overcrowded with loaches??

[equidae9854]

Is this overcrowded? I've read about it somewhere a while back on a different forum and had taken notes on it, and i just remembered about it now, seeing as I was looking up the different types of loaches.

This guy (maybe it was a gal, so hard to tell on forums) had a 55gal stocked with:

8 clown loaches
3 blue botias
6 tiger botias
6 angelicus loaches
2 dojo loaches
1 cory cat
1 bumblebee cat
1 pictus cat
1 paradise gourami
1 pearl gourami
1 peacock eel

He/She said that all of his loaches were still 3" or under, but to me, it seems like he's got a whole bunch of bottom dwellers, and not any mid/surface dwellers...

Is this overcrowded? If not, it'd be amazing to be able to have such a varied loach tank, and i do have a spare 55gal lying around... hmmm.... i would love a loach tank

 

[Bizzaro]

I all most got a bumblebee cat... what makes them so spec? And man thats a nice stocking list i wish my LFS had more then more loach type.

 

[is300zx]

He/she may not have a problem with overstocking now but he/she will soon. I'm not sure what size the other loaches can attain but the clowns alone can reach 12" so eventually he/she will need a bigger tank. I don't recommend doing the same unless you have a much bigger tank for the bigger loaches to move in to.

 

[fishcatch22]

He/she may not have a problem with overstocking now but he/she will soon. I'm not sure what size the other loaches can attain but the clowns alone can reach 12" so eventually he/she will need a bigger tank. I don't recommend doing the same unless you have a much bigger tank for the bigger loaches to move in to.

 

[H3D]

WAY OVERCROWDED!!!

 

[Jason_S]

like is300zx said, the tank is probably fine now with the loaches all still small, but as they grow (which will take a few years) a much larger tank will be needed.

 

[H3D]

like is300zx said, the tank is probably fine now with the loaches all still small, but as they grow (which will take a few years) a much larger tank will be needed.

Not really...A 55 gallons aquarium's bottom is full with just clown loaches. It should not take clown loaches that long to reach 4-5". Not only is this tank OS it is on the verge of being abuse.

 

[Jason_S]

Not really...A 55 gallons aquarium's bottom is full with just clown loaches. It should not take clown loaches that long to reach 4-5". Not only is this tank OS it is on the verge of being abuse.

I think "abuse" is a bit far. if all the loaches are under 3" as the poster originally said then I don't think it's too horribly overstocked. I'd like to see the tank in person or at least a pic to judge for sure but I think that many smaller loaches would be fine for alittle while in a 55. a much larger tank will be needed soon for sure but while they're small I just don't see them being too uncomfortable...especially considering their social nature.

 

[H3D]

I think "abuse" is a bit far. if all the loaches are under 3" as the poster originally said then I don't think it's too horribly overstocked. I'd like to see the tank in person or at least a pic to judge for sure but I think that many smaller loaches would be fine for alittle while in a 55. a much larger tank will be needed soon for sure but while they're small I just don't see them being too uncomfortable...especially considering their social nature.

A little while? Yeah maybe just enough time to quarantine them. This is not even pointing out the numerous incompatibility issues of just the loaches. Dojo loaches are cool water fish that cannot survive the 80 degree temperatures that clown loaches need. Not all loaches are that social either. Tiger loaches are best kept in species only tank as they are very aggressive. Blue loaches can be aggressive as well. There are 25 loaches that are 2-3" and this does not include the other bottom dwellers that are also in there. This tank description is horrible and their is no way to justify keeping these fish in such a way long term. Most likely half of those fish either died or were stunted.

 

[Jason_S]

A little while? Yeah maybe just enough time to quarantine them. This is not even pointing out the numerous incompatibility issues of just the loaches. Dojo loaches are cool water fish that cannot survive the 80 degree temperatures that clown loaches need. Not all loaches are that social either. Tiger loaches are best kept in species only tank as they are very aggressive. Blue loaches can be aggressive as well. There are 25 loaches that are 2-3" and this does not include the other bottom dwellers that are also in there. This tank description is horrible and their is no way to justify keeping these fish in such a way long term. Most likely half of those fish either died or were stunted.

I think they'll survive a little longer than the quarunteen period. with proper maintenance (lots of filtration and water changes) the fish will not stunt and will grow normally. that being said you'd really have to monitor the growth of the fish to know when the upgrade is necessary but I still think the tank would work for around 6 months, maybe up to a year. like I said though, monitoring the growth of the fish will be the ultimate indicator. like I said before, I would like to see the tank in person but I still don't think it's worthy of condemnation just yet.

I will admit that when I mentioned the social nature of the loaches I had the clown loaches in particular in mind and should have been more specific. I've kept blue loaches before so I do know about their potential aggression. all the reading I've done on them though has said that in smaller groups (say 5 or less for example) they will tend to be more aggressive whereas in larger groups they are much more peaceful and more social. I know there are only 3 but perhaps with the clowns around the blues won't be as aggressive. I might give something like the blue/clown combo a try myself one day but I do have several spare tanks that the blues could be moved to if necessary and I don't know if this person has the same luxury. I've never kept tiger loaches nor really read much on them so I'm not familiar with them nor their personality.

there are definitely some compatibility issues, that I will definitely give you. I would be concerned for the dojo loaches and their cool water requirements but otherwise I'd be fine to wait and see how it works. I've seen much stranger cichlid combinations work with very aggressive species being kept together and also being kept with rather peaceful species. when it comes to potentially aggressive fish all you can do is try and see how a combo works and be prepared to make quick changes if necessary.