 to 6 inches. And I feed them well.
And everyone I've talked to thinks mine are as big as they've ever seen.
I know they CAN get that big, but I've never seen any in a shop that large.
If they grew so big so easily, then they would show up at the shops as
trade-ins just like all those other fish that get to big.
They need a large tank?
I don't buy it, I kept them in a 55 gal. when I was a kid and they did
just fine.
If anyone on here has a 8" to 12" clown loach, let's see it.
It would be a very rare expensive fish.:22:

[LurkingGrue]

The more the merrier with clown loaches . Folks have already pointed out that they would (especially in a larger school) eventually outgrow a 55g, but I'd like to say that in my experience this happens extremely slooowly .
I have 6 clowns in a 55g, well planted with a healthy population of pest snails and well fed with a variety of foods, and after two years the largest is still a modest 4" or so, and the smallest ones in the school have shown very modest growth indeed . So.. definitely not a fish that will have you netting it out with a crane and hoisting it back to the fish store inside of six months :)

[Zilla]

While the OP has made this out to be about Clown Loaches, it's angling ( or trying to justify?) overstocking a tank.

Same OP has already been spoken to about this in another thread which is here. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Plants and all of that have nothing to do with any of this. Fine, the tank is planted, but that doesn't cure the overstocking issue or the stocking issues in general.

[VoidParadigm]

I'll say what I did in the other thread;
Get rid of the Loaches and the Gouramis.

The link Zilla provided takes you back to the other thread where my detailed information has been laid out for you.

And judging by that video the Gouramis you have are extremely stressed, even more so than I had assumed. Gouramis die for attention. When healthy they should be up front and center, begging you for food whenever you pass by. The only time my current one ever hides for example, is to take "naps" in her cave.

Simply put:
Rehome the loaches and Gouramis.
You don't have room to make the Loaches happy.
Your Gouramis are constantly stressed out.

And you ARE overstocked - it doesn't matter if the fish came with the tank. The matter is still true, and it is up to you to fix it.
These fish are in your care now, and thus their well-being is your responsibility. And yeah, you have been making some effort, trying to get friends for the loaches, but sorry to say it, you're doing it backwards. You need to get rid of fish, not add more.

[wolf_eyes]

I think all this talk of clowns getting so big is a bunch of "malarky"
I've kept the same ones for about 15 yrs, in a 125 gal, and I can't
get them to more than 5 to 6 inches. And I feed them well.
And everyone I've talked to thinks mine are as big as they've ever seen.
I know they CAN get that big, but I've never seen any in a shop that large.
If they grew so big so easily, then they would show up at the shops as
trade-ins just like all those other fish that get to big.
They need a large tank?
I don't buy it, I kept them in a 55 gal. when I was a kid and they did
just fine.
If anyone on here has a 8" to 12" clown loach, let's see it.
It would be a very rare expensive fish.:22:
The local store that's furthest from me has three clown loaches that are 8-10 inches so yes it is possible. Next time I go there I'll get you a pic. The female they have is just massive lol. I wanted a few clown loaches for my tanks until I saw her and was like "nooooo way"!They keep them in a 200-300 tank with fish like balas and other monster fish that people have dropped off because the overgrew their tanks. They really care about the fish and even have a sump almost as large as the tank to keep them healthy. As stated it takes several years for them to grow that big, but it's still wise to have a plan incase they do grow that size