5 Clown Loaches in a 30 gallon?

[LHT]

Hey I’m starting a 30 gal community tank and would love to center it around clown loaches. I do plan on eventually getting a bigger tank as they grow, but only have the 30 gallon at the moment.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Yes you can have 5 small clown loaches in a 30gallon tank but they will need more space as they grow. However, they are pretty slow growers so if you get 2 inch long fish now, you won't need a bigger tank for a year or so.

Clown loaches are sensitive to chemicals so make sure the tank and filters have cycled before the fish are added

 

[Byron]

This is not advisable. I learned a maxim many years ago that has since then served me very well, and that is: never acquire a fish for which you do not have the largest tank up and running that they will require at maturity. There are a couple reasons for this approach.

First, our plans for a larger tank may not materialize for whatever reason. The fish is then the loser, and suffers. And, this species needs preferably an 8-foot long tank; a 6-foot can work, but if you care about the fish, 8 is preferable.

Second, fish grow, and to do this properly they need what nature intended them to have, environmentally speaking. Fish grow continually, and while a 3 inch fish in a 30g tank may seem "OK," it may not be.

Third, moving fish from one tank to another is far more unsettling than you might think. I have had several species of Botia and dwarf loaches over the years, and when I have found it necessary to move them (never because of too small a tank, but more when changing tank occupants) I have clearly observed their displeasure. Most fish do not like moving quarters, so settling a group of loaches in their permanent home will result in healthier fish throughout their lives. Which can or should bee many years.

Clown loach is a species than many of us in the hobby feel should not be regularly available except by direct order; so many are sold only to die shortly thereafter because of lack of adequate housing be it tank size or numbers. Other species of botine loaches can be much better, though a 30g tank is not going to have much space for any loaches. I don't know the base dimensions here, but even the "dwarf" species should have at minimum a 3-foot length tank. And all of them need a group, minimum five or six, as they are highly social fish and health problems will occur with fewer.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

In a 30 gallon tank I would advise you to get Kuhli Loaches as opposed to Clown Loaches. You can get Kuhli Loaches in a few different colors, including the same orange and black striped pattern like the Clown Loaches have, but they are considerably smaller. They look like little eels, growing to about 4 or 5 inches long maximum, but their bodies are only as thick as a drinking straw. A group of 6 or more of them would be very happy in a tank that size, as they are very social with each other and prefer to live in a shoal.

 

[NickAu]

As somebody who kept Clown Loaches I say no way, the tank is too small.

 

[seangee]

As somebody else who kept Clown Loaches I say no way, the tank is too small.

If its a long tank you could consider a group of dwarf chain loach.

 

[NickAu]

IMO a 6 foot long 100 gallon tank is the minimum size for Clown Loaches.

Healthy happy Clown loaches are very active and need a big tank. Water conditions are very important so is filtration.

These were my Clowns, I re housed them with a friend who had a bigger tank, Im doing a water change. The reason the water is cloudy is because of the water conditioner I use.

Every time I went near the tank they would put on a show expecting to be fed.

They are very smart and playful and love interacting with their owners especially when treats are involved.

Did I mention they need a big tank?