What Are Suitable Tank Mates For 3 Clown Loaches?

[k2snowboards88]

Right now i have 3 clown loaches that are about 4 inches long in a 75 gallon tank. Its well decorated with several hiding spots. I was thinking of adding 6 cardinal tetras. Is this a good idea? I would get mature large tetras and i think they would be too big to be eaten. If not the cardinals, then are there any other smallish schooling fish fish i could add? I'm open to other suggestions as well.


ps. I've tried searching on google and all i could find were fish that shouldn't go with clown loaches and then some very conflicting information. I wasn't able to find a list or any suggestions of fish that would go well with them that seemed informed.

 

[mikev]

Two more clown loaches first... you really need 5+ for a proper shoal.

As for the dither, I'd go for 2"-3" fish (same size as the clowns or a bit smaller) and consider danios or rainbows first. IME, Giant Danios are the best dither, but if you would like something fancier, large rainbows (Melanotaenia, Glossolepis) would work ok too. Barbs is yet another option.

 

[loachman]

Two more clown loaches first... you really need 5+ for a proper shoal.

As for the dither, I'd go for 2"-3" fish (same size as the clowns or a bit smaller) and consider danios or rainbows first. IME, Giant Danios are the best dither, but if you would like something fancier, large rainbows (Melanotaenia, Glossolepis) would work ok too. Barbs is yet another option.

Yeah, a lot of people suggest danios or barbs. For most species, they're from roughly the same area.

Rainbowfish are also a common recommendation. Some of the medium sized tetra species can work too (congo tetras perhaps?).

 

[k2snowboards88]

I like the giant danios, but don't they like cooler water than the clown loaches. I am reading that the loaches like their water 78-82 degrees and the danios like it 70-75. Is this correct?

Also, what fish live with the loaches in the wild(that the loaches would get along with of course)?

I should add that the tank has a slight to moderate current for the loaches so whatever I get has to be happy with that.

 

[Rouen]

I keep rasboras with mine, the harlequins are about the same size as a cardinal tetra, my loaches are bigger than yours and they're fine together.
ETA: I also have a shoal of pygmy corydoras that are smaller than the rasboras and again they are fine.

 

[mikev]

I like the giant danios, but don't they like cooler water than the clown loaches. I am reading that the loaches like their water 78-82 degrees and the danios like it 70-75. Is this correct?

Correct, but not a real problem. Upper limit for Devario malabaricus per fishbase is 77. A couple of degrees higher would not make much of a difference.... The lower limit for clown loaches, incidentally, is the same 77, so you can run it at 77 or perhaps better a bit higher.

Danios will enjoy the flow too, btw.

If the loaches are your primary interest, the great thing about Giant Danios is that they don't create problems and are about the hardiest fish one can find, so you don't have to worry about them much. And in the worst case, they are easily replaceable.

 

[k2snowboards88]

I've decided that I'm going to get 6 giant danios and set the temp to 78. Than you for all your help. I do feel like I should have one unique fish. How about a german blue ram?

 

[mikev]

You are welcome.

Keep in mind that Giant Danios are not one species, but at least two. D.malabaricus are the ones I keep, they are slightly smaller but have orange fins and IMHO are more attractive. Devario aequipinnatus are the more common species, with transparent fins.

Having a unique fish is a fine idea..not so sure about the Ram being a good choice.

I wonder if a pair of Mogundra Mogundra's would work in a Clown/GD setup... off hand, I see no reasons why not, and this would be a really interesting tank.

And you can have a pleco too.

 

[k2snowboards88]

You are welcome.

Keep in mind that Giant Danios are not one species, but at least two. D.malabaricus are the ones I keep, they are slightly smaller but have orange fins and IMHO are more attractive. Devario aequipinnatus are the more common species, with transparent fins.

Having a unique fish is a fine idea..not so sure about the Ram being a good choice.

I wonder if a pair of Mogundra Mogundra's would work in a Clown/GD setup... off hand, I see no reasons why not, and this would be a really interesting tank.

And you can have a pleco too.

What are mogundras? Google doesn't find anything? How hard are these orange fin giant danios to find?

 

[mikev]

That is because I misspelled, try Mogurnda mogurnda instead.

As for orange-finned: check a few places that sell GD's, maybe you'll see them. I see them once every few months. If you don't see them, it is not a huge difference, take whatever is available.

 

[k2snowboards88]

I got 7 danios, and 2 new 2" clown loaches. I don't think it's adding too much load because I just sold 2 very large angel fish that were causing the clown loaches to hide too often. I didn't mention them because I was planning on removing them. So now all I have is the 7 danios and 5 clown loaches.

Can you think of any other unique fish to go in the tank other than the mogurnda mogurndas? And as for plecos, I had a common one for awhile and it grew to a foot very quickly and terrified the clown loaches more than anything else.

 

[mikev]

I got 7 danios, and 2 new 2" clown loaches. I don't think it's adding too much load because I just sold 2 very large angel fish that were causing the clown loaches to hide too often. I didn't mention them because I was planning on removing them. So now all I have is the 7 danios and 5 clown loaches.

Can you think of any other unique fish to go in the tank other than the mogurnda mogurndas? And as for plecos, I had a common one for awhile and it grew to a foot very quickly and terrified the clown loaches more than anything else.

This was quick. No, I don't think you are overloading, but I hope you are quarantining.

Hard to think of something *unique*, possibly someone else has neat ideas. Colin, where are you?

But as for plecos, common generally is a bad idea (waste-producing monstrosity), but a bristlenose (4") would fit fine with the fish you have.

 

[k2snowboards88]

It was quick because i really needed to get the angel fish out of there. The danios might be the orang fin kind. They have a slight orange tinge to their fins. I guess I'll have to see how they progress. I'll look into that plec. Unfortunately I don't have the means to quaranteen fish. As for unique fish, it doesn't have to be rare(it is a plus though), just a fish that doesn't need to be in a school.

Ps. the only real problem I have with the mogurnda mogurnda is that it is a bottom dweller and between the 5 clown loaches and probably a bristlenose plec, I don't really want to take up any more space on the ground.