Clown Loach Discussion

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You have many years before worrying about rehoming, getting a larger tank, etc. Females tend to grow larger, sometimes gravid with eggs, fatter. Males typically stay smaller, but other then girth and dominance, sexing is uncertain.
I have seen smaller suspected males under 8", and 15 yrs old.

I once had a group of I think 13 in a 125, by themselves as a single species tank. I grew them out over several years then eventually parted them out to friends with much larger tanks. I currently have a group of 4 in a comm tank. As a single species you will see behaviour that you will never witness in a comm tank.

I have never owned a weak loach, but I have always bought them at larger sizes when I know they have survived export, are eating, and have no internal issues. As stated, many wild caught CL's are imported with worms, etc. There are a few active domestic breeding programs (with hormones) but the vast majority of CL's being sold are collected from the wild in either Borneo or Sumatra. I have a sticky on how to tell the two strains apart in the loaches sub forum.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/clown-loaches-kalimantan-vs-sumatra.491976/

I highly recommend feeding 1mm NLS Hex Shield to any newly purchased or sickly looking CL's, and then deworming with Levamisole.

Good luck
 
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I have noticed in my group there is 2 dominant ones that will fight on occasion but I haven't noticed anything more than a split fin. Dimmer lighting seems to keep mine happy. They never hide until bed time. They love following my larger gt as if he is their leader.

Playing dead is normal and you will see them in all sorts of wonky positions.

Tight fitting lids are a must or they will escape.

Like said you have a very long time before they outgrow your system.
 
Over the years, I have kept dozens of CL. There was a time I had collection of many odd ball CL which I picked up one at a time whenever I spot it in LFS. But every now and then, I lost them to ick.

Here are my last 3 Amigo CL I had grown to 7 to 9 inch over 10+ years, the fattest one looking like a female.


The interesting thing about CL is that they continue to school at old age and large size. My 3 amigos always hanged out together at rest, moved around or squeezed into caves. With their large size, they would push rock aside to make caves for themselves. Unlike other loaches, CL are peaceful to one another except fighting to occupy the same cave.

I lost them to ick during my vacation and couldn't save them. After my last loss, I was too upset to keep CL anymore.

clown5.jpg clown1.jpg clown2.jpg clown3.jpg clown4.jpg
 
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Clowns are a great fish to have as an "in addition to" type fish. I've always kept a group of 4-6 in most all of mt cichlid tanks to add a lower level fish to the cichlids. Pretty much everything the others have said already is spot on. Only thing I will add is that they will get inside of decor like wood that has holes in it and such so if you can't find one don't worry he's probably worked his way into some wood or decor and is still in the tank.

Far as how long it takes to get 5". A couple years on average. The they will usually grow to about 4.5"-5" in the first 2-3 years and then they slow down a lot. My biggest right now in my 240g cichlid tank is about 5" and I have had him for about 2.5 years, he was about 1.5" when I got him. They can get really big, I've heard of some getting 16" but biggest I have ever seen in person was 12". They can live 20 years or there abouts and it takes a very very long time for them to ever get to that size.

Another neat thing about them is they click when they are happy. Sometimes when I feed mine cucumber I can hear them clicking from the other room.
 
Wow, thanks for all the info guys. Youve all been a great help! Making me feel much better about keeping them. I was worried I had made a cruel decision. I still cant decide if I want to go ahead and get a 6th, but we’ll see. I have no idea how id rehome them once they get massive, rubber maid containers I guess, lol. As far as me not seeing them much in a 125, im not worried about it. I want them to have as much room as possible and if it sacrifices me seeing them much then so be it. From their insane activity in Qt i doubt thats going to be a problem :)
 
Dycofree said:
Wow, thanks for all the info guys. Youve all been a great help! Making me feel much better about keeping them. I was worried I had made a cruel decision. I still cant decide if I want to go ahead and get a 6th, but we’ll see. I have no idea how id rehome them once they get massive, rubber maid containers I guess, lol. As far as me not seeing them much in a 125, im not worried about it. I want them to have as much room as possible and if it sacrifices me seeing them much then so be it. From their insane activity in Qt i doubt thats going to be a problem :)
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Ultimately it's your decision whether you get more but for your current 5's benefit, plus for your own viewing pleasure, i'd get loads more, especially if your LFS has still got that good deal on. Honestly, 5 in that size tank just wont look right. You'll find that yours will get to 5" quite quickly, within 18 months i found. Then that's when their growth just seems to go into reverse. I wouldn't worry one bit about having to thin out your stock in about 10 years time because big clowns are very much sought after, for good money too. Somebody will take your arm off when the time comes to sell them.
 
esoxlucius said:
Ultimately it's your decision whether you get more but for your current 5's benefit, plus for your own viewing pleasure, i'd get loads more, especially if your LFS has still got that good deal on. Honestly, 5 in that size tank just wont look right. You'll find that yours will get to 5" quite quickly, within 18 months i found. Then that's when their growth just seems to go into reverse. I wouldn't worry one bit about having to thin out your stock in about 10 years time because big clowns are very much sought after, for good money too. Somebody will take your arm off when the time comes to sell them.
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Ahhh, you’re seriously tempting me. I am defintely going to consider it. How does 10 sounds? Haha Im nervous to get so many. On another note, how is my tank setup for them? I attached a pic earlier in the thread. I wanted to avoid wood for this tank as Ive always used it and its so dang expensive in my area. I really enjoy the look I have right now, but Im open to suggestions of course. My tank also holds a 4” severum, 8 Denison Barbs, and 10 Blue Kamakas Rainbows. All been together for almost a year. Can I still hold 10???
 
philipraposo1982 said:
I have 8 in my 75. So in your tank I would do like 20. Like other said when it comes time to sell you will have no issues.
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Are they the only fish in there though? I have some other fish that get decent sizs (severum and denison barbs)
 
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