16 Year Old Clown Loaches Stunted Growth?

[USMCSS]

Was at my LFS I regularly go to and the owner showed me a "hidden" tank he has that he keeps some personal stock in and in it he had 4 CL's he said were 16 years old but they were all only around the 5-6" range. He said he has kept them in the same 75 gal their entire lives and they have just failed to grow any larger even with regular feeding. Anybody ever heard of them having such stunted growth. They were in there with a 22 y/o and 26 y/o plecos of some kind.

boldtogether

 

[UnstoppableJayD]

Was at my LFS I regularly go to and the owner showed me a "hidden" tank he has that he keeps some personal stock in and in it he had 4 CL's he said were 16 years old but they were all only around the 5-6" range. He said he has kept them in the same 75 gal their entire lives and they have just failed to grow any larger even with regular feeding. Anybody ever heard of them having such stunted growth. They were in there with a 22 y/o and 26 y/o plecos of some kind.

boldtogether

They do grow slow... and also live a long time... but that seems to slow... were they normal clown shape?

 

[USMCSS]

Well I know they grow slow as I've had well over 50 of them over the years and currently have five 7-8" cl's but 6" in 16 years??? That's not normal and he said he has never understood it either.

They were normal shape but had the more curved down head as the other ones do and were very healthy looking, weight and color wise, just seriously small for that age.

 

[convict360]

Perhaps he's over-estimated the age, it's very easy to do

 

[tiger15]

I bought many baby CL 12-15 years ago and 3 of them survive and hit 7 to 8 inch today. The age is probably close to 15 as I have pics of them dated 2006 when they were 3 inch and a few years old. It's hard to remember the age with no birth certificate as I own them for a long time. They grew faster at the beginning and slow down with age but never stop growing and show no sign of aging as they continue to be active and eat well. So the size of the 16 year old CL OP mentioned may just be slightly stunt but not too far off.

 

[slippery slimecoat]

One of my loaches I've personally owned for the last 5 years is 9.5" and most likely about 7-8 years old. So 5" at 16 years seems really small to me. I've personally seen water parameters (and/or quality) play a part in growth. I rehomed 4 clowns to my mother that were consistently growing in my tank. They really haven't grown at all in her tank. Her clowns have no food competition. One variable is she has well water and I have municipal water. But unfortunately, she also does not take care of her tank like I take care of mine.

 

[tiger15]

I had my CLs grown up in 75 since I bought them until a few years ago I moved them to 125. I haven't seen much growth since the move. They are always well kept and well fed, and are the oldest fish in the tank as all other cichlid tankmates have passed away from old age. I used to have a dozen of CLs, but a few ick outbreaks wiped out all but 3 of them. They still act very youthful and I expect many more years from them.

 

[USMCSS]

I bought many baby CL 12-15 years ago and 3 of them survive and hit 7 to 8 inch today. The age is probably close to 15 as I have pics of them dated 2006 when they were 3 inch and a few years old. It's hard to remember the age with no birth certificate as I own them for a long time. They grew faster at the beginning and slow down with age but never stop growing and show no sign of aging as they continue to be active and eat well. So the size of the 16 year old CL OP mentioned may just be slightly stunt but not too far off.

How do you overestimate something you've had all it's life? I have a 9 year old cat and have had him since he was a kitten and his age isn't overestimated. I could understand if it was a 90 year old lungfish but we're talking a 16 year old CL

 

[USMCSS]

One of my loaches I've personally owned for the last 5 years is 9.5" and most likely about 7-8 years old. So 5" at 16 years seems really small to me. I've personally seen water parameters (and/or quality) play a part in growth. I rehomed 4 clowns to my mother that were consistently growing in my tank. They really haven't grown at all in her tank. Her clowns have no food competition. One variable is she has well water and I have municipal water. But unfortunately, she also does not take care of her tank like I take care of mine.

But that's just it. They're in a large tank that has immaculate water and has been kept by someone who knows what they're doing. He has some great looking stock, both salt and fresh, so I'm sure he has always kept his personal stock in pristine waters

 

[USMCSS]

I had my CLs grown up in 75 since I bought them until a few years ago I moved them to 125. I haven't seen much growth since the move. They are always well kept and well fed, and are the oldest fish in the tank as all other cichlid tankmates have passed away from old age. I used to have a dozen of CLs, but a few ick outbreaks wiped out all but 3 of them. They still act very youthful and I expect many more years from them.

How old are they now?