# Send in the clowns....



## Swamp Minnow (Aug 23, 2012)

Good evening fish forums community members. Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Swamp Minnow....because I live literally in the middle of nowhere in the most awful forsaken piece of swamp you have ever seen. But this really is besides the point, as we are here to talk about fish...not swamps. So that being said, lets get to it, shall we?

My father was an avid aquarium hobbyist and it was through him that I picked up an enjoyment of the hobby, and I have kept tanks off an on through out my life, though I have been away from it for some time now. A little over a month or so now, my wife bought me a 55 gallon tank as a present for our first anniversay.

I set it up, and did a fishless cycle, and currently it is populated with 11 neon tetra's and 4 clown loaches. Fish wise, everything is so far so good. But I foolishly bought those 4 loaches when cory's would have likely been a better fit for the size of the tank (I didnt realize how big these clowns can get).

That being said, Im stuck with them now, and was just wondering what other people's experience has been with them, as the internet often has conflicting info. For example, I've read that clowns grow quickly, but another source, says they grow very slow, and a 55 gallon will be sufficient for years. Does anyone reading this currently have clown loaches, and if so.... what has your experince been with their growth rate?

Next, the little suckers are pretty shy, and spend the vast majority of their time hiding in their "clown fortress" that I built for them (made out of drift wood and fake plants). They do come out and "loach about" from time to time. I've read that an active community of peaceful fish can make them feel more at home and get them more active. I don't want to add anymore fish then what I have right now however as my tank is still pretty new, and I'm not 100 percent confident doing fishless cycles. And of course I know that more clown loaches would help them feel more comfortable... but do not want to do that, because of the size issue. I've heard tiger barbs are a good fit with clowns... is there any truth to this?

Anyways, please forgive my ramblings as I can be a tad long winded at times, I look forward to hearing what your experiences with clown loaches have been. I'm stuck with these 4 guys now... so I might as well try to make the best of it.

Regards

-Swamp Minnow


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

clown loaches are one of my all time favorite fish...i have been keeping them off and on for almost 40 years.i am only keeping about a dozen or so right now but plan on increasing the herd to about 25-30 within the next few months...
they grow fairly fast the first couple of years ; then slow down to about 1 inch per year after that..
they will eat almost anything ; but make sure they get a well rounded varied diet.they love snails and earthworms....
they are fine in a 55 until they reach about 5 inches..then they will need a much larger tank.....i have found that the bigger the herd the more they are out and about....

KEEP THEM WARM !!!!!!!!! no less than 80 degrees F.......they are very susceptible to ich.....


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## Swamp Minnow (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks for the reply lohachata is nice to find someone on here who has so much experience with keeping clown loaches. 

They seem to be settling in pretty well, I was afraid I had lost one but today noticed all four out foraging about, so that was a relief. I've upped the temperature as you suggested and that too seems to have brought them out a little more, they also know when it's feeding time, and come out to grab the pellets and dart back into their cave with them.

Once again, thank you for the response.

Regards

-Swamp Minnow


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2012)

Clown loaches are also called indicator fish, as they are the first fish to get sick if the water conditions change. I have three clown loaches in a 55 gallon, and they are 7 inches, 6 inches, and 4 inches. I have to measure them to see if they grew any since the last time I measured them. 

Clown loaches have great personalities. They sleep in different positions, they sleep on their side appearing dead, they are not dead they are sleeping.

They will shoal with tiger barbs. 

You can sex them when they get about 7 inches. Their tail will tell you if it is a female or male. A male's tail is shaped like a claw and a female's tail is normal. Also the female is the alpha of the group of clown loaches, she will "grey out". This is normal, it just means that she is the alpha, dominate clown.

I would suggest that you fast your clowns once a week, don't feed them once a week. This will prevent swim bladder disorder. Yes clown loaches can get swim bladder disorder. My biggest clown loach, Baby Girl, had swim bladder disorder along with two other diseases. I just feed her veggies the entire time she had the swim bladder disorder and she got better. Now I fast my fish once a week to help prevent the issue from happening again.

If/when clowns get sick, you have to half dose the medicine when treating them, because the medicine at full strength will kill them.


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## Swamp Minnow (Aug 23, 2012)

Thanks for the advice Angel Clown.

I'm glad that they will shoal with tiger barbs, I think in a few more weeks time I will pick up some, I've always had good luck with them.


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## IAoddball (Jun 19, 2012)

Tiger barbs are unique in their own ways. But yes, I've also had a school of tiger barbs with a single clown loach and they all swam together non stop. It was funny to see 1.5" tiger barbs with a 3.5" clown in the middle of the school.


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