clown loach size?

[noelberg]

Another question for that 55 g that I'm eventually getting (hopefully around Christmas or a little sooner). I gotta have some loaches if I get that size of a tank!

How big do clown loaches get? Or should I say how big are your mature adults? I hear they usually don't get much bigger than 6 inches, but they can get bigger in the wild. I know they grow quickly, and that's ok by me.

thanks

 

[bulldog188]

no this is untrue mate.. I have seen clown loaches reach 11" when fully mature although it does take quite a few years for them to reach full size.. they are a big fish at full maturity. and they do fare better in groups of around 3 or more so to have healthy happy clowns you really need plenty of room.

Here is a pic of basil an 11" clown:

 

[Lateral Line]

They grow fast when small, but the rate of growth drops off after 6". They will, however, grow to 12"/300mm. I have heard reports of them being substantially larger, but I've never seen one bigger then that.

 

[smithrc]

our 4 clowns are 6 months old (tank time)
they were all about an inch in size when we got them. now one is about 1.5 inches 2 are about 2 inches and the big one is about 2.5. they are growing quite slowly - despite eating LOADS

 

[Feline]

wow Bulldog, Basil is rrrrreally chubby!!!

My biggest one (kept for ~9-10 months since babies) is 3 inch, another bought same time at 2.5 inch. So a 55gallon tank will be alright for them for quite a long time I think.

 

[noelberg]

wow I thought clowns like Basil were mostly found in the wild. wonder how old he is. I knew they could get fairly large, but I didn't think it was around a foot.

so i guess i can plan on them staying under 11 inches for the first year

 

[Lateral Line]

Certainly!

 

[ryan]

Well when I had my 80 gallon set-up (now in storage) I had three Clowns the biggest of which was over 10" and the smallest 8". I brought them of a private buyer at about 6" and in about 4-5years they reach that size. They are now in another display tank (I still look after) but it is at another house. None of them have grown alot and still remain at roughly the same size, my current pair are both 6" from 1-2" juveniles.

 

[smithrc]

4-5 years to grow 4-5 inches... loads of time to save up and plan a bigger tank