Clown Loach Discussion
- Thread starter Dycofree
- Start date
We'd love some pictures of course....Thanks for the welcome! I have been on a lot as a guest & finally joined yesterday bc everyone's info was so helpful getting my stingrays acclimated! This was my first post & I'm happy to share pictures.
I have wood & plants attached to the wall to allow open swimming space for the rays & then wood & rocks off to one side for clownies to sleep/hide, but I might add more height w rocks to give more caves. The wood pieces even allow the rays to swim under them so it's working well!
Disclaimer: my clownies & teacup rays have been together about a month & I am closely monitoring. As you can see from the pictures the clownies don't understand "personal space" but so far the rays haven't seemed to mind. I do have to hand feed the rays bc the clownies are aggressive eaters & will steal the night crawlers if given the chance, but I keep everyone well fed to avoid any disagreements/issues. So far it's been a happy tank!
Welcome, and great looking fish!
I remember reading an article on 'Loaches OnLine' [IIRC] that recommended a 4' long tank minimum for young clowns up to ~5" and 6' length as the minimum after that. I always thought it was fairly good advice, and while I don't have any hard evidence I feel clowns are one of those species that definitely benefit from having a lot of space. I sold six clowns to a friend way back nearly 20 years ago, they were around 3-5" at the time and he had a couple of others around a similar size. They were kept in a 75g tank, then moved into a 30g for a couple of years while he was away studying, then back into the 75g after that. None of them ever got over about 6", and eventually they faded away and died. Maybe there were other factors at play, not enough water changes perhaps. I'm sure it is possible to grow big healthy clowns in a 4' tank with the right amount of filtration, water movement and water changes, but bigger is definitely better. Some fish (oscars for example) will still grow huge in small tanks with less than ideal conditions, others (like clowns) don't.
I'm kinda rambling sorry, and it's impossible to know for sure if the tank size for those early years had an effect on the size of your oldest loaches, but IMO it is possible. It's also possible it is just natural variation too. Male CLs are smaller than females, and any population will have an amount of natural variation. Regardless, they're great looking fish you have and the tank looks nice too! It's awesome to see people keeping them for such a long time.
Yeah, it's hard to believe that 4 of those clowns are 18 yrs old. I'm also a bit surprised that Cory didn't ask you to post a pic of you holding a newspaper from 2,000 next to your tank, when you first got them. lol
Lots of good advice already given. I have 9 (or 10, I can't remember haha) in a 5x2x2 150 gallon. They range from ~4"-10" with the largest/oldest being roughly 8 (maybe 9) years old. I have a uaru, 5 filament barbs, and 2 electric blue acara as tankmates. Your 125 should last you many years with your stock.
Thanks for the welcome, the compliment of my fish, and I'm happy to hear the "rambling! I appreciate the feedback/insight.
Also noticed that you have been on here a LONG time and you are down in NZ. My cousin has been living there for the past year and loving it! Cheers!I completely understand what you are saying because I felt the same way when I looked up to see the size of older clownies and saw how thick and massive they got! I couldn't believe how different they looked from mine. But I appreciate those on the forum giving me the benefit of the doubt! I SWEAR they are 18 years old because I have lived in Chicago for 16 years and I know I never bought clown loaches here until 2 years ago when I bought the 125g! lol...Those 3 clown loaches are from a pet store in Madison WI and I left Madison in 2002!
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No worries, it was an inside joke from a previous discussion on the size of a massive clown loach that someone posted a photo of. I have no reason to doubt you amigo.
Thanks for the welcome, the compliment of my fish, and I'm happy to hear the "rambling! I appreciate the feedback/insight.
Yep, class of '05! Where abouts in NZ is your cousin living? There's plenty of good things about living here but there's also plenty of negatives too, like the limited availability of aquarium fish. My sister lives in CO and it's every bit as beautiful as anywhere here, I guess the biggest difference is that here even if you're in the mountains you're only an hour or two drive from the beach!
I am a sceptical person and question everything, whether publicly or in my head....,.And you're still holding grudges 