Clown Loaches

[Glenbo1981]

I'm about to add some to my Geophagus/Severum tank.

My LFS sells them as small (1")£5.95,Large (2")£9.99 or XL (4") £15

How many should I get and what sizes should i get? and are these decent prices?

I was planning on getting 3

 

[NaughtyT]

The more the merrier with clown loaches i have 7 ranging from 2inch to almost 7 inch and they are so much fun in a group,they do need a large tank though as they get big(slowly) and when they come out they are very active.

If you have a large enough tank i would suggest a group of 5 or more to see them at thier best,when i just had 3 they hid all the time.

 

[Glenbo1981]

Hmmm dont know if i could stock 5,although i'd like to.

My tank is 450 litres and my current stock is

2 x Severum (1 x gold,1 x green,heros severus) (2 x 10")
1 x Threadfin Geophagus/Acara (Acarichthys heckelii) (6")
1 x Geophagus brasiliensis (10")
2 x Angel Fish (1 x Koi,1 x Black,Pterophyllum scalare) (6" x 2 = 12")
1 x Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)(4")
2 x Firemouth Cichlid (cichlosoma meeki)(6" x 2)
1 x Sail fin Plec (gibbiceps) (18")
4 x Black Widow Tetras (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) (4 x 2")

 

[NaughtyT]

Yea you would be pushing it with 5 then,go with 3 and see how they go,it's also a good idea to get slightly larger ones as they are usually slightly hardier,good water conditions is a must,chances are if the water quality is poor the clowns will be the first to get ill.

 

[Glenbo1981]

OK thanks mate

Is the prices i quoted normal?

 

[NaughtyT]

Yep those prices are about average,clown loaches are slightly more expensive because most are wild caught as they can't breed in captivity.

 

[thefubar]

When i had mine, i didn't realise they needed somewhere to hide and take shelter. So they got white spot soon afterwards. Just wished someone had told me before i bought them

It won't be long before you wish you had an even bigger tank to keep more of them, i love 'em and miss 'em loads (not enough room in my 180l tank )

 

[NaughtyT]

When i had mine, i didn't realise they needed somewhere to hide and take shelter. So they got white spot soon afterwards. Just wished someone had told me before i bought them

It won't be long before you wish you had an even bigger tank to keep more of them, i love 'em and miss 'em loads (not enough room in my 180l tank )

They are fantastic fish to watch,my smaller ones got white spot just after i got them,thankfully i managed to get rid of it,when i just had a few they would hide all day and sometimes i wouldn't see them for days,now i have a largeer group they come out alot more even duruing the day.

 

[marcan]

If you can, use a quarantine tank for your new loaches.
They get whitespot easily when you move them from the LFS. It would probably be a nightmare for you to treat your 450 ltrs tank!

How are your angelfish doing with your severums? Any aggression from the severums?

 

[lily-rae]

they dont do to well with treatment i think if mine have ever had it iv turned up the heat. i think thats right anyway

 

[Jabba]

Unfortunately many Clown Loaches are doomed the minute they are sold, they are interesting fish but they are a scaleless fish and absolutely are not for a beginner, I know that some will resent my saying that but that is my opinion anyhow. You need to be so careful about the species of fish that you keep and anything that you add to the water.

Clown Loaches are mindbendingly sensitive to poor water, and my experience is that they are never really settled in small groups or smaller tanks, I had lots of problems initially with Clown Loach and had all manner of 'disease' issues including the dreaded ich, only now two years in am I really getting a grip on how they need to be kept.

Many of the diseases that my Loaches got weren't diseases that needed meds but the kind that needed the correct conditions for the fish in terms of temperature, lighting, water quality, water movement and diet, and yup the number of fish in the group really matters a lot, stressed fish are sick fish.

I have found Clown Loach to be very gregarious and social fish among themselves and the more you keep the more active they become. Unfortunately they are also a slow growing and long living fish that can get pretty big and ultimately either outgrow the tank or the enthusiasm of the keeper.

Bottom line is I don't think a group of 3 is enough and you don't really have the space for them anyway, I'd save yourself and any potential Clown Loach a lot of stress and avoid unless you are prepared to remove some of the other fish in favour of increasing the loach population - I would say 6 would be the absolute minimum - but 6 will outgrow your aquarium eventually and you may find as I did that you need to be a lot more meticulous and thorough with your maintenance.

 

[Amunet]

I wouldn't get 3 either. If you can't get a good number now, and don't plan on removing any of your current fish to add more, then I would skip getting the loaches.
And as someone else said, if you do, definitely put them in to a quarantine tank.
First look at the tank they're in VERY carefully. If ANY of the fish have ich, do not get any of them... even if the loaches look ok.