My 7 clown loaches(video) - 1 year old and they haven't grown at all.???!!

[Bill Bajaj]

Hi, here is my video of my 95 gal. and 7 clown loaches abt 3.5inches and they haven't grown at all and it's been one full year. They feed exceeding well and are very active as you can see there's nothing wrong with them.
I will be upgrading to a 6 feet tank in the future but it's a tough time trying to convince my wife as whenever I talk abt it my missus says they haven't grown at all they're fine where they are ! Sigh!
Now they love bloodworms(frozen) a variety of tablets and they have excellent appetites.

would appreciate all opinions, thoughts and advise.
Of course I know I should get a bigger tank but for now this is what I have and its unbelievable they haven't grown one bit but boy oh boy they're beautiful.! I'm fascinated by them love their temperamant and I'm fully committed to them.
Cheers guys

 

[Backfromthedead]

Hi, here is my video of my 95 gal. and 7 clown loaches abt 3.5inches and they haven't grown at all and it's been one full year. They feed exceeding well and are very active as you can see there's nothing wrong with them.
I will be upgrading to a 6 feet tank in the future but it's a tough time trying to convince my wife as whenever I talk abt it my missus says they haven't grown at all they're fine where they are ! Sigh!
Now they love bloodworms(frozen) a variety of tablets and they have excellent appetites.

would appreciate all opinions, thoughts and advise.
Of course I know I should get a bigger tank but for now this is what I have and its unbelievable they haven't grown one bit but boy oh boy they're beautiful.! I'm fascinated by them love their temperamant and I'm fully committed to them.
Cheers guys

Your situation is remarkably similar to mine. I too have seven loaches that i am getting very slow growth from. Mine are between 1-2 years and range from 3-4"


Of course feed quality, temperature, and water quality are the main considerations, but its been suggested to me that tank size and shape is key in their maturation.

I currently keep them in a custom 36x24x36 tank. Its been suggested to me that they will need a longer tank before they really put on length. Others have suggested that a larger group is key to their social nature and development. But still others tell me it is simply a waiting game and that quality feed and water will prevail over time. CL are notoriously slow growing after all.

As it is, my group is quite entertaining and satisfying as they are. But i do have a 5x2 upgrade in the works for them...which is moving about as fast as their growth ha.

 

[Bill Bajaj]

Your situation is remarkably similar to mine. I too have seven loaches that i am getting very slow growth from. Mine are between 1-2 years and range from 3-4"
View attachment 1395330

Of course feed quality, temperature, and water quality are the main considerations, but its been suggested to me that tank size and shape is key in their maturation.

I currently keep them in a custom 36x24x36 tank. Its been suggested to me that they will need a longer tank before they really put on length. Others have suggested that a larger group is key to their social nature and development. But still others tell me it is simply a waiting game and that quality feed and water will prevail over time. CL are notoriously slow growing after all.

As it is, my group is quite entertaining and satisfying as they are. But i do have a 5x2 upgrade in the works for them...which is moving about as fast as their growth ha.

Hi, yes this is a unique situation we both are in ! Hope you get your CL into their new home fast. Yes me too I give them quality tablets(variety) and frozen bloodworm regularly, and they just gorge on the bloodworms.
Guess I'm a little at ease now I knew their growth was slow but not this slow !?
Hope things work out for me I can't that 6 footer yet! But they swim around well enough it's them and 2 silver dollars.
Thks buddy you made me feel better
Cheers

 

[Backfromthedead]

Hi, yes this is a unique situation we both are in ! Hope you get your CL into their new home fast. Yes me too I give them quality tablets(variety) and frozen bloodworm regularly, and they just gorge on the bloodworms.
Guess I'm a little at ease now I knew their growth was slow but not this slow !?
Hope things work out for me I can't that 6 footer yet! But they swim around well enough it's them and 2 silver dollars.
Thks buddy you made me feel better
Cheers

You hear all sorts of things with these fish. Some claim wild caught grow much faster and larger, some claim feeding fresh vegetables helps, keep them very warm, use lots of flow, etc etc...I believe my group is about par for the course at the time. Im more concerned with keeping their stripes and color dark and bold.

Its worth noting, and i completely forgot about this guy, but i have one more loach that has grown maybe a quarter of an inch in the same time period. He doesnt participate in the feeding or socializing with the rest of the loaches, kinda drifts around aimlessly. I assume he was stunted or just some kind of genetic runt. I got this group of fish from the local walmart when they were shutting down their fish operation. I'll try to snap a pic of him later.

 

[WOLF2013]

I would recommend feeding twice a day and doing a few water changes a week.I have noticed in the past that has helped my clown loaches grow.

 

[esoxlucius]

I wouldn't be too concerned about your dilemma B Bill Bajaj . I doubt very much you'll get one post in this thread that contradicts your (and most of ours) experience with clown loach growth.

Even with a very big tank, pristine water and a fantastic varied diet their growth will still be slow. Mine are well looked after, I love them, but they've only gone from 1.5" to 5" in four years. And then they're meant to slow down in growth once they get to 5-6"!!!!

RD. could probably add a bit more insight into clown loach growth.

 

[RD.]

I agree with esoxlucius , so much iffy info floating out there regarding this species, and a lot of it IME is hogwash.
Yes they are slow growers compared to other species, yes they have a hierarchy among the group, and IME there is almost always a runt or two among the group, and those "runts" are typically just males, that tend to grow slower, and stay thinner, compared to females. As far as wild caught growing faster, compared to what, the 3% of the hobby that are domestic born & raised? lol Last I read over 50 million clown loaches are exported out of Indo each year, and domestic clown loaches are counted by the hundreds, not millions. I have personally never fed anything but quality pellets to my CL's over the years, and typically I have several gravid females throughout most of the year. (as I do right now) Not only are they growing, they are getting enough nutrients to produce eggs. My females all look obese!

One thing that did catch my eye .....

Yes me too I give them quality tablets(variety) and frozen bloodworm regularly, and they just gorge on the bloodworms.

My advice, lose the frozen blood worms. Frozen BW's contain approx. 90% water, and water is a non nutrient, so while they are filling up on water, they are not filling up on protein, fat, and other nutrients that are essential to growth. Over time they can also train a fish to NOT like other foods nearly as much, to the point of waiting for the frozen snacks.

HTH

 

[RD.]

And just to add to that, after watching your video, I believe that you may have a group that is heavy in males, which could also explain the overall rate of growth/size.

 

[freak78]

Mine are all probably 5 years old er so and you can see the size difference in them all. I have a total of 10 in this 220g, seems like the bigger ones stay hidden more.

 

[squint]

My big ones are the only ones that will take food from my fingers.