Peacock's w/ Clown Loaches?

[roseybarb]

I read that Peacocks are not too agressive (compared only to African's of course). BUT, can I put some Clown Loaches in a 55 gallon tank with 18 toddler Peacocks? Do I run any risks of the Clown Loaches trying to eat my Peacocks at about 3/4 inch in size? I actually have 4 clown loaches; 3 are about 3 inches long and 1 is about 6 inches. How about if I just put the 2 smallest loaches in the tank?

Full size Silver Dollars would probably eat the little peacocks huh?

My big problem stems from my 110 being overcrowded. If moving fish isn't possible I may have to bring some to my lfs.

Any suggestions??

[valerie]

Adding clowns to a tank with peacocks should be fine(i am thinking of doign the same wiht my tank and i asked this question and people said yes).

I'm more concerned about the stocking level of your 55gal.18 peacocks is alot for that tank.Are you plannign on thinning it out once you can tell the sex? I dont' even have 18 fish in my 90gal peacock/hap tank and thats counting bottom dwellers.

I would say if you are going to thin out the tank later you could add the clowns as long as you don't have a really aggresive peacock.And if it turns out it doesn't work out move them back to their original tank(or give them to me:D )

[Oxboy666]

Clown loaches and peacocks are fine together. Big healthy clowns can take care of themselves in most cichlid tanks, even with big haps. In your case, a full-grown breeding male peacock might chase the loaches out of a cave or something, but they'll mostly leave eachother alone. On the other hand, a big 6 inch clown loach might inadvertently take the tail or fin off a 3/4 inch fish just out of curiosity. But with 18 peacocks, losing a fish here or there wouldn't be an issue.

Congratz on the 6" loach. They're very nice fish when they're big. I've heard some can live 10 years or so.

[SBee]

I thought clowns weren't supposed to be put in African tanks......

due to the difference in required water parameters.....

??

[dbcb314]

you could do that if you want to. ive seen clown loaches with mbunas before (this was a big tank however) they normally just leave each other alone.

yeah they have different water parameters, but i think parameters are overrated. a lot of fish have adapted to almost any water parameters. clowns and cichlids are fine together. according to water parameters, all of my fish would be dead.

[SBee]

about a month ago I posted a thread or two in here on the topic.....

and was strongly advised against mixing my mbuna's with clowns.....EVERYONE was strongly against it at that time.....

why isn't anyone saying so now!!?!

[SBee]

"but i think parameters are overrated"

are you crazy!?!

Sure, fish can adapt to live in other water parameters, but that doesn't mean they are happy, healthy, and displaying the true beauty they might normally show in proper conditions!

[stik6shift98]

it all depends on the fish itself.....i mix fish of all sorts that are strongly advised not to be together....for instance a small gourami has been with my oscar since day 1 and he has never attacked it...he eats goldfish twice that size but i guess he grew an attachment to it....but yes loaches should be ok with them just keep an eye out and see how things go

[valerie]

I decided to keep clowns with my africans because the LFS around here keep them in our regualr tap water(7.8) and that is what my africans are at too. Basically all my fish are in that water from cardinals to rams to africans and all are doing Great

[SBee]

Old thread link (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8178)


^^ that's from a month ago or whatever.

LFS told me not to mix them too.

[Oxboy666]

You're going to always get a lot of different opinions on these boards. Some folks are hardcore purists that test their water daily and try to duplicate exact conditions in the wild. Others just throw their fish in and let the chips fall where they may. Generally speaking, you're going to get a good understanding of the basic do's and don'ts on this board. It's up to you how much fussing, time and perfectionism you want to put into the hobby. IMHO, as long as you enjoy the tank and the fish aren't too stressed out, that's all that matters.

Whether fish are 'happy' is very subjective. Whether fish are stressed out would be easy to determine, even by beginner or casual fishkeepers.

'Generally speaking,' loaches and cichlids together is fine. But there are always exceptions. If you had asked me whether a gourami and an oscar could co-exist (never tried this), I'd say you'd have a dead gourami by morning 99 times out of 100. That's what makes this hobby so special - it's full of surprises and no two situations are ever exactly the same!

[SBee]

you keep referring to this gourami and oscar......

I'm not talking about aggression differences between fish here,
I'm talking about water parameters. Plain and simple.

It's not a question of putting "cichlids and clowns together,"
but rather, putting "clowns in high pH and moderately high gH/kH"



I went back to Big Al's to ask them more about it. The guy there concurred with the guy I spoke with a month ago. He said while, "yes," we have them together in our display tank, and "yes," people put them together and have kept them alive, "NO," it is NOT a good idea.

[Oxboy666]

Your argument doesn't make sense. If the clowns are healthy and active in high PH, what makes it a bad idea? I have kept clowns in my water, which is hard-as-hell liquid rock. They have always flourished, both in and out of cichlid tanks. When I see a mini school of active, vibrant clowns going about their daily business in my tanks, it seems like a good idea to me. :)

If you want to configure your water to match the natural conditions of a certain fish for any reason (like breeding), that's fine. But I have the feeling that many of us would rather have fish adapted to our water conditions (no matter what they are), because we don't want the fuss or have the time to mess with that potentially-complicated aspect of the hobby. That was my point earlier.

[SBee]

My argument makes perfect sense.


I never said anything about your fish not being healthy or happy in your tank; I was speaking in general terms earlier, saying that just because a fish was alive did not necessarily mean it was happy and healthy. Similarly, I did not exclude that the fish COULD very well be healthy and happy.

I have only been saying that my LFS as well as others have said that putting a fish in such different water conditions from what it is used to, is a bad idea.

"But I have the feeling that many of us would rather have fish adapted to our water conditions (no matter what they are), because we don't want the fuss or have the time to mess with that potentially-complicated aspect of the hobby"

To me that sounds really really ignorant. If you aren't going to treat your pets in the way they were meant to be treated, because you might not have "time," don't get into the hobby. Or, as many people will recommend, purchase fish that already match your parameters closest.


Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were pets to some larger beings, who would think it would be a-ok to dump us on another planet with a different atmosphere, one that perhaps wasn't suited to our system....and be like "yeah, they love it, they're moving around and stuff!"

[Tightdog1]

i would just keep them in the tank with the africans if you've kept clowns in there b4 and they were ok. you may want to watchg out cause i have heard of clown loache when they get big to be aggressive and may eat small fish like fry, even tho clowns grow quite slow.

[Oxboy666]

Again, you miss the complete point.

"I have only been saying that my LFS as well as others have said that putting a fish in such different water conditions from what it is used to, is a bad idea."

This is essentially true, but think of it this way:

I live in an area with liquid rock. The LFS down the street keeps its clown loaches in the same liquid rock. So I'm going to soften my tank water, lower the PH and do all these tricks to mimic the southeast Asia water that these clowns are 'used' to, then dump them in my tank?

No. You might kill them.

Furthermore, I don't want to go through the hassle of mimicking SE Asian softwater. It's not necessary.

What the clowns are used to is the rockhard water from the LFS. There is a difference between what they are 'meant' to be kept in and what they are 'used' to being kept it. If those two conditions match up, all the better. If not, it doesn't mean you can't have a healthy thriving tank.

With that, I'm off this thread. Good luck.

[Jinks]

Chances are, your LFS gets these clown loaches from somewhere where they AREN'T kept in liquid-rock water.




Anyways, I'm pretty sure most LFS' do not keep their clown loaches in the same type of water you're accustomed to. And, you've just said that if someone were to put them in water they weren't used to, it "might kill them" and so generally speaking, people shouldn't be putting clown loaches with their africans.
(assuming their LFS keeps them in low-neutral pH, as the LFS' around here do)

[superstein61]

My experience with clowns is that:

1. they can easily take care of themselves no matter who there tankmates are

2. the other fish never seem to bother the clowns - either because they are afraid of them - or just because they are so different, they are not seen as a threat