Clown Loach

[The-Raven]

How large would a loach in a 30g tank grow to if the tank is populated just right?

Most people I've talked to say theirs have pretty much held at 6-8 inches... And most internet sites I find say they can grow to a foot, but in captivity rarely ever do.

So what is your experience?

 

[Mr Miagi]

I think its better to have stocking levels low, s if fish do grow, you can house them without stressing over getting a larger tank.

For clowns, they need to be in agroup of 3+, so a 30 gallon wouldnt do. At my lfs they are HUGE, easy 30cms plus some, but mine never reached over 10cm's in the short time i had them.

 

[The-Raven]

I think its better to have stocking levels low, s if fish do grow, you can house them without stressing over getting a larger tank.

For clowns, they need to be in agroup of 3+, so a 30 gallon wouldnt do. At my lfs they are HUGE, easy 30cms plus some, but mine never reached over 10cm's in the short time i had them.

What happened to yours? Yours only reached 4 inches... which would be a nice size if you ask me

 

[Mr Miagi]

They were very nice size Raven, but sadly they got ich. My tank was too small for 3 so i would have passed them back to my lfs shortly after there deaths probably anyways..

They are great characters, grow quite quickly, (i under estimated that ) and are beautiful, but you need quite a large tank to give them proper living conditions.

 

[The-Raven]

They were very nice size Raven, but sadly they got ich. My tank was too small for 3 so i would have passed them back to my lfs shortly after there deaths probably anyways..

They are great characters, grow quite quickly, (i under estimated that ) and are beautiful, but you need quite a large tank to give them proper living conditions.

I know it's true in other fish that the smaller the tank, the less it grows... I don't imagine that the loach would grow any larger than nature would allow in a 30g tank... Goldfish can grow up to 16 inches but I don't see people warning about their size, because in a small tank, they stay small.

One of the LFS employees here is quite knowledgeable about fish, much to my surprise. The only thing we disagreed on was which product would be best to treat ich. But otherwise I trust her... and she pointed to a pleco about 4" and she said this is probably, give or take an inch, how large the loach would grow to in my tank.

I don't think the loach will be depressed all the time or anything for having such a 'small' tank... a 30gal isn't small (well, compared to the hundred gallons some of you have...)... Maybe lonely - but since the things are in such high demand, and thus expensive, I'm not going to invest in 3 right off the bat... especially since I'm just starting up a new tank and I don't want to rush populating.

 

[Mr Miagi]

No, dont rush populating, but you could try another bottum dweller or another loach. Im not that good with names and sizes of alot of loach, so start a thread askin for smaller loaches to go in your tank in the loaches section. They ll come up with some great ideas

 

[Discomafia]

Don't even waste your time getting one if you aren't upgrading in the future. They get up to a foot, and a 29G is not enough... 75G minimum for a school of 5 or 6, IMO. And what you are doing is stunting your fish. Do some research into what that is. Lot of info on TTF about this. PT has a thread in Chit Chat about dispelling such myths, please read that. Fish do not grow to the size of their tanks. Realise that and provide the fish the space it needs.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=71869

 

[The-Raven]

Don't even waste your time getting one if you aren't upgrading in the future. They get up to a foot, and a 29G is not enough... 75G minimum for a school of 5 or 6, IMO. And what you are doing is stunting your fish. Do some research into what that is. Lot of info on TTF about this. PT has a thread in Chit Chat about dispelling such myths, please read that. Fish do not grow to the size of their tanks. Realise that and provide the fish the space it needs.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=71869

According to that thread, nobody has yet to proof whether stunting exists...



But I did do a little more poking around, and after reading this thread:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=80119
Where they state that it takes YEARS to get to max aquarium size (8 inches). The original poster had one for almost 3 years and it's only 3.5 inches... And apparently it's one of the slowest growing fish in the world. I'll be buying it when it's only 1-1.5 inches long... and where I'll be in 3-4 years, who knows...

 

[FrAnK3333]

Clown loaches can live in a 30 gallon, when small. They CANT live in the 30 for their whole life. Clowns need a 75 gallon when older, plus they get usually to 8 inches, 6 inches is a little small< but you have to remeber they can get to 12 inches. Clowns can live for 20+ years so if you want them to reach it get a bigger tank for them. Reading what you have said, dont get them unless your getting a bigger tank this year or so. I have clown loaches and I come from experence. Mine are going to a larger tank later this year, making 1 year in a 20 long and their only 1 inch, Ive only had them for 6 months.
If you want loaches go for a smaller type, for instance orange finned loaches. Clown loaches can not live in a 30 gallon for 4 years, not even a year and a half. And stunting does happen, using the logic. If it doesnt why cant a shovel nose catfish live in a 30 gallon? Or larger cichlids like an oscar? They cant......

 

[Lateral Line]

I think part of the "stunting" debate is that growing fish have an active metabolism. To grow, they eat and produce waste products. In nature, they live in open systems, in a tank, they do not.

Fish kept in small tanks where the conditions are kept optimal, (very frequent, very large water changes), DO grow big, and why shouldn't they? They are genetically programmed to do so.

What happens in a typical small tank is that the water conditions are rarely optimal, the fish are swimming in an increasingly polluted closed system. Rather then eating and letting their bodies produce more fish, their bodies are struggling to maintain their electrolyte balance. Instead of producing more body, they are biochemically struggling to stay alive.

Sooner or later, dealing with the excess loading placed on the kidney, (for example, although it is often the kidney that gives out first), causes it to fail, quickly killing the fish.

Hence, "mine never grew to more then 4", had him for a couple of years before he died".

 

[FrAnK3333]

Well said. Expect raven went and bought 1. Against all the advice here. Sad.........poor little guy. If you want loaches go with a smaller species that can live the full life, not a clown loach that will live not even close to 1/5 of what it is expected to.

 

[LoachLover]

you need at least a 55 gallon tank to have clown loaches, and even then you'll have to upgrade probably. They need to be in groups of 4 too.

 

[Teelie]

Clowns do take a while to grow and provided you are willing to upgrade their tank in 2-3 years, four in a 30 should not be a problem. The problem is when people buy Clowns for a 30 then never upgrade to anything larger or sell the fish to an LFS.

 

[LoachLover]

Clowns do take a while to grow and provided you are willing to upgrade their tank in 2-3 years, four in a 30 should not be a problem. The problem is when people buy Clowns for a 30 then never upgrade to anything larger or sell the fish to an LFS.

4 in a 30 doesn't seem wise to me. Most likely when he buys them they will be 2 - 3 inches and will probably grow pretty fast up to 6 inches.

 

[Teelie]

Their growth rate tends to top off quickly at 4 inches I thnik the real issue is knowing when to upgrade to prevent stunting the fish more than their out growing the tank too quickly. Almost every site agrees on their slower growth but not everyone agrees on just when their high and slow paced growth spurts are.