afraid of over stocking

[12 Volt Man]

Those clown loaches are 10 years old? That seems like a problem. Mine that are less than a year old are larger than that.

yes, I got them in the fall of 1998 after moving home from university

they eat a lot but have not grown really big. Probably competition for food I suspect. That and clowns are notoriously difficult to grow to maximum size in captivity. They haven't always lived in that tank though. Over the years they have been in several different tanks in my fishroom.

I guess they are 'stunted' but are sure doing well. They take food from my hand quite readily.

For reference for this thread, here is what 12 inch tinfoils look like in a 65 gallon (and you can see how much larger the barbs in the 90 are by comparison).

this is the problem I ran into. The barbs in the 90 got much larger than expected. According to most books, Pale barbs only get 7 to 8 inches.

which, as you can see, is total BS.

 

[12 Volt Man]

I like your tank, it dosnt have any background on it. It gives it that, "Open, Display" look. One of my 55s are like that, you can walk all the way around it and see everything.

Thanks

 

[H3D]

12 Volt Man your tanks are very nice..but realistically a fish that size needs MUCH more room to swim around. The barbs in these pictures barely have enough room to turn around.

To address the original posters question will your fish survive in the 120 gallon tank, yes. It seems they can survive in a tank half that size. However it seems to be quite unethical IMO to keep a fish in a tank that it can barely move around in; as well as boring since it will not be swimming much

 

[12 Volt Man]

thanks for the comments.

yes, the giant barbs in the 90 are too big.

but still pics do not really give a good impression of their movement in the tank.

they use all three dimensions when they swim, and the 90 is very tall and not all that short. They do swim quite freely in the tank.

maybe I can post an mpeg one of these days..

 

[12 Volt Man]

also, its worth noting that even though they are huge, the barbs in the 90 can still turn around with no problems. They simply point their head up or down and swim with their tails

but you can see why I think that it is no problem to keep red tinfoils like the ones in my 65 in a 120. It should be fine.

the chances of them getting as large as the pale barbs in the 90 are pretty remote. I do not believe that red tinfoils can attain that sort of size. At least, I have never seen a source claiming that, not have I ever seen any that are 18 inches long, but you never know

 

[syddakyd]

the bala is going to need a 500 gallon tank for him and 5 other buddies balas are schooling fish.

SMH

 

[Coler]

I'll ask on the basis of my own ignorance...what's the expected lifespan of a clown loach under ideal aquarium conditions ?

 

[H3D]

I'll ask on the basis of my own ignorance...what's the expected lifespan of a clown loach under ideal aquarium conditions ?

25-50 years

 

[Corvina]

Hi Nikki J

You are on the right track. According to what everyone is saying on here I guess your tank is about complete with livestock. Don't fret. You seem sincere and you obviously care about the well-being of your fish. I am SURE they are leading a much better life than they were in the fish store!
Have Fun!
xo

 

[musho3210]

She doesnt have schools of them. Wich would need a 500g. She only has 2 barbs and 1 bala.

thats not the point, they need to be in schools to show all natural activity, when not kept in schools they will be skittish and shy and to me that seems like we are being cruel to them when they are not kept in at the very least groups of 3....

Has anyone here been to the Shedd Aquarium? They got a tank with a few bala sharks and they are about a foot if not more long and very thick and seemed very strong and powerful. These are big fish.