Clown Loach

[Blaine]

How many of these can you keep together

 

[Fish_mouth]

Its best to get four or more as they are social fish

 

[scotslasszoe]

Hi depends on the size of tank you want to keep them in. If i am right Clowns are social fish and like to be in groups of 3 or more.

I have 2 in my 4 ft tank will be upgrading tanks soon though.

whats size of tank do you have?

Zoe

 

[Blaine]

3foot at the moment but i am up grading within the next few months shouldnt grow to much though should they

we aquired one last night and he seems lonely

 

[brayer]

I have 2 in my 350L tank and they seem very happy always following each other around, great characters

 

[scotslasszoe]

Yea dont think they are fast growers.

If i were u i would get another one to keep him company. My 2 always stick with each other.

Zoe

 

[AJGray]

champion think ill get him a friend

going to fish shop today coz we are getting our friend a weather loach or two to go with her goldfish hehe

 

[scotslasszoe]

cool. Have fun. I am just in prcess of setting another tank up

Would rather be fishing lol

Zoe

 

[Lateral Line]

Most Botias in good conditions grow quite quickly to about half size then slow down, the last mm coming very very slowly. Since Clown Loaches grow to 300mm/12" or more, you should expect a rapid growth to about 150mm/6", then a slowing down. Botias are sociable, and are best kept in groups of at least 3.

 

[mikev]

If the question was "how many CAN I keep", the answer is really "as many as fits in your tank". Clowns are very social and the larger is the shoal, the better it is for them.
The same applies to other Botias to various degrees. For example, I keep a shoal of 13 Kubs right now (2 more live with the clowns until I have the energy to catch them), and they appear much happier together than when they were in separate tanks.

3 foot tank will not be enough at some point...when the fish reaches 3"-4" it is better to give them a larger tank. 6' is really the smallest size for subadults.

And as for the minimum number: my feeling it is really 5 for the clowns. In all cases, a shoal of fewer than 3 should not be kept other than in a quarantine tank for a limited time.

hth

PS. Per growth rate: for clowns specifically, the rapid growth period described by LL means about 1"/year. Could be faster in good conditions. So if you have 1" clowns now, figure you must have a larger tank in 3-4 years.