clown loaches

[scottsbt1690]

has anyone else had this problem with clown loaches?, everytime i buy a few they never last more than a few weeks, before dying off,

i have other loaches like a skunk, and a green tiger etc, and they are thriving , but with clown loaches i dunno what i am doing wrong, they are one of my favourite fish too!!!, maybe they were too small the last time, and i need to buy a few inches bigger

scott

 

[snowyangel]

For me too. The last 3 i bought all got ich within days and died. Havent bought any since.

 

[LoachLover]

I've been keeping loaches for years, my first loach was a clown loach. He is still healthy and swimming around in my tank. I've only had one clown loach ever die on me and it wasn't because of ich, it was because of a certain little cousin that decided to drop a bar of soap in my loach tank thankfully everybody lived except for one clown loach.

 

[WILDER]

How big are your tanks.

 

[LoachLover]

How big are your tanks.

Yeah, how big is your tanks?

 

[G_Sharky]

Avoid getting clown loaches that are under 3 inches...the smaller they are the more proned they are to diseases especially ich and bad water parameters....I had small clown loaches before and they died off and i never had clown loaches until recently.....I have 3 now that are about 3-4 inches big and they are thriving and playing around the tank all the time....my cichlids don't even bother with them.....lol....my advice is to make sure the clown loaches that you buy is healthy, I have a privileage in working on an LFS and as soon as we got big clown loaches, I put the ones that I want on a separate tank and didn't buy it until a month or so.....BTW the smaller clown loaches that we sell don't last and do good as well as the bigger clown loaches that we have....so bigger the better.....

 

[LoachLover]

Bigger usually means they are higher on the dominance pole so they eat more, and they are generally healthier.

 

[bettaninja]

I saw some really really small ones in my lfs on the weekend. Never seen them that small, about 3/4 of an inch. They looked so cute. Had to resist the impulse to buy them because I've only started building up my tank stock and want to add them last.

I was hoping on getting them that small because I want to see them grow up but from this thread it seems that the bigger the better.

 

[RamJet]

The only problem I have ever had with clown loaches is they like to bail out of the tank. My last pair I had for 5 years in a 29 U.S. gallon.

 

[LoachLover]

I saw some really really small ones in my lfs on the weekend. Never seen them that small, about 3/4 of an inch. They looked so cute. Had to resist the impulse to buy them because I've only started building up my tank stock and want to add them last.

I was hoping on getting them that small because I want to see them grow up but from this thread it seems that the bigger the better.

Well you CAN buy them and raise them, it's just harder to do.

 

[Hooligan]

I have always found it easier to keep small ones.

By small I mean 1-11/2 inches.

But many people have said that smaller ones are harder.

So I'm confused as well.

 

[LoachLover]

I have always found it easier to keep small ones.

By small I mean 1-11/2 inches.

But many people have said that smaller ones are harder.

So I'm confused as well.

The smaller ones aren't as hardy usually.

 

[LKravitzDO]

What would be the optimal temp. to prevent ICH outbreak, especially when having the small ones? Bought 3 sub 1 inch clowns (they are so freakin cute and the colors much more vibrant then the bigger ones for sale at lfs) , they are very active and having a great time in the tank so far, noones hiding etc... Only had them ~24 hrs so I'm afraid of an outbreak since everyone says the little ones are so difficult..

 

[Yenko]

Clown Loaches like higher temperatures than most aquarium fish. If you have a species tank then the water should be 80-82 F; but there's no problems with keeping them at 75 F. They just have a higher chance of ich if the water's cooler. Generally to introduce clowns you should increase the water temperature; your other fish will tolerate it for a few days.

 

[red-devil0602]

i bought 2 clown loaches that died within a few days so i waited a month and bought another one but treated the tank with anti white spot about an hour before i bought him and now he's 5" long and beautiful.