Clown Loaches...

[is300zx]

Clown Loaches do best when they're in big groups. This is what most people recommend. So if in your estimate a 90 gallont tank is good for ONE mature clown loach, then how big of tank would you need for a group of 6 or more? Also a standard 75 gallon tank and a standard 90 gallon tank have the same foot print. You've only inceased the height and not the area a larger clown loach needs.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Clown Loaches do best when they're in big groups. This is what most people recommend. So if in your estimate a 90 gallont tank is good for ONE mature clown loach, then how big of tank would you need for a group of 6 or more? Also a standard 75 gallon tank and a standard 90 gallon tank have the same foot print. You've only inceased the height and not the area a larger clown loach needs.

For a group of 6 you would obviously need a bigger tank than a 75g. I would not know what size tank to recommend because I do not have 6 mature clown loaches. I would guess that a 155g or larger would be sufficient for mature loaches that are not at maximum size. But it depends on how you care for them obviously.

And good point about the 90g not increasing actual floor space, I did not think of that. Thanks.

 

[H3D]

There is a very interesting article about stunting in the December 2006 issue of TFH for those who are interested in this subject.

 

[jm1212]

Not true, let me explain. It is more than simple math, it's real world application. If I buy a clown loach at 4 inches and place him in a 75 gallon tank. And I move him when he gets to six inches to a 90 gallon. The loach only grows to 8 or 9 inches, which is a size of maturity(correct me if i am wrong) and leaving a healthy life. I would believe this is ok. This is my logic. Not keeping a 12inch loach in a 90 gallon tank. The loach will not reach their 'average' or maximum size but will still reach adulthood and be happy(if well taken care of).

This is my logic. Most loaches will not reach 10 or 12 inches in a 90 gallon tank.

1st, why start with one tank and constantly upgrade, when you can start from the minmum 180 and save more money then you think. if you bougt a new tank every time he needed an upgrade, you'd need the 80, then the 90, and then a 110, and then a 125, and then a 150, and then you'd eventually hyave to get a 180 for him and his buddies, for clown loaches need some of their own species to flourish.
2nd, the size of maturity for a clown loach is 12 inches, and as H3D said many do not get to 12 inches because they are stunted so easily.

 

[debaric]

1st, why start with one tank and constantly upgrade, when you can start from the minmum 180 and save more money then you think. if you bougt a new tank every time he needed an upgrade, you'd need the 80, then the 90, and then a 110, and then a 125, and then a 150, and then you'd eventually hyave to get a 180 for him and his buddies, for clown loaches need some of their own species to flourish.
2nd, the size of maturity for a clown loach is 12 inches, and as H3D said many do not get to 12 inches because they are stunted so easily.

hmm, how about because a 180 weighs thousands of pounds more than MOST people can accomodate, myself included. Not to mention that you cant put a tank like that on any second floor without reinforcing the structure of the house or else the tank is going into the floor below.

As aquarists, we are in no position to talk about stunting because there is no way possible to replicate a fishes natural environment. The hobby is what it is, and more than we realize we are all stunting fish in some way.

 

[number1sixerfan]

As aquarists, we are in no position to talk about stunting because there is no way possible to replicate a fishes natural environment. The hobby is what it is, and more than we realize we are all stunting fish in some way.

This is pretty much the summarization of my whole argument. I just want the people that always suggest to get a bigger tank(to people that do not really "need" to upgrade) to realize that they are also stunting(or depriving fish of the life they would have in the wild) fish in some type of way. I'm not saying keep three clowns and a pleco in a 55g tank. I am saying that it is about being reasonable and taking everything in moderation. Whose to judge?

How about before saying that someone needs to upgrade, ask them how large the fish is and how the tank is setup. I've seen many people just post "get a bigger tank" as soon as a thread opens. Without asking any other questions or knowing anything about the situation. It just sounds snobby sometimes, but from the conversation in this thread I now understand that most of this comes from your love for aquarius.

To each his own I guess.

 

[number1sixerfan]

2nd, the size of maturity for a clown loach is 12 inches, and as H3D said many do not get to 12 inches because they are stunted so easily.

Not true, once again correct me if I am wrong, I am here to learn. Maturity means that they have the ability to reproduce, just like with human beings. So with that being said I believe that 12 inches is not the size of maturity. It is the maximum size(im sure some get bigger), because clown loaches do not need to be 12 inches to breed.

 

[wataugachicken]

if you can't accomodate a large tank (100g+) here's a hint. . . don't buy fish that will need a large tank. it's as easy as that (!).

"omg lol i live in a 5th floor walkup apartment and i can't put a big tank in there" is not an acceptable reason to keep your common pleco in a 10g, your two lonely clown loaches in a 29g, or your cute wittle bitty baby pacu in a 55g. think ahead, and nobody gets hurt.

 

[monkey_toes]

Look, it's real simple: If you want to keep fish that get too big for the size accomodations you can provide, you have two choices. You can get the fish and come up with some argument to justify shoehorning them into a too-small tank, or you can recognize that it's cruel to the fish and decide to get something else. If you don't have room for the 300-gallon tank you'd need for a school of adult clown loaches, how about a school of zebra loaches in a 55? You're trying to make yourself believe that it's somehow OK to keep these animals in less space than they require because you can't give them that much space. It's not right to put your desire to own a fish above the wellbeing of the animal. That's why I don't have an arapaima. An environment that results in a stunted animal is not a healthy environment, and if you aren't meeting that most basic requirement you are mistreating your captives.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Look, it's real simple: If you want to keep fish that get too big for the size accomodations you can provide, you have two choices. You can get the fish and come up with some argument to justify shoehorning them into a too-small tank, or you can recognize that it's cruel to the fish and decide to get something else. If you don't have room for the 300-gallon tank you'd need for a school of adult clown loaches, how about a school of zebra loaches in a 55? You're trying to make yourself believe that it's somehow OK to keep these animals in less space than they require because you can't give them that much space. It's not right to put your desire to own a fish above the wellbeing of the animal. That's why I don't have an arapaima. An environment that results in a stunted animal is not a healthy environment, and if you aren't meeting that most basic requirement you are mistreating your captives.

No offense, but who are you to say that three clown loaches will not have a quality life in a 125g? This is going right back to the beginning. It's simple: we have different views and I respect that. I believe that I do not need to have a 180g to keep loaches. People can twist my words...fine. But I never ever stated keeping loaches in anything under 55g during any part of their lives. I also stated as they get bigger they do indeed need to go into a bigger tank as they grow, however I do not believe that I have to have a 200g tank to keep them healthy and happy.

Some people just have different opinions, but you should not force them on to other people. Just my 02.