Loaches Online Forum

hey guys... i am just upgrading my tanks and my loaches will be moving from their 25g into the 50g my lungfish has grown out of.... so far i have 2 clowns and 2 yo-yo's, 6 kuhli's (but i think i'm gonna put them in a species tank) and 11 neon tetra's... i want to add more fish to the tank and i'm thinking one more clown and 2 yo-yo's, and hopefully a few more... they will be in the tank for a couple years, but just until my lungfish has grown more or i get a good deal on a huge tank (200+).... so i'm not too worried about them getting too big for the tank... how many loaches do you guys think i can keep in there? it has a fairly strong powerhead to make current for them, under gravel filtration and a seperate carbon filter.... i also do about a 40-50% water change weekly and feed them 4 or 5 small meals a day, rather than 2 big meals (to fatten them up without givin tummy aches)

no suggestions?

How big are your Loaches, currently?
The new tank is a good size for Yoyos, and Kuhlies. It is OK for young Clown Loaches (4 or 5"), but these will ultimately out grow it.
Most Loaches like friends, so if you are OK with looking for a larger tank for the Clowns, then get more.

I don't know about others experiences, but my loaches fought continuously when I only had two...for some reason, adding the third seems to have added a peacemaker. My two larger are gaining on 4" (33 gal tank), so I'm entertaining the idea of a larger tank- and fairly soon, as one of their tankmates is a pleco who was 2" when I got him a few months ago and is now about 8"...anyhow, I'd add a third loach but not many more with the rest of that tribe!

Kate

loaches grow slowly, right? i have a bigger tank already, that they will eventually be living in.... it's 80g.. not much bigger, but i have a lung fish so i'll probably have to upgrade the tanks a few more times, and i have no problem getting them a bigger tank when they need it... actually i can't wait to get a bigger tank...lol... gonna be moving into a new house next month just for that reason.... then i can get as big of tanks as i want... yeah.... so a few more of the clowns and yo-yo's will work out? i was thinking of adding a parrot fish too...not sure how they would work together though

I would avoid the parrot fish but it's my opinion as I loathe hybrids.

I wouldn't advise keeping parrot fish, not only for the fact that this is a man-made species, but also because large specimens can be particularly nasty. There are many reports of them biting their owners when carrying out maintenance on the tank, so I doubt they'd think twice about biting those loaches that are likely being quite playful around it. Also, because they are so deformed, they would not cope with the high flow environment that the loaches require.

Emma

thanks for your advise guys...my clowns are less than 2" right now.. i've had them for a couple months and they've doubled in size but they were really tiny when i got them... any suggestions on any tankmates that won't get in the way of my loaches(as the tank is for them) and that hang out near the top or mid section of the tank... i just want them all to be happy....have noticed my yo-yo's fighting and nipping alot so i'm going to get another one as soon as i can...the clowns are pretty happy. they never fight, they just snuggle all day.

I know they're very common, but cardinal tetras make a nice school at mid level, so do day glo tetras. Others like rainbowfish, but in a 50 you wouldn't be able to house a large school with all the other inhabitants you already have.

shari2 wrote:I know they're very common, but cardinal tetras make a nice school at mid level, so do day glo tetras. Others like rainbowfish, but in a 50 you wouldn't be able to house a large school with all the other inhabitants you already have.

My experience is that 3-4"+ yo-yos love cardinal tetras yum-yum!
I would get more yo-yos they are much more entertaining in a group
and less likely to hide all the time. I keep mine (currently 6, with 3 more in QT for one more week) with a school of 8 tiger barbs, which seems a pretty good match as far as levels of aggression go.

Batch wrote:My experience is that 3-4"+ yo-yos love cardinal tetras yum-yum!

Ditto. I was under the impression my yoyo loach nearing 5 inches ate a male cardinal considering that cardie is very small.

I would get more yo-yos they are much more entertaining in a group and less likely to hide all the time.

I agree as well.

thanks everyone for the imput...