# stocking a 50 gallon!



## tenaj-6 (Jun 25, 2008)

So far im goint to put in a rtbs 2 clown loach (getting a 3rd when i find one of similar size about 1 inch) a leopard pleco ( i know it gets big).

what else could i put in there hopefully ill be planting the tank also.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you are already way overstocked..i wouldn't put anything else in there..


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## FishHead (Nov 16, 2006)

i wouldnt put clown loaches in a 50. They will outgrow that tank pretty quickly. I would return them asap.


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2008)

They grow slow, but I agree about not having them in a 50g. Unless you know for certain that you will get them a larger tank in the next couple years.

If you go with those fish though, you should consider adding something that hangs out in the upper or mid levels, like a schooling fish.


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## blcknwitecuban (Apr 17, 2006)

yea clown loaches take a while to get big. so a 50g long term isnt gonna work. & idk what a rtbs is.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

rtbs = red tailed black shark.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

you kids need to quit being so lazy and start spelling out what you are saying..either that or you just can't spell it..
rtbs could mean a lot of things...
clown loaches grow about an inch a year..maybe a little more relative to conditions such as temperature,feeding schedule and frequency of water changes.red tail sharks grow faster and get to be about 8-10 inches long.if you are talking about a L-114 leopard cactus pleco...12-15 inches..leopard sailfin pleco..24 inches..if you put another clown loach in the tank,they should be good for another 5 or 6 years as long as you do 30% or so water changes every week.when the loaches get big they may well dig up plants..and the pleco may also be destructive to plants.a few congo tetras may go nicely in this set up..


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## tenaj-6 (Jun 25, 2008)

ill defo get a larger tank for the clowns when they need it. would a 125 be ok for them later on?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

yes...a 125 will "definately" be big enough..but is ill defo some kind of disease or what???


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## tenaj-6 (Jun 25, 2008)

ill defo == i'll definatly


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

obviously you have a great deal of difficulty with the english language..such a shame to see our educational system in such a shambles..


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2008)

wow john....just wow. This is the internet, people use all sorts of abbreviations here. You know what they are talking about 95% of the time, so what is with the big complaining fest? rtbs is a very common abbreviation for the red tail black shark, its nothing new...its not an invention of "you kids". you act as if abbreviations can tell you the intelligence level of a person... and you act as if you are some perfect person because you don't abbreviate. You know as well as i do, you are not any better than anyone else on the forum. Quit strutting around like your crap don't stink.... seriously...

Go ahead, get me in trouble again for saying it like it is.




OH and btw john, you misspelled definitely


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i never said i was any better than others.and most certainly far from being perfect.and don't strut around like my crap don't stink..especially because it does;and worst than most.and never heard that rtbs meant red tail black shark.it took me a minute;but i did figure it out.but i had to sift through the couple of thousand names in my head first.i never got you in trouble mike..you did that yourself.
i misspell a lot of words..i am an uneducated twit..
try submitting some court documents with a bunch of abreviations and see what happens...
i really don't care so much what people say about me;i am well aware that a lot don't care for me..mainly because i just don't agree with their ideas..no biggie..


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## Guest (Jul 13, 2008)

actually, we submit court documents with abbreviations all the time. its preferred by a lot . the court does it as well. and if you really think i got myself in to trouble then you have no idea about anything, but that is something we can discuss in private. My whole point here.....is what was the point of you jumping up and down all over tenaj-6 like you did? that is definitely not the behavior i would expect from the mods of a forum, it was down right rude and uncalled for. You can admit that you are an "uneducated twit", but that does not mean you can run around saying everyone else is.



Now on topic here. 
If i were you, i would plan on upgrading tanks pretty soon, that way you can keep the fish you have, and add more to it and have a really nice tank all together. While the clown loaches may take a while to get big, they are quite active at night and can stress out other fish if they dont have the room to run. The rtbs can be pretty aggressive towards other fish, so again i suggest a larger tank to accommodate these fish.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

tenaj-6 said:


> ill defo == i'll definatly


Just pointing out that this was not John, but I can see where tenaj and John might be mistaken for each other. I mean they do both have a J in their names.


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## shade2dope (Jan 21, 2007)

lohachata said:


> yes...a 125 will "definately" be big enough..but is ill defo some kind of disease or what???


Maybe you should look again obsidain definitely is definitely spelled definitely.Not like above^^ lol I am sure this tread will be gone soon anyway. No one is perfect stuff happens.Maybe we should all get back to the subject myself included.


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

The only thing I can see that we are accomplishing here is discouraging tenaj-6 from asking any more questions, which is DEFINITELY not what we want to do because we want the HELP her with her tank. So lets get out of the classroom and back into the fishroom, how about it?


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## Guest (Jul 14, 2008)

Buggy said:


> So lets get out of the classroom and back into the fishroom, how about it?


kinda what i was pointing out, im just more blunt . I think this is a great idea


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## justintrask (Jun 29, 2008)

not to be completely out of nowhere, but John, I think you're one of my top favorites on this forum.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

are you sure you want to admit to that justin.you could wind up with a lot of enemies....lol....but i do thank you.
while i am no expert in the world of keeping fish;but i do think that 2 or 3 clown loaches can stay in a 50 gallon tank for a considerable time before needing to be moved to larger quarters.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

I happen to be a John fan as well, and I agree about the loaches. They don't grow particularly quickly. I have successfully kept them in a 55 gallon tank for over 8 years without a problem; I think that you can do the same with a 50 gallon.

Also, I had no idea what "RTBS" was supposed to be either. While I support the use of abbreviations where appropriate, I would suggest that we stick to a standard style. That looks like this:

_I was thinking about buying a Red Tailed Black Shark (RTBS) for my 50 gallon tank. What do you all think? Is a RTBS too big for that tank?_


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## Guest (Jul 16, 2008)

How about we get the thread back on topic and stop picking at people's posts. 


tenaj-6 feel free to ask more questions. 

If people want to use abbreviations, let them. If you don't know what it means.....ask. Simple as that. I don't understand abbreviations or some slang words sometimes, so I just ask what they meant. No need to start an argument.


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## welchrock (Jan 4, 2008)

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet but I've never heard or read of Red-Tailed (Black) Sharks getting 8-10 inches as John stated. I had one for nearly a year and it seemed to stop growing at about 4 inches. 

While it was a while back, I don't think I would have ever bought it had I been told/read that it got that large.


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

Perhaps there is more than one kind of Red-tailed Black Shark.

In my book, the 'RTBS' listed is Epalzeorhynchus bicolor. It is sourced from Thailand and is reported as up to 4 3/4 inches or 12 cm.

I know that I have seen a much larger, similarly shaped and patterned fish in a 15,000 gallon display tank at my LFS. I'm not sure what it is.


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## tenaj-6 (Jun 25, 2008)

sorry ive been offline for a bit.
the clowns are 1 inch or so. i heard that they grow about an inch a year. is this true and what size should i be moving them to a bigger tank?? my 50 gallon is home made and is 39" long (1 meter).
oh yea and ive been researching the size of the red tailed black shark and it seems to be 6 to 7 inches. will my 50 gallon be big enough


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

things to consider......yes;clown loaches grow about 1 inch per year.so it will be many years before you will need to get a larger tank.just make sure you do your weekly water changes.
as for the red tail sharks..just one kind as far as i know..the books are not always right.my Baensch atlas says that lohachata(yo yo)
loaches only get to be 2 3/4 inches..i don't think so..this is one of my loaches..









actually measured out at 6 inches..i have seen many red tail sharks that were 7-8 inches..but you need to look at the structure of the fish..they have a sharply forked tail.that means a fast swimming open water fish.so at some point they will need a nice long tank to cruise in..but for the time being,you should be just fine.


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## hacket (Sep 18, 2007)

How can you people get so off subject? I find it kind of amusing to watch....

tenaj-6 - This isn't how most of us are. Don't worry


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## shade2dope (Jan 21, 2007)

Speaking of getting off subject.Your post had nothing to do with what was asked aka offsubject.I you belive sometimes(alot of the time )Things are not how they are wrote in the books or the internet.I trying to find a book that had some unless info that was just wrong but I may have thrown it away.At 6-7 inch you should be fine with the rtbs.


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