Clown Loaches with African Cichlids

[bunjiweb]

I am planning for my new tank and I just want to know would clown loaches be ok in there with various cichlids or would they be too big? Would I be better going for a synodontis catfish or something?

Ben

 

[Snuff]

From what I have read in other topics, you can do either. I just stocked my 50g with mbuna and I also got 4 clown loaches. They seem to be doing just great! I do think though, that eventually they will get too big and I will have to take them back to the lfs.

Synodontis petricola apparently are a good choice for africans. I was looking at getting those for mine, but couldn't find any.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[vantgE]

Most synos are schooling and therefore need large tanks, but the ptetricola is small, and will work in most tanks with a minimum of four of them they should only get as big as mbuna 5inches or so, nigritas and eupterus will also work they are larger but happy without schools, clown loaches work and alot of people have them, i myself am getting petricola for my tank

It's all up to prefernce and availibilty

 

[yhbae]

Out of curiosity, how do you acclimatise (sp?) Clown Loaches into a malawi tank? pH jump from 7.0 to 8.2 seem very large - even if you raise the temperature over time, the difference seem significant...

 

[vantgE]

Well it is doesn't have to be 8 7.5 will work and your lfs has aclimatized them to there water which is roughly the same as the water most people keep them in very few people actually alter there water, hard akaline water needed for mbuna is often availible as believe it will erode pipes less, being sheaper for cities, the only thing i'd do different then a normal tropical tank would be buffer in the other direction which really only make a small ph different proballt two points max, so it's at a maximim of two ph change normally

 

[yhbae]

Well it is doesn't have to be 8 7.5 will work and your lfs has aclimatized them to there water which is roughly the same as the water most people keep them in very few people actually alter there water, hard akaline water needed for mbuna is often availible as believe it will erode pipes less, being sheaper for cities, the only thing i'd do different then a normal tropical tank would be buffer in the other direction which really only make a small ph different proballt two points max, so it's at a maximim of two ph change normally

Hmmm... "Unfortuantely", my tp water is soft (less than pH7.0, KH=2) so I ended up using baking soda and epsom salts in my malawi tanks. The difference in pH is really 1.2 in my case.

Given this, how would you go about transfering the clown loach (or even albino ancistrus for that matter!)?

Appreciate some feedback!

 

[freshmike]

Get 3 clowns! In the time it takes them to out-grow the tank, you will have fallen so far into MTS that you will have a 260 to put them in. (plus more!)

 

[Snuff]

Get 3 clowns! In the time it takes them to out-grow the tank, you will have fallen so far into MTS that you will have a 260 to put them in. (plus more!)

My wife's not gonna like that, but it sounds AWESOME to me!

 

[bunjiweb]

haha, you are probably right freshmike.

How fast do they grow? The ones in my LFS are a couple of inches long at the moment.

Ben

 

[CFC]

Clown loaches with mbuna!!!!!!! That would be like keeping rabbits with rottweilers, clown loaches just dont have the aggression or armour needed to survive with nasty little african cichlids

 

[bunjiweb]

hmm getting very mixed opinions......

I guess i'll just have to do lots and lots of research as obviously the loaches wont be the first tank addition.

Ben