So here's the scenario. I want to grow out about 5 or 6 clown loaches to put in my community / oddball tank but at 2" I'm sure they would be easy food for my red wolf. They will eventually be in a 180g but in the meantime I will probably try to grow them out in a 40g breeder (36x18x18). How long can I expect them to take to get to 4"? Anyone have any recommendations for power feeding? I owned CL's a long time ago but I do not remember how slow they grew, seems as if it was quicker than most people claimed.
Clown loach growth / power feeding
- Thread starter Mudfrog
- Start date
This is a tough one to answer. I'm sure you will get some differing opinions, but here's my two cents:
I think it will take over a year to 18 months for your 2 inchers to become 4 inchers. I have 10 loaches and all seem to have grown at different rates over the last 2 years. I even have a couple that seem to seriously lag the others in growth. How fast your loaches grow depends on the individual loach.
I also think that power-feeding will not make the loaches grow any faster. I believe that power-fed loaches will grow wider faster but not longer any faster than normal.
I think it will take over a year to 18 months for your 2 inchers to become 4 inchers. I have 10 loaches and all seem to have grown at different rates over the last 2 years. I even have a couple that seem to seriously lag the others in growth. How fast your loaches grow depends on the individual loach.
I also think that power-feeding will not make the loaches grow any faster. I believe that power-fed loaches will grow wider faster but not longer any faster than normal.
growth depends on what type of clown you have,. if you have the colorful variety, then they tend to grow slowly and reach 6'' then wont grow for aother decade. if you own the type that originates from the northern parts of borneo then growth is rapid. these types in the wild can reach 18'' and in captivity can reach 14. the difference between the south and north variants are quite noticable in colour and body shape.the common ones that we see in the lfs shops tend to always be the clowns from the south and they are common because the collectors get more for these colorful types and disregard the ones from the north, which grow over 18''. sometimes some of the northern types gets accidently thrown in the collectors neyts and once in a while we see huge jumbo clowns in the shops.
How does the color differ? I have heard of regional variants of clowns, but not much in the way of details. I actually believe I have one that is some sort of variant. He has noticeably narrower black bars, darker color, and a thinner body (not sickly thin, he still seems to be in perfect health) than my other 5Vincentii;3762585; said:
andyjs;3762610; said:
he seems to be the northern type. the body shape in common and jumbo is quite easy to spot. but, rare to find. the big ones has a much thinner body if you look at him/her face on. and the shape of the head is more like a horse shape head. the common ones head is pointier ,with a shorter nose. color differentiation : common clowns have orange and really black stripes. the jumbo clowns are not as colorful and has charcoal-colored stripes and more of a matt - almost a beige-colored-body with a charcoal hue to the red on the fins and tail.
these fish are very rare in the hobby and i was fortunate to pick 2 up many years ago to go in my clown loach tank. i had them at 5'' and there growth rate was around triple the rate of the commons.
last time i visited my lfs shop they had 2 of these wild northern varients. and commanded a £300 price tag for the pair (10'')
northern clowns also have much a steeper body than that of the southerns (common) and all look much thinner than commons.
hope i was of any help.
hope i was of any help.
with all clown loaches. the best food for them to pack in 'bulk' is mussel meat. mine seems to grow fast when fed on these and they quickly produce a noticable chin.
tetrs prima discus sinking granuals as a staple to give them their vitamins and minerals. earth worms are good too for rapid growth.
tetrs prima discus sinking granuals as a staple to give them their vitamins and minerals. earth worms are good too for rapid growth.
I agree, variety of diet is key, along with clean warm water (84f). Be prepared to change a lot of water when feeding heavy.. Also once you see an Alpha establish himself. Remove him from the tank for a while, you can re introduce him weeks later. This trend will continue and I play musical chairs.Vincentii;3762687; said:
I get my best growth when following this procedure
I actually discovered a way for loach to grow slightly faster by accident...
Im not a big loach guy.. but i do have a few... I keep mine in with my pleco tank.. and i used to only feed cucumbers and algae walfers.. Until i bought a L-14 goldie which is a meat eater and started feeding market shrimp..
Next thing u know 70% of my other plecos started eating shrimp... even the non meat eating type.. and the loach started eating...
Right now i have two Clown loach at 4-5" from 3" 2 months ago.. Maybe a meaty diet is important?
Im not a big loach guy.. but i do have a few... I keep mine in with my pleco tank.. and i used to only feed cucumbers and algae walfers.. Until i bought a L-14 goldie which is a meat eater and started feeding market shrimp..
Next thing u know 70% of my other plecos started eating shrimp... even the non meat eating type.. and the loach started eating...
Right now i have two Clown loach at 4-5" from 3" 2 months ago.. Maybe a meaty diet is important?
meaty dits are very important for growth.zerojquan85;3763819; said:I actually discovered a way for loach to grow slightly faster by accident...
Im not a big loach guy.. but i do have a few... I keep mine in with my pleco tank.. and i used to only feed cucumbers and algae walfers.. Until i bought a L-14 goldie which is a meat eater and started feeding market shrimp..
Next thing u know 70% of my other plecos started eating shrimp... even the non meat eating type.. and the loach started eating...
Right now i have two Clown loach at 4-5" from 3" 2 months ago.. Maybe a meaty diet is important?
clowns tend to grow fast when they are small and few can reach 3,4,5'' in a matter of months. then their growth rate slows down considerbily. meats do make them grow faster than flake/other dry foods that non-serious fishkeepers often feed theirs on. also clowns love clean water and higher temperatures so maybe yours has grown super fast due to ideal living conditions.
