Clown loach question

[Remmy]

Hey guys.
I've currently got a 15g tank, yes i can already hear you thinking "is that guy crazy? a 15g is way too small for C.Loaches "... but here me out :)
For my b'day (early april) i plan on getting (hopefully recieving :D) either a 55g or a 75g, most probably the 75g.
Now, at the moment my 15g has 1 swordtail and 3 zebra danio's, would it be OK for me to purchase say 3 small c.loaches now, and later when i get my big tank to transfer them over?
I dont want to cause them any stress, and if putting them in a small 15g will do that then i will wait until i get my bigger tank.

I'd like to hear your thoughts

[marks69]

you should be ok for now.the loaches tend to be in the smallest space they all can fit in.i have 7 in my 90 and their probably my favorite.
gl
mark

[Archangel]

I wouldn't get them yet. Things happen, plans go wrong. You don't have a guaranteed home for them if you don't end up with the tank. I know it's hard, but I advise waiting.

[emoore]

I agree with archangel. Don't get the clowns until you get the bigger tank. That way you have a suitable home for them.

[Remmy]

Well i had a bit of a think and decided not to get them yet, it is true that my plans could change and not get the bigger tank, although highly unlikely... curse you MTS !!!

anyway, i went to the LFS and got some cute little panda cories instead, i love them already :)

[victimizati0n]

Even though clowns grow slow, i wouldnt do it.

They are VERY active, and a 15g is just too small.

[Karnaaj]

Don't put them through the stress of having to move them if you do get the bigger tank. Wait until you can put them in their permanent home. And stay away from the small ones anyways. Their mortality rate is horrendous. Get them at least 3" long.

[Archangel]

And stay away from the small ones anyways. Their mortality rate is horrendous. Get them at least 3" long.

Thats something thats very true about clowns. I've bought 5, all at 1 1/2"s or less, and I've only got 3 out of those 5 left. Lots of wild caught clowns have internal parasite problems, which prevents them from growing and slowly kills them. Also, younger clowns are more succeptible to ick. Luckily I've never had much of a problem w/ ick. One of mine suffered from parasites, and another one just dissapeared. Its possible its still in the tank, but highly doubtful. I haven't seen it in 4 months.

[Karnaaj]

Archangel, if you got 3 out of 5 to live at that size you are definitely doing something right. I would guess that the average rate of survival at that size would be 1 out of 5.

[chefkeith]

Right now I have 25 clown loaches.
I think a basic set of rules would be nice to have when buying clown loaches.

Rules #1-
Do not buy baby clowns. Make sure they are at least 2" or longer. 3" + is great, but at that size they might be impossible to find at times. If you find clowns 3” +, you might want to buy them before somebody else gets them. Only buy healthy clowns. Try to scout out your LFS before you plan on buying the clown loaches and look at the clowns very carefully. Make sure none of the clowns in the tank have ich or have a shrunken stomach. A fat belly is a good sign. If they do have ich, wait at least at least a week and visit the LFS again to scout them out again. If they look healthy, wait another week to buy them. Buy in groups of 3 or more. If there are only 4 clown loaches at the LFS, don't buy just 3, buy all 4. DON’T BREAK UP A SMALL GROUP. This is important.

Rule #2-
Have a quarantine tank ready for them when you get them home. I think a minimum size Q-tank for a small group of clown loaches is 20 gallons and the tank should have a filter that is very well cycled. Having a cycled q-tank is extremely important. Do not put the clowns directly in the q-tank from the bag. The clowns need to acclimate to the q- tank water 1st. This will take 30-45 minutes. Float the fish bag in the q-tank for 10 minutes, and then add a cup of water to the fish bag every 5 minutes for about 30 minutes. Then net out the clowns and move them to the q-tank. Do not pour the fish bag water into the q-tank.

Rule #3-
The q-tank should be a low stress environment. The tank should have minimal lighting and lots of places for the clowns to hide. Make sure the clowns can not get stuck in any of the hiding places. You might not see the clowns swimming around much for a week or 2 after you buy them. Check the clowns daily for ich or illness. Remove all the hiding places if you have to. Treat immediately at the 1st sign of ich. If the clowns are flashing or rubbing on things, start treatment for ich immediately, even if you don’t see any white spots. If you scouted the clowns as mentioned in Rule #1 then keep the clowns in the q-tank for at least 7 days if they show no signs of ich or illness. If you didn’t scout out the clowns, keep them in the q-tank for at least 2 weeks. If they do require treatment for ich, use Coppersafe by Mardel. Coppersafe is a proven ich treatment for clown loaches by many loach keepers. Adding salt and raising the water temperature will not work quickly enough. After the last sign of ich has passed, wait 10 days before moving them to the main tank.

Rule #4-
The main tank or tanks should have a footprint that is big enough for the group of clowns. Each young clown should have an average of about 1 sq. ft of bottom surface area apiece to swim around in. With a minimum of 3 young clowns or 3 sq ft. of tank space, which is a 45 gallon tank. What I mean by “young” clown is a clown that is less than 5 inches long. A clown loach that is 5 to 10 inches long would require 2x the space that the young clowns would need, about a 100 gallon tank minimum. Adult clown loaches, which are about 10+ inches in length, will require about 3x the space that the young clowns need, about a 180g tank minimum. Clowns will grow at a rate of about 1 inch per year and will grow to be over 12” long (probably 24”+ in the wild) and live as long as 30 years (maybe even 50 years in the wild). That’s just the average growth rate. Some clowns may grow much quicker or much slower.


Anybody want to add to this? Did I leave anything out?

[fishmanattic]

i hav a 250g tank with ruffley about 15 clownloaches 5 kuliloaches 4 redtailed sharks and 2 weird lookin loach its grey body with a redy orange tail its botia something i think
anyway the tank is well planted and has 2 pieces of bogwood

all fish range from 1"-2" (all babies)

if my tank overstocked or can i add more fish

[chefkeith]

I'm not sure what the dimentions of your 250g tank are. If it is only 8' Long x 2' Wide, then I wouldn't get any more clown loaches. You can get other small fish though.

[playerx]

I'm guessing from all the information I've just read, that my tank is too small (30 gl) for the 6 clown loaches I recently bought...It's now down to 3, and 2 have ich. Is there any possiblity to save them? Tank quality is almost perfect, all the other fish are quite happy, and I've been using Aquari-Sol for the ich. It's helped my Red Tailed loach, but doesn't seem to have helped the Clowns. Any new Ideas? Help..:{

Thanks;)

[victimizati0n]

Thats something thats very true about clowns. I've bought 5, all at 1 1/2"s or less, and I've only got 3 out of those 5 left. Lots of wild caught clowns have internal parasite problems, which prevents them from growing and slowly kills them. Also, younger clowns are more succeptible to ick. Luckily I've never had much of a problem w/ ick. One of mine suffered from parasites, and another one just dissapeared. Its possible its still in the tank, but highly doubtful. I haven't seen it in 4 months.

That is wierd, i got 3 1/2" clowns, and they are all fine.

[Crabbypatty]

i have a 1000 gallon tank in my fourth house i hired ten guys to take care of it i found them on the street they said they liked seefood so i hired them. i have 1 neon tetra and i think its over crowded so im going to buy a 5000 gallon tank. is that big enough???? :confused: