Loaches Online Forum

In the never ending process of learning about and caring about my fish i try to reseach all my fish choices before purchasing.
I unfortunatly did not find this site before getting my Clown Loaches.
The sites i saw first said 55gal. is ok - here i read 75gal. is minimum.
Their site says 3 is ok - here 5 is ok no less.
I really like all my fish but the Clowns are special so my 3 clowns are Between 1-3/4" and 2-1/4" so how long do i have before i need to upgrade?
How fast do they grow?
And should i get 2 more to have 5 in my 55gal. now?

Thank you
Loveing the site!

you are fine now....yes get 2 more and they should stay that size for a few months depending how well you feed them...also make sure you keep their water clean other than that the size of the take is really not an issue until they reach over 3 1/2"

Hi 55gal,

The trouble is, most shops and some old books (even some current internet sites) still don't make mention that clown loaches aren't suitable for the average sized tank. Many unscrupulous shops are willing to sell them for ridiculously small tanks just to make money too.

Really, juveniles need a tank at least 4ft long. Adults a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft minimum. At our shop, we would rather turn down a sale than have the clowns go to an unsuitable home.

The other problem is that clowns are very easily stunted, and if this happens, not only is their health compromised, but they will never reach their full size potential. Best thing to do is look at upgrading as soon as you can. If you aren't overstocked and you have good filtration and maintain excellent water chemistry, then I would definitely advise on adding a couple more clowns.

Emma

Be sure that you can properly care for 3 clown loaches before getting more. Do you realize that clown loaches can live for 20+ years? If you want to keep them that long you'll have to learn a few things about keeping fish.

1) Quarantine and Disease Prevention
2) Maintaining High Water Quality

Without strict management of those 2 things you'll likely suffer the heartbreak of the loaches not living very long.

Excellent things to think about.
I do have what i believe is good filtration I have 2 wisper 60 gal. filters on the back ans 3 undergravel filters. OK i think?
The 3 Clowns I have seem to be very happy they swim about lots in the morning throughout the day into early evening. I have many rock cave like structures I built they like and a boat to hide in. I do weekly water changes, and they eat easily.
So i do want to have these clowns for the long haul.
My other fish are listed below and i probally have to many when the Clowns are bigger - but most other fish only live 2 years or so -and i will not always have to replace them and can maintain a lesser # of fish.
So i hope i am on the right track.

You are on the right track by being on this site, as long as you take the expert advice to heart. Before I was a member, I thought clown loaches maxed out at 6 inches - even fairly recent books state this as their max size.

You are right that the smaller fish will be gone by the time the Clowns get bigger. Clowns are not unknown to eat the smallest fish.
Neon Tetras do better in cooler water, up to the mid 70sF (20-26*C) but Clown Loaches prefer much warmer water upper 70s to 80*F (to 27*C) Look into the needs of the other fish you have, too.

Cartridge style filters are not very efficient filters. A better style of filter makes the water pass through a thick mass of filter media, not a thin cartridge. An Aquaclear 110 would be a good filter for a 55 gallon tank, if you want the sort of filter that hangs on the back of the tank, and canister filters are really good, too. Either the Aquaclear or a canister such as the Rena Filstar XP3 have a much larger volume to hold media and a better waterflow designed to remove the debris from that media.

Undergravel Filters are old fashioned. They do a job, but not as well as the newer filters. Also, Loaches and many catfish dig so much that they can disrupt the flow of water through the gravel above the plates. The UGF system needs to be kept very clean, and this is more difficult than simply vacuuming the substrate.
I would remove the UGF and the gravel and go with a finer substrate, either a very fine rounded gravel or a coarse sand like Pool filter sand. (Remove the fish from the tank and be prepared for a big mess from under the UGF)