ANOTHER NEW MEMEBER TO THE LOACHAHOLIC CLUB

[SPARKYTHEWELDER]

HELLO EVERYONE MY NAME IS MARK AND I LIVE IN BEAUTIFUL SOUTH TEXAS ON THE TEXAS RIVIERA IN CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS I HAVE JUST RECENTLY BECOME AN OWNER OF THREE CLOWN LOACHES AND THEY ARE WONDERFUL CREATURES !!! THEY PROVIDE ME SO MUCH ENJOYMENT I JUST DONT KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT TO YA'LL ! WELL THEY ARE THE NEWEST MEMEBERS TO MY 55 GALLON TANK AND WE ACQUIRED THEM AFTER WE SUFFERED A DIE OFF OF OUR AFRICAN CICHLIDS. SO WE ARE STARTING OVER. AT THE FISH HOUSE WHERE I PURCHASE MY NEW AQUARIA MEMEBERS THEY HAVE A 125 GALLON TANK FULL OF AFICAN CICHLIDS WITH SEVERAL LARGE CLOWN LOACHES THAT ARE ALL OVER 4 INCHES IN LENGTH !! THEY ADD SO MUCH TO THE TANK THAT WHEN I STARTED OVER I HAD TO HAVE SOME TOO!!!

SO ANY ADVICE OR HINTS ON CARE OR FEEDING OR ANY OTHER KNOWLEDGE ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH ME WILL BE WELCOMED !!

I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER THIS SITE AND I AM SO PROUD OF YOU WHO HAVE PUT THIS FINE PLACE TOGETHER FOR ALL OF THE LOACH FANS EVERY WHERE...........MANY THANKS FROM MYSELF AND I AM SURE SO MANY OTHERS TOO !!!

THANKS AGAIN
SINCERELY
SPARKYTHEWELDER FROM TEXAS
[/list]

[OneWay]

Hello Sparky,

let me be the first to say Welcome to the loachaholics playground. Be sure to read up on your clowns, but you will soon find several things.

1. clowns get very big and will outgrow your 55gallon very soon.
2. clowns are best in large groups,, the more the merrier, some would say no less than 4, but I would say no less than 8 myself,
3. and being a converted bad boy myself, i can say that mixing Africans and clowns while is possible ,, it is frowned upon by the loach purists.

and after that,, I would add some hiding spots, some current, and treat them to shrimp, cucumber, and other vegies


welcome home buddy,

OneWay

[Emma Turner]

Hi Sparky, welcome to Loaches Online.

One Way is quite right in saying that African cichlids and clowns are a bad mix. This article may be of interest: http://www.loaches.com/articles/why-loa ... i-cichlids

For more information on clown loaches, have a look here: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/cl ... cracanthus The 4" ones you have seen at your local shop are still juveniles. This is a species that can attain 12"+ if kept in the right conditions from the start. Unfortunately the vast majority become stunted because they are kept in aquariums that are too small for them, and they never reach their full potential. It seems some shops are only too happy to sell them for innapropriately sized tanks if it means money in the till.

This article on the general care of botiid loaches may also be of interest, if you have not found it already: http://www.loaches.com/articles/an-intr ... ping-botia

If you are able to post some photographs of your set up, and go into more detail about filtration, water movement, maintenance regime etc etc, I am sure that everyone will be able to offer you some pointers. You'll need to upload any pics you have to a photo hosting website such as www.photobucket.com and copy and past the IMG links into your message.

One last thing which you might not be aware of. The sole use of capital letters when writing on forums is considered as 'shouting'. If you wouldn't mind taking the caps lock off, that'd be great. This isn't meant to discourage you in any way - we look forward to hearing more from you.

Emma

[soul-hugger]

Hello, Sparky, Welcome to the forum and to Loaches!!

There is a lifetime and more of information to learn and take in here, so please don't feel bad if you realize you have made some mistakes. We all make mistakes and we all have to start somewhere. This is an excellent jumping-off point for a place to learn about Loaches and other Fish, and you will find people here are gentle and understanding, even if they have to correct you!

Take Care
and Have Fun Learning about your new Loaches!!
soul-hugger

[Rubix]

Yes, please stop yelling at us, we can hear you just fine