1 lonely clown :(

[heather36]

I purchased a clown loach this past Friday...and although I had looked up what size they grow to, etc...somehow the fact that they need others like them to thrive eluded me until now. I won't be able to buy any more until at least next Friday. Do you think he'll be ok until then? I have 11 fish in my 55 gallon tank...so I realize that in years to come I may need to move some fish to a larger tank. Do you think a group of three loaches would suffice...or do I really need more than that. I worry about overcrowding the tank. Of the 11 fish only 1 severum, and the silver dollar are full grown.

[BotiaMaximus]

I think I would take him back. He isn't going to be a good mix with the oscar and the severums, and usually 5 clowns is the minimum for them to be happy.

Or set up a new tank to the conditions for clown loaches and get a bunch of them and then you can really enjoy what great fish they are.

There is lots of good info here in the Loaches Online section and here in the forums in regards to the requirements and tanks conditions for keeping the different types of loaches.

Best of Luck.

[bigpow]

+1 on returning the clown loach.

55g is really a small tank for those fish.
If all 11 survive in a couple of years, expect a full blown battle every day during feeding time.
The oscar and severum will fight for the top of the food chain, while the whimpy silver dollar will lose out.

Oscar should be kept alone, not mixed with other fish.
It's very beautiful fish but very demanding. Requires a lot of meaty food and fouls up the water rather quickly.
I once had a (proven) pair of oscar in a 40G and had to keep the tank bare bottom due to their diet. Fed them white shrimp (from the supermarket) and they colored up really nicely.

Also had a breeding pair of Golden Severum in a separate 40G, those were beautiful by themselves. I prefer them over the pair of Discus that I had at the same time, actually.

[Diana]

Ditto the dittos. Your current tank is already overstocked, and as these fish grow they will not get along with each other. Too many aggressive fish. WAY too small a tank for the bioload.

I would put your money into a couple of tanks of at least 100 gallons, and divide up the fish, leaving the smallest in the 55, and dividing the others the best you can. They will continue to grow, and you may need even more tanks.

If you want Clown Loaches then get them their own tank.

Look up each fish that you already have and think about their adult size.

www.planetcatfish.com is a good reference for your catfish.

www.fishbase.org is good for many of them.

[heather36]

From the reading I've done, the only aggressive fish in the tank is the oscar...and I had a full grown one (probably a 2 pounder) in there up until last week when he died suddenly. And he wasn't even aggressive...got along great with the severum and dollar. Being 6 of these fish are new...the odds of them all surviving are slim...although they seem to be doing great at the moment. So I guess I'll cross the bridges as I come to them with regards to a larger tank...don't really have much space for another tank.