View Full Version : Clown loach Q?
How long does it take for clown loaches to get upto 8" to 10". Are they slow growing fish? There for a 135g.
clayt101
12-10-2003, 4:40 PM
It will take years. They are very slow growing fish.
How old do you think the big one is in this video is?
Clown loach video (http://www.cichlidscene.com/video/20020720loachpair2.mpg)
OrionGirl
12-10-2003, 5:02 PM
RTR indicates that clowns are not slow growing, but rather are stunted when kept in small tanks often. Clowns in large tanks will grow quite rapidly. I have no experience with this, but I greatly respect RTR, and have no reason to disbelieve his experience.
every site I go to says they are slow growing? hopefuly someone who has clowns could reply. Can they also hold their own with more argessive fish like a red tailed shark and tiger barbs? Thanks
Slappy*McFish
12-10-2003, 8:22 PM
I'm not sure of the growth rates for clowns...I do know they grow rather quickly up to the 6" size and slow down after this..but it really seems to me that it depends on the individual fish. I keep several loaches in my tank, two of which are clowns. When I bought them, they both were both the same size(around 1.5")..one has grown twice as fast as the other...this is while eating the same food, living in the same tank and water conditions...same for my yoyo loaches; one seems to grow faster than the other. I'm not sure if the sex of the loach has anything to do with this or not...as I can't really tell the sex of my loaches.
As far as I can tell, they are all very healthy and extremely active fishes. Sometimes it does bother me that I have them in a 55g(minimum tank size for clowns) right now because they are approaching the 6" size, but I am rather attached to them and wouldn't think of getting rid of them..besides, whose to say, if I did trade them in, that someone with a smaller tank than mine wouldn't buy them up and not take as good of care of them as I have. Hopefully, one day, when I am able, I'll upgrade to a much larger tank. Clowns are awesome fish to have and it would be nice to see them grow from 1.5" to 10-12" over the years.
To answer your other question....yes, clowns can hold their own just fine with redtail sharks and tiger barbs. I keep mine with a rather aggressive shark and he doesn't even think of bothering the much larger clowns. Though I'm sure the loaches are just as capable of harming him if they wanted to, even if they were the same size as he.
Clowns and tiger barbs are frequently kept together in tanks and sometimes even shoal together...they both are also from the same part of the world(SE asia).
redrf900
12-11-2003, 9:33 AM
Clown and tiger barbs are from the same regian and absolutely CAN be kept together (happily). They need to be together to behave normally. The barbs act as a dither fish...When the clown see the barbs swimming around happily, they will also come out .
Clown do NOT enjoy large tankmates such as gouramis, although they doen't fight...
They do seem to get along nicely with with my irridescent shark who is about and inch and a half bigger than they are...
They tiger barbs WILL pick on the big shark, but I have NEVER seen them bother the Clowns...Must be the coloring????Just MY observations!! ;-)
OG - I learned all that from a (former?) AC active member. He had massive tanks, specialized in loaches, especially clowns, and put links to his photos routinely. He routinely got tiny imports up to 2/3 full adult size within a year and half as best I recall - huge tanks, lots of food, lots of tank upkeep, and current. Then they slowed down, but not as much as most of us previously thought.
The oldest clown I have "known" personally died a year or so ago, at >28, but was still small - lived his life (much of it alone) in a 20-long on a friend's kitchen table.
So as with many fish, care while young is critical for development, but some degree of stunting does not seem terribly harmful.
OrionGirl
12-11-2003, 4:42 PM
Interesting to know that there don't seem to be detrimental effects from the stunting. I just recalled you saying that clowns grew fast in large tanks but were often stunted, giving the impression of slow growth. Thanks for clarifying that for me!
Well, since clowns can make it to >40 years, it might have hurt a bit, but near 30 for any captive fish is, in my eyes, remarkable. So I worry a bit less about stunting clowns than I once did - I used to trade them back in regularly, to give them at least a chance at larger tanks than I provided.
Do you think clowns would like a sandy substrate?
Sandy substrate tends to play with tank specs...and make things rise...so really you need to have a fish like some sort of cilchid.
Slappy*McFish
12-12-2003, 8:11 AM
The oldest clown I have "known" personally died a year or so ago, at >28, but was still small - lived his life (much of it alone) in a 20-long on a friend's kitchen table.
Wow, impressive. The guy must have taken very good care of the loach.
OrionGirl
12-12-2003, 8:27 AM
There are different types of sand available. Silica sand will not change the parameters of your water at all, while aragonite sand most certainly will buffer your tank and likely increase the pH.
Don't know if the clowns would like sand or not?
chefkeith
12-12-2003, 9:54 AM
I use sand for my clown loaches. Organic's get trapped in gravel much easier than sand. If there is the proper amount of current on the bottom of the tank, sand stays very clean. Almost no more gravel vac'ing, just skim over the sand lightly with the gravel vac. I'll never go back to gravel, to much work. Then again, I don't have any real plants, so the choice is probably within what kind of tank you have.
chefkeith
12-12-2003, 10:45 AM
About growth rates of clown loaches. - Its variable. Some grow fast, some grow real real slow. Just like people I guess. I'd say on average they grow about an inch per year. Growth rates may also have something to do with the sexing, but I've also read that clown loaches may be asexual, meaning they don't need a partner to reproduce. I won't buy into the asexual theory yet, so obviously there is still much to learn about clown loaches. The clown loaches native name is the "ulanguli" and is only found naturally in 2 regions in the world, both being almost right on the equator in Indonesia. They are- In the Kapuas River of West Kalimantan on the island of Borneo and in the Jambi region of Sumatra. One way to learn more about the ulanguli is to visit the Danau Sentarum in West Kalimantan and do a study on the species, but you'd have to be nuts to do that. Heck, I'm half way there.
Slappy - the owner of the old loach is also the owner of the LFS I've used for the last 20++ years. His tanks, much like mine actually, are subject to "benign neglect" in that the water quality is excellent while the neatness and general appearance may lose a few points with neat freaks (and spouses). ;)
I neither like nor use sand*, so can't respond on that one.
*the only critters in my house that ever get such are those that "need" to bury themselves - flounders, certain puffers.
dethjam316
12-13-2003, 11:30 AM
Originally posted by redrf900
Clown do NOT enjoy large tankmates such as gouramis, although they doen't fight...i have a whole tank full of loaches and gouramis, and they get along just swimmingly. my clown loaches are the most outgoing and friendly of the bunch...a little too friendly, since they now equate my hand with the delivering of food.
dethjam316
12-13-2003, 11:33 AM
i keep sand in my tanks. it is silica-based, so its inert. it also stays very clean, but i'm ridiculously anal about water changes, so that plays a part, for sure. my rule is that when i can see the waste around on the sand, it's time to vacuum away. my loaches seem to be ok with it, though they don't dig all that much...i guess they don't really care.
Must4ng s4lly
01-10-2004, 6:34 PM
I have gravel with my two clowns and they love it, because the snails hide in there and the clowns dig them out. The clowns actually pick up the pieces of gravel & throw them aside & dig away..... The smooth gravel is good for the barbels of the cories I have....