Planning On Getting Clownloaches And Overstocking Question

[pernjie]

hi ive red alot about these fishes and i wanted to get a couple in my tank, right now i have a 36 gallon bowfront corner tank fully cycled no ammonia ph of around 7.8+ my chart only goes to 7.8 highest x_x, the fishes in the tank used to be a small arrowana but now hes in a better tank a female flowerhorn also in a different tank and right now a jack dempsey 2-3 inches that just hides all day in a cave,i wanted to add fishes to help the jackdempsey be more happier and make him feel more safe with fishes swimming around,so i want to add clown loaches i know the tank is too small atm but pretty soon ill be upgrading it to a 180 or a 265 gallon tank with arrowana, after i move out in about 2-3 months,

how many clown loaches would be good amount to get?is 2 alright cause i red this

"Clown Loaches are one of the most popular aquarium fishes, undoubtedly because of their colouration and lively personalities. A clown loach seldom swims alone and when they are alone in an aquarium their growth is stunted, they are more susceptible to clown loach diseases and they die young. If you put a clown loach together with at least 4 other clown loaches they begin to thrive. On this website you will find general information about clown loaches, what they eat, preferred water conditions, which diseases affect them, etc.."

what im planning to do with my 36 gallon for now is adding around 3-4 clown loaches, 1 jack dempsey, and maybe 1 or 2 oscars, ill all be transferring them soon to a much bigger tank in about 4 months,
will i be overstocked or will it be alright for a few months? if itll be overstocked whats a good option to have?

and any clown loach keepers i would really like some advice on clownloaches my setup for the 36 gallon tank right now is silica sand i know theyll like it or do i need finer sand like pool sand?and i just have 1 long plant and 1 hiding spot where the jackdempsey is always,.ill be adding some terra cotta pots for more hiding spots and if i can maybe a piece of wood in the middle of the tank,.
ill post some pictures of the tank as soon as i get some batteries for my camera lol,.

 

[uGlitch]

Do a bit more research. They grow up to 12" and isn't suitable for many aquariums.
Here is a link to some info on the forum:
Clown loach

 

[pernjie]

Do a bit more research. They grow up to 12" and isn't suitable for many aquariums.
Here is a link to some info on the forum:
Clown loach

yeah i know they get around 12 inches same with the other fishes im planning to get thats why ill be transferring them into a 180/265 gallon tank,.and itll be in a couple of months when i get the new fish tank and a few months before i set it up,.so for now all i wanna know is will it be overstocked?or will it be good enough for now for a couple of months and what are some good other options,.

please read the whole post first,.i already did alot of research on them thats why im also asking whats a good amount to get to keep them happy,.

i really wanna get them soon cause they RARELY get it in my LFS and when they do they are always sold out,.

 

[Wills]

Just replied to your other thread but worth putting in here.

If you want to mix clown loaches with oscars you need to get young oscars and near adult clown loaches as the oscars grow very fast - about an inch or more per month - and clown loaches take years to get any size on them at all! So what happens is the oscar grows faster then eats the loaches.

If your planning to do this theres not much we can do to stop it but basically just remember how quick oscars grow and what they are like in small spaces. - if you do this now my prediction is that you will get the new tank in 4 months and you will be left with 1 four in oscar who ate the other tank mates.

Wills

 

[onebto]

Wills and Uglitch are giving you good advise.

Personally I have none of the other fish so have not researched there requirements or natures that I will leave to you. However I do have Clown loach and know a little about them from my studies of this absolutely fantastic loach.

Personally I think they should be in an absolute minimum of 5 I know many have kept pairs and so on and they have been fine But i will say they are a very social fish they really do need there own kind and kept in small numbers is not the way they should be kept also when you see 10 plus together they are completely different to a couple of Clown loach together.

They require specific water conditions and I do not know if they are the same as the other fish you are intending to put with them I will leave you to study that.

BUT! your issue is as Wills pointed out to you about the Oscar and the clown loach being food for it even juvenile Clown loach are not the cheapest of Tropical fish.

The tank is a bit small for a reasonable number of very small Clown loach Physically I would recommend you wait and show some patients for your new tank and while you are waiting give it some thought to which species you really want to keep I would recommend Clown loach but that's me Another recommendation is switch you allegiance to another fish store as Clown loach are very common well they are here in the UK and a shop that only has them in on a rare occasion well its just amusing to me but I am sure my local shops have a species rarely that others have all the time.

Finally your 36 gallon what sort of filter do you have? as Clowns need clean water well all fish need it I do believe that Oscars are quite dirty fish and a small internal probably would not deal with one or the other but if you have a hefty external canister or two hooked up then forget what I said on this bit.

But I would definitely recommend you Make your mind up for one species or the other.

If you want to do some more study on Clown loach This is a good page to add to the fish index in this forum : http/www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus

Regards onebto.

 

[pernjie]

im not really an expert on filters so i dont know what kind i have right now on my 36 gallon since i just got the whole tank and accesorys from a friend but here are some pictures of the filter along with the 36 gallon tank,.





dont mind that arrowana hes in a much bigger tank now and more happy,.

right now its just a small jackdempsey hiding away all day in that wooden cave as you could see him peeking out,.
can i add a few loches into the tank right now?but yeah maybe ill just wait for now im just that type that always gets excited and cant wait and for the species i prefer i want the ones with a very fun personality that helps you stay calm and happy like my green spotted puffer that i had for a while i could always tell when he was happy or not,.

 

[onebto]

Looks like a Juwel Trigon 190 to me without the internal filter, but I could be wrong.

Is the filter underneath in the cabinet?

I would recommend you wait for the larger tank before getting Clown loach but if you do get some small juveniles please get a minimum of 5 and if you do get some you will need more caves and cover but please only do it if your definitely going to have a bigger tank for them.

If you do seriously consider 50% water changes weekly and reading up on the species: http/www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus

Regards onebto

 

[pernjie]

its a hang on filter it works pretty good making a good current in the tank, im trying to look for some terra cotta pots to add into the fish tank along with my flowerhorns checked a couple of stores but cant find any terra cotta ones, so i might just add some artificial wood/decorations with some hiding spots maybe a couple of artificial plants to make some small hiding spots.cause i have alot leftover or some drift wood,is mabinogi wood safe for a aquariums thats the only realy wood they had in petco.,

the juvenile clowns are about 1-1.5in in the lfs,.

 

[onebto]

A filters capability to make a pretty good flow in the tank is not what its all about. Its about the volume and capability's of biological and mechanical filtration.

Do you know how many litres an hour it runs at? has it got a manufactures name and model number on it? Be honest I have only been in the hobby for a couple of years and am only aware of internal, external, under gravel filters and sumps I have never seen a hang on the side Filter.

The flow into the tank is all about surface agitation which is the main source of Oxygenating your tank which is the important thing as this allows your fish to breath.

I would get a decent test kit like the API freshwater, master test kit very good prices on ebay and monitor the water daily to start and if that filter has insufficient volume then you will either need to do regular large water changes ALL THE TIME! or get an external canister filter.

But I would still recommend you wait till you get the big tank and hen get the Clowns that's if your not going to put them in with an Oscar, but that's just me.

Regards onebto

 

[pernjie]

i just did some searching for what kind of filter i have for my 36 gallon tank and its a 'Whisper Power Aquarium Filter 60 Gallon 25775' or 'Whisper ex70 Power Filter' and its specifications are

For Aquariums up to 70 gallons
330-340 gph
Requires 2 large size Whisper Filter Cartridges

is that good for what i have??

 

[Carlovel1]

Hold on a second!
Is that an Arowana I can see in your 36 gallon tank?

 

[fluttermoth]

Hold on a second!
Is that an Arowana I can see in your 36 gallon tank?

He's already re-homed the arowana, Carlovel!

 

[Carlovel1]