Going to get 4 12inch clown loaches

[tiger15]

12" in 3 years is just a bogus claim.

There is a 9-page discussion thread on CL recently, and the consensus is that CL are slow grower.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/clown-loach-discussion.700535/page-2#post-7895100

For a long time, CL have not been successfully bred and the belief was that CL are such a slow grower that they never reach sexual maturity in captivity.

I have only seen 12 inch CL once in LFS, selling for $$$. If CL are fast grower like Oscar, large CL will be very cheap and you will see them often in stores. The ultimate size of CL is larger than Oscar. With thousands cute little CL sold yearly, there will be plenty over sized CL eager to be rehomed by owners.

 

[FunWow!]

12" in 3 years is just a bogus claim.

There is a 9-page discussion thread on CL recently, and the consensus is that CL are slow grower.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/clown-loach-discussion.700535/page-2#post-7895100

For a long time, CL have not been successfully bred and the belief was that CL are such a slow grower that they never reach sexual maturity in captivity.

I have only seen 12 inch CL once in LFS, selling for $$$. If CL are fast grower like Oscar, large CL will be very cheap and you will see them often in stores. The ultimate size of CL is larger than Oscar. With thousands cute little CL sold yearly, there will be plenty over sized CL eager to be rehomed by owners.

Never said 3years... just said some have said 4years. I haven’t achieved growth like that. Only the growth I’ve mentioned. If it’s possible then good for the people who say they get that growth. I see 12-15inch clowns all the time these days so they are very common at the shops i go to... 9-11incher just as common too.... all WC... prices from $200-600

 

[MariaS]

L lee1 ...

Irrespective of how long they take to grow... they are stunning!!!
Wish they were in my tank!
Good luck with them

 

[derunren]

12" in 4 years? LMAO, that's funny. I've seen and owned clown loaches that grew slow, and those that have grown fast, and I have seen home grown clown loaches in person far larger than anything ever posted here on MFK - but 12" in 4 years? Only in somebodies dreams ....

Agreed

 

[Cardeater]

I was wondering if yours are skittish. Not sure if yours were grown in someone's tank or if they were wild caught at that size.

The YouTube guy Cory of aquarium coop has several videos of wild caught 12" loaches that are super skittish.

 

[lee1]

I was wondering if yours are skittish. Not sure if yours were grown in someone's tank or if they were wild caught at that size.

The YouTube guy Cory of aquarium coop has several videos of wild caught 12" loaches that are super skittish.

I was actually surprised they were not super skittish first 2 days they were actually right in the front of the tank now they act like clown loaches and Linda hide hard to do for a big fish .. I still scrape the algae of the acrylic like normal and they don’t go nuts .. I’m for sure these guys are not tank raised but wondering if there have been in human hands for a bit of time before resell?

 

[Coryloach]

Well since you can’t grow one fast your saying it’s impossible lol. So you’ve never had any clowns grow fast like I’ve mentioned? If this is the case then maybe it’s something with your water,maybe food, water change schedule, tank size, etc.

If you've grown them that fast, you're in the minority. I'll report back when my 6 year olds reach 12 inches in another 6 years....Watch this space

 

[Coryloach]

L lee1

I am just curious, why did you prefer to buy them already grown, rather than growing them yourself?

I personally adore buying and raising small clown loaches. One sorts of develops a relationship with them over the years and they get used to your habits, and you get used to theirs. I find it a special sort of relationship because they're not instantly appreciating human presence but little by little they sort of relax.

I've noticed that they are affected by little things, for example if hold my fist opened or closed in the water while dropping the pellets. Mine hated it when I opened my hand in the water to drop the pellets and would get spooked and swim away as I had previously dropped them through my fingers very carefully.

But then years passing, time constraints, rushing to go to work or elsewhere, etc...,I stopped babysitting them all the time. So I'd just sink my hand and open fully so all food falls down. Now they're anticipating the hand opening, lol and keep nibbling at stuck pellets between my fingers, instead of rushing away....I know it's a stupid example, but these are the sort of things I like about clown loaches. They take their time to get used to things but one can actually teach them things...

I started with a very spooky group of five, and I swear I crawled on the floor sometimes when entering the room so I wouldn't spook them. Then I had to sit like a mummy far away to be able to see them swim around. Any video, pictures were taken on zoom. Roll down the years, now I open the door and about 2 minutes later they gather near the surface asking to be fed.

 

[lee1]

L lee1

I am just curious, why did you prefer to buy them already grown, rather than growing them yourself?

I personally adore buying and raising small clown loaches. One sorts of develops a relationship with them over the years and they get used to your habits, and you get used to theirs. I find it a special sort of relationship because they're not instantly appreciating human presence but little by little they sort of relax.

I've noticed that they are affected by little things, for example if hold my fist opened or closed in the water while dropping the pellets. Mine hated it when I opened my hand in the water to drop the pellets and would get spooked and swim away as I had previously dropped them through my fingers very carefully.

But then years passing, time constraints, rushing to go to work or elsewhere, etc...,I stopped babysitting them all the time. So I'd just sink my hand and open fully so all food falls down. Now they're anticipating the hand opening, lol and keep nibbling at stuck pellets between my fingers, instead of rushing away....I know it's a stupid example, but these are the sort of things I like about clown loaches. They take their time to get used to things but one can actually teach them things...

I started with a very spooky group of five, and I swear I crawled on the floor sometimes when entering the room so I wouldn't spook them. Then I had to sit like a mummy far away to be able to see them swim around. Any video, pictures were taken on zoom. Roll down the years, now I open the door and about 2 minutes later they gather near the surface asking to be fed.

I have always had smaller clown loaches for the last 20 or so years in the hobby and raised some to a good 6 inches or so but would sell them off due to the reef hobby .. before I got the 4 big ones I have 6 clown loaches the biggest about 6 inches and I’ve always wanted to keep giant clowns but could never find them locally or people that would shipped .. I had a opportunity and decided to jump on it ... my old ones have actually helped the new ones out they are very calm for the most part and they are just starting to eat pretty good after 2 weeks ...

 

[Coryloach]

my old ones have actually helped the new ones out they are very calm for the most part and they are just starting to eat pretty good after 2 weeks ...

They probably had a chat when they met and were informed you're not a bad fish keeper, ha,ha.
It's possible your old ones are determining the behavior of the new loaches. They are known to copy other fish's behavior, especially fish from their own species of course.