Clean-up crew for my 72g tank

[NJ Devils Fan]

In my new 72g tank, I plan on putting in:

3 bristlenose plecos
1 common pleco(already have in my very small tank)
4-5 Clown loaches
4-5 cories(either albino or julii)

Does this sound good or is it overkill?

[mokmu]

Sounds good but what are the sizes? They may even be more than enough.

[NJ Devils Fan]

The bristle-nose plecos get to be around 5 inches or so, the common pleco can get up to a foot or so, the cories are about an inch, and the loaches can be a couple of inches or so(not to sure though)

[Darkangel]

Sounds okay except for a few things you may want to consider. I would leave out the common pleco as these fish can get up to 24 inches. Unless you know exactly which pleco you have of course and know it's size. Also the clowns will eventually outgrow this tank. They top out at over 12 inches so 4 or 5 twelve inch fish in that tank would be pushing it. On the flip side they do grow slowly and are always in demand so if you start small you will have them for years before they are too big at which time you will easily be able to trade them in. I might be tempted to get a few more cories as well. But the I love these cats so that is biased.

[NJ Devils Fan]

There are different types of Clown Loaches. One kind can get that big while another kind will only get to a couple inches.

[carpguy]

Are you sure about the smaller variety of clown loach? I've never heard of such a thing. There are a number of other loaches that stay small and will work as foragers and snail-killers, but I think the clowns are eventually going to get big. I'd check with the folks over at loaches.com… they'd know for sure.

If you ever get up that way, Pet Place II in Nanuet has a foot long clown in one of its display tanks. Big sucker.

[Darkangel]

Sorry NJ Devils Fan, but I have been in the hobby for a very long time and I have never heard of a smaller variety of clown loach. Unless you are reffering to a different fish going by that name all clown loaches are Botia macracanthus. These botia's get up to and some even grow more then 12 inches long. If yours live long enough they will get to that size as well. There are many types of Botia, and yes some of them only get to a few inches if that is what you meant. I'd love to hear or read more if you have more info on these smaller clown loaches though.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I though that there were 2 different sizes because I got this catalogue and it had Clown loaches 1"- 2 1/2" for (whatever price) and 5"- 12" for (whatever price). I didn't think that the smaller ones would grow because it would be pretty pointless for someone to get the bigger one when they could get the smaller one and have it grow up in their tank.

[carpguy]

The little ones are just younger, the bigger ones are more expensive. I'd personally want to grow them out myself, but some folks apparently are willing to shell out the extra biscuits for a grownup fish. Botia macracanthus get big. If you're interested in loaches there are plenty of others in the small to medium range.

[famman]

Clowns do get big. I would either drop the clowns or the bristlenose, and frankly, any less than 10 cories would be lost in that tank. If you want a clean up crew, keep the bristlenose. If you want spectacular colors, get the clowns.
If you want color and algae cleanup, get the clowns and a whole lot of otos (hopefully the common wont eat them).
good luck
:)

[superstein61]

NJ Devils fan - well I am a big fan of Clown Loaches - and IMO if you get the ones that are 1" to 2 1/2" now - you won't have any problem for 4 or 5 years. they do get big but they do grow slowly. I have had 3 in a 29 gallon that started around 1" and in 2+ years grew to the 2" to 2 1/2" range.

So, I say get the clowns - and if in 4 or 5 years they get too big, then trade them in at your LFS. A lot can happen in 4 or 5 years.

BTW - In my new tank (the same 72 gallon bowfront) I have decided on 2 bristlenose and 5 or 6 clowns (plus one existing yo-yo loach) as my cleanup crew. the bristlenose because the clowns I have had don't really touch the algae - and the clowns (who by the way love bloodworms) because I enjoy them a lot and they do scour the bottom picking up food that has fallen there.

good luck

[csmaster]

the common plec will most likely not get anymore than 12" max, the bristlenoses will get 5-6" max, the clown loached IMO will get 6-7" tops, but theres a possibility of getting to 12" each! You should still have plenty of room left in the tank for other fish also :)

[punch]

Just to let you know, clown loach prices do depend on size. Probably becouse they do grow so slowley. So you can get 2" loaches for 4.oo while a 3" loach will cost 8.00 and 4" loach can
cost 16.00! Of couse this all depends on where you live.
I saw a 4" loach on aquabid that someone wanted 50.00 for!
I thought that a little high but I could see a 6" going for that easily.

[rohai]

I don't know much about the other fish you listed but my experience with my bristlenose has been good. I have one 5 inch bristlenose that has kept my 45 gallon so free of algae that on average over the last 5 years I only have to the clean the front glass once every three to four months. I have heard that they are also one of the only plecos that will eat the hair-like algae, though I have never had a problem with it.