Clown loach grow outs

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Mudfrog

Mudfrog

Piranha
MFK Member
Oct 3, 2005
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Hey guys, I'm growing out some clown loaches in a 20 gallon long. I want to get them as big as possible in the 20g before they go in my 125g. How large could 6 clown loaches get in a 20g long before the tank size starts to affect their growth? These guys are in the 1" - 1.5" range as of right now.

I'm hoping I can get them up to 3.5" - 4", is that realistic? Also, feeding would consist of a staple of Hikari sinking carnivore wafers, NLS Thera A, Hikari algae wafers and various frozen meats like Krill, Tilapia and small chunks of cut up red worms. Should I add anything else to the mix (aside form bloodworms, can't feed those, allergic).
 
6 4" fishes like clown loaches in 20g..this will be kinda hard to achieve.. CL are very active fishes and quite violent at feedings..
Why not to add them into 125g when they reach 2-2,5"?

And just a note - this fish can get massive (10"+) and can really disturb its tankmates, not to mention what 6 of them does..but usually there is not a prob as long as there is enough caves or hiding places :)

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Well, I have two CL's at 1" - 1.25" or so in my 20g growout. I was walking out the door to buy four more (from Petsmart) but I drove around an hour to the better LFS. They had 6 in the 2.25" - 2.75" range, at only $8 each so I grabbed those guys. They are going straight in the 125g and they should be alright. I have other fish in similar size that have not had issues from the bichirs (I keep them well fed).
 
Loaches are gonna be in same tank with bichir? This is not a very good idea because if bichir decides to eat them, you may loose bichir and loach..CL has pretty big spikes under its eyes and can tear up bichir from inside while swallowing it..

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I know they do, I see lots of people keeping them together. I have other small loaches and other smaller fish in with the bichirs and they don't bother them. I keep them well fed.
 
Its really up to bichirs then :) i had same combo, but when i saw those spikes, i gave away loaches..just precaution :)

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honestly... i think it is fine as long as the smallest CL are bigger than Bichir mouth... simple rule applied here also "if it smaller than predator mouth, it is fair game".
Growing out CL will be a challenge in itself, to achieve 6" from 2" would take around 6 months, but to get from 6"-8" could take another 6 months (in a reasonably big tank). Water temperature are key! size of the tank... the smaller it is the unstable water temperature it become and result in sick CL. (FYI: to achieve 10"+ you would need several year (3-5 if i recall) of undisturbed tank condition and healthy diet :D

anyway... that's my two cents

good luck

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The smallest clown loach could fit in the bichirs mouth. That being said my largest bichir is currently 8" so they aren't real big. I watched the tank closely yesterday and the loaches were very aware of the bichirs, they kept a good distance from them. I'm hoping the CL's will grow and thicken up enough in the next two months to not be small enough to eat.

If their appetite reflects anything they should. They ate like pigs last night, I forgot how much CL's ate, it's been a while since I kept them.

Water quality is good. I do a 50-75% WC once a week, before the CL's the bioload was enough to get my Nitrates up to 30 or so, sometimes a little higher if my canister filter needs a good cleaning.
 
casanomy said:
Growing out CL will be a challenge in itself, to achieve 6" from 2" would take around 6 months, but to get from 6"-8" could take another 6 months (in a reasonably big tank). Water temperature are key! size of the tank... the smaller it is the unstable water temperature it become and result in sick CL. (FYI: to achieve 10"+ you would need several year (3-5 if i recall) of undisturbed tank condition and healthy diet
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Wow! I've never experienced or heard of such a growth rate for CLs (2" to 6" in six months; 2"to 8" in a year). What's your feed schedule(type of food, frequency), and what temp do you maintain for your CLs?

To the OP, I feel you'll be ok to grow out those 6 CL in the 20 until they get to about 3.5". Just provide plenty of structures for them to play, hide and just break direct line of sight to ease aggression
 
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