Clown Loach Question

MrFlubbins

MrFlubbins

Small Fish
#1
Feb 18, 2003
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I have a 20 gallon long with 3 Platys a small Angelfish and 4 Ghost Shrimp. I am thinking of adding a Clown Loach, have always wanted one, but I have a couple of reservations. First, will it outgrow the tank quickly? I see under profiles that they can get to be 12" I didn't know this. Secondly, would it be compatible with the fish I have in the tank? Would the bottom be crowded considering I have 4 shrimp running around down there already. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 

halfcent

halfcent

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#2
Jan 5, 2003
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Clown loaches need their own company, with a minmum of three. In captivity they may grow to around 6 or 7 inches max. They grow much larger in the wild. I think that unless you are planning getting a larger tank in the very near future, they would soon out grow it. But you are right, they are a great fish to watch, they do lots of weird stuff, but there really needs to be at the very least three of them to be happy.
 

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geoffgarcia2

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#7
Oct 22, 2002
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exactly.....fish grow slow, its not like these things are gonna go from 1" to 6" in 3 weeks....if you get a 1" and it grows to 3" within 2 years that will be quite an accomplishment, even at 3-4 inches it would be happy in your tank, and at that point worry about it....

You people are smoking some crack if you think all these fish that get huge (oscars, plecos, clown loaches, gourami, tinfoil bars, danios, etc)
are housed in huge tanks by people that care about the fish....
90% of them go to 10 gallon tanks for 8 year olds....

Get what you want, when it gets to big bring it back to the fish store...they would be more than happy to take a 4" clown loach off your hands...
 

SoulFish

SoulFish

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#8
Oct 22, 2002
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#8
i kind of agree and disagree with garcia, yes people do buy them for small tanks, this is only because they dont know they will out grow, many LFSs wont buy fish and some fish do grow quite fast like oscars and such, its ok to buy them for a small tank but once you buy a fish youve made a commitment to keep that fish, everytime you put a fish back into a petstore the chance theyll last threw the next months drops dramaticaly, do you buy cats or dogs when they are puppies and kittens and just return them after a year because they are too big and arent as cute, you should have the same respect for your fish as you do for other animals even if they arent soft a furry
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

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#10
Oct 22, 2002
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#10
yea if you upgrade to a slightly larger tank you could house a clown loach for some time,yes they get big but no time soon.there isn't a loach that i have seen yet that grows at a rate fast enough to justify a new tank a year.loaches just plain grow slow,no two ways about it.the part about three or more is right,clowns are very social fish and a lone loach is a sad loach.one thing to keep in mind is once a clown is setteled in to a tank the are hardy fish but the first few weeks are going to be very important,this is rough time for them and they will be very prone to disease,mainly ich
 

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madhippoz

madhippoz

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#11
Jan 14, 2003
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#11
Have to say I agree with Soulfish here. I don't like the idea of buying a fish, and when it gets bigger eventually than you are willing to commit to, just ditching the responsibility by taking it back. That fish you've been raising for the past 2-3 years, where does it end up after you take it back? I say, buy the fish, accept the responsibility of providing an environment for its full size eventually, or don't buy the fish. If you can't afford to house it, and you've already got it, I'd much rather see people try and contact their local aquarium society, and give your fish to another experienced aquarist.
 

Brobro

Brobro

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#13
Apr 7, 2003
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#13
i also agree with soulfish, thats y i gave out the info that i said earlier.

ya, i once had 2 red phantoms, and 1 died, and then the other was harrassing every1 else (the 2 were good friends) so i took it back. they put it in one of the "tetra tanks", and for about 2 months it stayed there, until i guess some1 bought it. lol
 

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geoffgarcia2

Large Fish
#14
Oct 22, 2002
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#14
amishfignewton,
and whats so bad about that?
hell I buy a dozen goldfish a week for my piranha...
thats 624 a year and nobody cries about them...
whats the big deal about feeding them 1 clown loach every few years?
big woop.....
 

catfishmike

catfishmike

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#16
Oct 22, 2002
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#16
actualy if you fed a loach in general to anything you would proably be sorry for that.loaches have a razor sharp appendage just behind the eye called a bifid spine and let me tell you it hurts like all get out so just think what it would do to your favorite oscar or ohter preadator
 

madhippoz

madhippoz

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#18
Jan 14, 2003
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#18
I don't have a problem with using feeder fish, or using live foods, its very important for certain species of fish. I just hate the concept of buying and returning fish at will like your renting videos from Blockbuster. I'm sure someone will try and use the arguement of, "Well shouldn't you be able to have whatever fish you want, even if just for a little while". I say no, not unless you're going to commit to its full life cycle. There's lots of fish I'd love to try keeping, but I'm not about to return all my Colombians to the fish store just so I can try something else, or buy an arrowana to put in my 10gal, "you know, just until he outgrows it" just so I can say I had one once. Heh the word is called restraint people.
 

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colesea

Superstar Fish
#19
Oct 22, 2002
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#19
No...must resist...will not offer my two cents....no no no nono......*sigh* okay, I give up.

I agree with everyone who said that once you purchase a fish, you must accept reponsibility for the -whole- fish for the duration of its life. The same is true with puppies, kittens, hamsters, children etc.

The problem is, not very many of these creature live long enough in captive care for people to know how long lived and large certain fish get. It is the classic tale of the ID shark. Nobody in the public knows an ID shark can grow to three feet. Nobody save the dedicated aquatic fanatics have had an ID shark live long enough to grow 12". Retail is of no help either. ID sharks are advertsed as only getting to be about 6-8" which is the "perfect fit" for a 10 gallon tank.

Education is the key ingredient. That's why so many people on this board recommend getting a good fish book and reading about the speices =before= you purchase it. That way you can adjust your tank environment accordingly. Unfortunately retail works against us. They are counting on the "impulse" sale, that the puppy-dog eyes of the 4" oscar will make someone buy a ten gallon tank (estimate sale $150) that day.

So it all is basically up to the individual. I have worked in the retail aquatic world, I know exactly what happens to those "oh I don't want them anymore" fish. It is the same thing that happens to the "oh I don't want them anymore" puppies and kittens. Five days and then euthanised, if they haven't been fed to something upon arrival. We cringe when we think of animals shelters euthanising over a hundred dogs and cats a week, and yet people don't flinch when they think about the number of fish that die in the toilet because their owners lost interest. All the fish I have, save a few, were returns from my pet shop days. I was lucky enough to need to stock my home aquariums, and free fish are always a boon.

Live foods are a different matter entirely. Unless you are vegan for animal welfare reasons, feeding a predatory fish goldfish is no different from slaughtering a cow to make a happy meal.

It would be a bad idea to feed a clown loach to an oscar. Clown loaches have barbs on their fins that could injure an oscar.
~~Colesea
 

madhippoz

madhippoz

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#20
Jan 14, 2003
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#20
Good points certainly, and I have no problem, well not a big one, with the uninformed newb aquarist making a mistake and then wanting to get out of an uninformed purchase. Its a reality of the hobby. It does bother me though to see people on this board recommend it, that in my opinion should know better.

As for happy meals (you get a TOY!), and slaughtered cows, their yummy and I love em :D. *bracing self for posts of outrage*
 

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