Clown Loach Discussion

[Redshark1]

This is hilarious.

This is how I see things.

Mr. X states he has a fish that is Y inches long.

Therefore I know an owner who states his fish is Y inches long.

Mr. X proves he has a fish that is Y inches long.

Therefore I know an owner whose fish is proven to be Y inches long.

That's all there is to it.

But tell me I'm wrong!

 

[Clownies!]

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!

So my cousin has been in New Plymouth, near Mt Taranaki, Christchurch - Lyttelton, and now she is finishing up in the Golden Bay region. She has loved it there and her pictures have been beautiful! I agree with you about CO, I have always said that is the only place I would leave Chicago for! And I didn't realize that it might be difficult getting fish there....thank you for reminding me to be more appreciative of my LFS!

 

[David R]

Golden Bay is lovely, the top of the South Island (Nelson/Tasman district) is my favourite part of the country. Great mountain biking, great climate, great beer, and even a good little LFS. If I could transfer there for work I'd move tomorrow.

The fish selection isn't bad (hey, we can get clowns!) but nothing venomous like rays, and very little in the way of wild caught or exotic stuff.

 

[TUCCI]

I've had them repeatedly for quit a few years and you will grow to love them as I have. They will stay hid at first so don't make them your center piece species or like everyone is saying your tank will look sparse. Put a mid-level species in to show the CLs it's safe to come out and have some fun. Drop shrimp pellets into their hidding areas and in no time they will be coming out to coax you to give them more. I forget the correct treatment meds to use for ICK because they don't have scales.......I think Malachite Green but it's been awhile and I could be way off? Please correct me if I'm wrong as I need to know the correct medicine in the future. Don't panic if you see Ick on them, it's not uncommon and easily treatable. If they are frightened they look pale and bleached which is temporary and will pass. They will get very attached to you once they trust you.

 

[TUCCI]

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.

View attachment 1303247 View attachment 1303248 View attachment 1303249 View attachment 1303250 View attachment 1303251

Sorry for your loss, they really grow on ya don't they....they were awesome.

 

[TUCCI]

Thats awesome. Im so tempted! I just feel as if I will have a harder time rehoming them than others say. Ive never seen any ads for buying adults around my area (Indy) and I dont know anyone with a tank bigger than me.

when that happens PM me and I will take then in a heartbeat, I don't care what size they are.

 

[TUCCI]

I think that as long as they're the biggest fish in the tank, they dominate it. At least mine always did as I never kept much bigger than them fish. But I think they do like dithers, as long as the dithers are lively and energetic...otherwise they'd be spooked by the loaches and the loaches by the dithers. I added the odd 1 baby loach several times over the years to get my "new clown loach fix" and they swam with whatever dithers I had for at the time, whether platies, or the denison barbs and SAEs.....to the point you'd think that they don't know they're a clown loach.

My small loaches tend to avoid the large older ones for quite a while, until they pack some size....Then they start behaving like the older loaches. Takes about 1.5 years to get to a 4 incher....For 6 years, my largest of that group is about 9 inch, the smallest 6 year old could be as small as 5.5-6 inches and I think he's the only male from that batch...

I had my 3 CLs in with a 12" Oscar and they ( CLs) ran the tank. Their too fast to be caught and Oscars can't keep it up the chase for very long.

 

[TUCCI]

hey buddy, why don’t you make your own thread instead of hijacking someone else’s.

I wouldn't consider it hyjacking...it's still taking about CLs only tagged with a question of how many he can keep....

 

[Coryloach]

I had my 3 CLs in with a 12" Oscar and they ( CLs) ran the tank. Their too fast to be caught and Oscars can't keep it up the chase for very long.

I think that you won't see them laying around in plain view around the tank, i.e. sleeping on their sides, if there's an Oscar in there.....They won't feel safe enough to actually show all their natural behavior.

 

[TUCCI]

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.

No, not rambling, just talking Clown loaches and I'm taking all the expert insights in. Don't stop.