Clown Loach growth rate?

[enricosonic]

I find it interesting how they feed, they seem genetically built to be bottom feeders, and while they’ll also skim leaves and rocks and driftwood, they regularly swim upside down at the water’s surface too, to snatch flakes, pellets, dried worms, etc. They’ll swim and position themselves in any way it takes.

So why the slow growth?

 

[GaryE]

I've seen clown loaches get very big over say ten years - but the water was pristine and moved. In plumbed tanks with sumps they grow a lot faster, though that's relative. It would be interesting to measure growth if you started them in an 8 foot tank with quality filtration.

Kissing gouramies move to market from fry size (and I mean full size for food) in a year. They eat enormous amounts of food and grow really fast in their home waters, where they're pond raised for eating and quick harvest. They're fed high fibre plant-based food there, including compost and manure. We probably starve them to a degree. I suspect it's the goldfish effect, where they would poop their tankmates to death if they got as much food as they want.

 

[anewbie]

I've had mine for 3 years now - they started in the 1.5 inch range with the largest now around 6+ inches - one seems to be a runt or is growing slower and is around 4 iinches and one is a bit newer so needs a bit of time to catch up (I have 6 in a 120) sadly mine don't really come out much during the day to play. Next year i'll move and put them in a 400 gallon tank and add 4 more. Not sure what else to put n there - maybe some kissing gourami or angels. There is a thread somewhere on another forum for proper diet for raising discus with beef heart mentioned as just awful for them and pretty much any other fish. I should find the video they used - they mentioned egg yokes as being really good and use it in some kind of blended diet - the yoke has the advantage of getting vbetter over time so he can stick it to the glass (not just the yoke but the gel he mixes up) and let the young discus feed all day long.
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Anyway i hope when i increase my loach count to 10 they spend more time out - mostly they just come out in the morning when i feed the angles and at night when i'm asleep.
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I have an odd situation in the 120 - i had some krib frys and rather than flush them they ended up in the 120 - i was able to remove all the males and ended up with 4 females - but 2 of the females paired up after a 18 months and they are creating issues. They took a ceramic cave but luckily one of the larger clown loaches decided to nap in it and it drives them crazy because they don't know what to do with him. They can't talk him into leaving or even noticing them.

 

[Stan510]

75 gallons wont stunt them at all unless you keep it too crowded. That would be true for a 7,500 gallon aquarium if packed with fish.
I saw Clown Loaches that size for $35 each. Mine are over the 4" mark and at that rate would be $75 dollar fish. Each.
They really are great in every way,easy care,very majestic looking I think and live as long as you for the most part.
I have a Queen Botia that I bought so small,I thought its full size would be 3"..and now that she's 6" I wonder how much larger she will get?

 

[Stan510]

Clown Loaches in a 400 gallon sounds great. My suggestions for tankmates in that? Tinfoil Barbs- the ones with red fins,black boarders and a gun metal silver body. Freshwater Archerfish,Rainbowfish, Red Tail Shark- or a few to spread out their kind of aggression. Gouramis. Danio's and related.
Avoid Discus. lol.

 

[anewbie]

Clown Loaches in a 400 gallon sounds great. My suggestions for tankmates in that? Tinfoil Barbs- the ones with red fins,black boarders and a gun metal silver body. Freshwater Archerfish,Rainbowfish, Red Tail Shark- or a few to spread out their kind of aggression. Gouramis. Danio's and related.
Avoid Discus. lol.

I think i prefer sa fishes so probably will with serpae tetra - kissing gouramis might be an option or maybe pearl gourami. for the bottom i will skip the shark - too aggresisve but might go with a few interesting pleco - blue phantom, gold nugget, L204 (flash pleco), L397 maybe though those i might want to put into a breeding tank. Not sure what to put int he middle - I'm wathcing this female krib she keeps picking at the clown loach and i'm waiting for him to get pissed and fight back - i tell you these clown loaches are really passive.

 

[jams]

It may have been mentioned on other threads, but... Clown Loach playing opossum
Last night looked over at the tank and there was a Clown laying almost upside down, not moving at all. Got up to check and still no movement. My first thought was "Oh! No". About 30 seconds watching and then it swam away. Geez! LOL

 

[Stan510]

They do that. Sometimes its so convincing i think it MIGHT be really dead...and then it scuttles away as I get close to the glass.
I have three..and I might just stick with the trio- I would think it would make them grow faster and larger sooner. They are great pals..look out for each other and the tail slapping of each other causes no harm- never seen one try to bite the other. The three in the mornings like to go back and forth along the front glass as fast as they can cover 8'. By the time they are done I figure they've covered a football field in length. They love caves too. I have two I made at a pottery class many years ago. Others made pots,I was making hollow tree logs. You can get a pot anywhere..but a hollow tree log for fish? ya gotta make it!

 

[anewbie]

I wish i knew what makes them come out and play. This afternoon 5 of the 6 (one of them has always been a bit of an odd ball) came out and played for 3 or 4 hours - but i have no idea what triggered the behavior. The only thing i did different was last night i added 10 cherry barbs but they weren't interacting with them.

 

[Stan510]

You hit the nail on the head newbee. The way to make shy fish show? You keep active fish that are also totality safe with the loaches. The Clowns see that it's ok to be seen.

 

[anewbie]

I have angels, cherry barbs and cardinals in there but they don't seem to help the clown shyness I will say that sometime (not always) if i make changes to the tank like a large water change or put in leaf extract they get excited and come out to see what is happening for a few hours then go away again. Right now the biggest pia in the tank is a couple of female kribs that have paired up and claimed a corner. I can catch one easily but not the second and i don't have the heart to remove one without the other (I have 4 in the tank - they were frys that escaped me when i was taking them to the lfs so i dumped them into 120 and now 2 years later they are quite mature adults. I'm quite amazed they managed to talk my 6 inch clown loach into abandoning his cave - i kept expect him to spear them and that would be the end of it.

 

[Stan510]

Clown Loaches are not exactly extroverts..but can come close to that. Other than active peaceful tankmates one way to relax them is with fake hollow logs or whatever looks like that.

 

[anewbie]

Clown Loaches are not exactly extroverts..but can come close to that. Other than active peaceful tankmates one way to relax them is with fake hollow logs or whatever looks like that.

Yea they have caves - which they spend all day sleeping in

I was thinking if i removed their caves they might spend more time out in the open... Also when i increase the number from 6 to 10 next year htat might help.
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one of them is actually pretty friendly and usually out - it is one of the smaller one - and one of them is super shy and even when the other 5 are glass surfing it will usually stay hidden till night. Occasionally if i feed them a treat or something i see it.

 

[Stan510]

Just reading the posts makes me wish I had just bought in numbers Boesmans rainbows (8) and the loaches- more than just three. Both have that trouble free aura. I have not added fish...but a few other types of fish have died in the near four years and never bought any new fish. The result? What I have are reaching bigger sizes faster and yet the aquarium load is less. Boses get to INSANE sizes ( joke) when not crowded and given plenty of room and...food..

 

[ClownLurch]

I love em but unfortunately don’t have the room for a 6’ or so tank. Land the lottery and a big house with a fish room will soon sort that problem but until then….