New Clown Loaches

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owenodin

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May 17, 2011
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Purchased 4 clown loaches today... couldn't pass up the sale and have been wanting to start a clown loach tank for a while.

As they had just come into the store today, the owner strongly recommended quarantining them for 2 weeks before adding to my tank. I have them in a 10G right now with a couple caves for them and with 3 zebra danios as dither fish.

My regular tank is a 20G long, stocked with a school of 10 harlequin rasboras and a timid pictus catfish of about 4" that more often runs away from the rasboras than considers eating them (so that's not a problem). It has an aquaclear 30.

I'm planning on putting the clowns in the 20G long, and I know that's not enough space for them long-term. I'm just curious what the experts here think is too long to keep them in the 20. They are about 1.5-2" long at present. I'm hoping to keep them in the 20G long for about 6 months while I put aside some money / make space for either a 40G long or a 55.

Thoughts? Also, what does everyone feed their clowns? Right now I am giving them the Hikari frozen bloodworms and they are eating (yay!) but I want to vary their diet.

Thanks in advance all!
 

Rbishop

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They are slow growers..your plan will work but you may not observe their complete normal behavior until you increase the group size and give them a 6 ft long tank.
 

fishorama

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I wouldn't keep them in the 20g for more than 2-3 months. At least a 4ft tank is needed to keep from stunting their growth, a 75g or 90g would be much better than a 55g but they eventually need a 6 x 2 x 2. You'll have a couple years, they grow fairly fast to 4 inches then slow down a bit. Keep an eye on Craigslist or Petco is having their $1/gal tank sale. But if a 4ft tank is your biggest option, smaller loaches would be much better than clowns. Kubotai, histrionica, striata, sids are better choices, yoyos are a bit big at 6 inches in a 55g but still better than potentially 12in clowns. I know the pretty clowns are hard to resist.

None of my loaches is fussy about foods; pellets, flake, tablets & some veggies like romaine & zucchini & several frozen types are what mine get on a rotating basis. Young fish like yours should be fed at least a couple times a day IF you can keep their water clean (under 20ppm nitrates is good).
 

owenodin

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May 17, 2011
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Northeast
Thank you both.

The nitrates in the 20 long have been kept below 10 ppm... but once the loaches get in there, we'll see if I am able to maintain it below 20. I imagine it won't be a problem, I'm pretty good with water changes. I usually change 4 gallons twice a week in that tank.

I feed my otos zucchini so that will work for the clowns too. I'll put a piece in there later and see if they are interested.
 

fabsroman

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Sep 30, 2008
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A 40 or 55 will not be enough for that many clowns. Plus, the optimum group size is 6+. I have one that is 5 years old and he is about 6 inches in a 75 gallon. He has been kept in the 75 gallon his entire life. Initially, I bought 6 of them, but he is the only survivor. I had a huge die off several years ago (wrote a thread on here about it). Ultimately, I am planning on getting a 300 for the clown loaches and some discus, but I will have to check out their compatibility and water requirements. They might not go well together.
 

owenodin

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May 17, 2011
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Northeast
Update, so far all is well in the new 20G long baby clown tank. They are eating well and I am rotating foods between shrimp pellets, algae wafers, zucchini, and frozen bloodworms.

One more question: Do I need to (or should I) get a powerhead for the tank for the clowns? Or will they be happy without it? They seem to be fairly happy and they aren't hiding much.

If so, could someone recommend a good and quiet one for the 20G long?

Thoughts?
 
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