Would it be safe to place three clown loaches of varying size together in a 35 gallon tank? Thanks!
Clown Loaches
- Thread starter clstewart
- Start date
Do you already own a larger tank or 'plan' to? The reason I ask is because the difference of commitment between 'planning to own' and 'actually owning' a large tank is vast.
For growout, I wouldn't keep clowns in anything smaller than a 55g, but larger is always better.
The key to seeing fastest growth possible is varied food and lots of water changes.
24hr drip systems (filtration setup where water is constantly being replaced albeit at a slow steady rate) will make clowns grow faster than you might've thought possible.
For growout, I wouldn't keep clowns in anything smaller than a 55g, but larger is always better.
The key to seeing fastest growth possible is varied food and lots of water changes.
24hr drip systems (filtration setup where water is constantly being replaced albeit at a slow steady rate) will make clowns grow faster than you might've thought possible.
Thanks for your resonse, My fiance and I are planning to get a much larger tank within the next two months, most likely 65-100g.
My current situation is that I have two loaches, one is 3 inches long, the other is 2 inches long. The larger loach seems to bully the smaller one sometimes, yet they are also together most of the time. I've got another loach (approx 1.5 inches) in another tank with three cories, he seems to be doing well however I am wondering if it would be better to place all of the loaches together. My fear is that the larger ones will be aggressive toward the smaller one.
My current situation is that I have two loaches, one is 3 inches long, the other is 2 inches long. The larger loach seems to bully the smaller one sometimes, yet they are also together most of the time. I've got another loach (approx 1.5 inches) in another tank with three cories, he seems to be doing well however I am wondering if it would be better to place all of the loaches together. My fear is that the larger ones will be aggressive toward the smaller one.
Yes you should keep all of them together, no matter what the size difference.
The bullying you're observing is nothing to worry about. It's normal clown loach behavior, especially in juvies.
What they're doing is trying to establish a pecking order (which always boils down to size... the biggest loach is the dominant loach of the group).
You'll notice that after a while, the bullying will stop, and the larger loach's black bands may fade to a greyish color (a display of dominance in Chromobotia macracantha society).
As time passes and they get older, the other loaches may challenge the dominant one and you will see them cicrcling each other and arching their backs while smacking each other, or even biting each other's mouths similar to what cichlids do when having a dispute.
It looks a lot worse than it really is.
The bullying you're observing is nothing to worry about. It's normal clown loach behavior, especially in juvies.
What they're doing is trying to establish a pecking order (which always boils down to size... the biggest loach is the dominant loach of the group).
You'll notice that after a while, the bullying will stop, and the larger loach's black bands may fade to a greyish color (a display of dominance in Chromobotia macracantha society).
As time passes and they get older, the other loaches may challenge the dominant one and you will see them cicrcling each other and arching their backs while smacking each other, or even biting each other's mouths similar to what cichlids do when having a dispute.
It looks a lot worse than it really is.
Please read this for proper clown loach care:
http://www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus
http://www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus
