New arrivals

So my brother has kindly been and got me some fish for the tank but his good gesture may not be so good.

the ones I’m concerned about are the 2 clown loaches.
my tank is only 2’6” long and I know that these need at least a 6ft tank and I’ve never had loaches before.
Will these be ok in this tank for a short time whilst I source and cycle a bigger tank ?

also will they be ok with my pleco and tetras.

the new fish my brother got

That's a very nice and kind gesture your brother made, that's kinda cool he did that for you.

Although he did mean well so don't be too harsh on brother about the clown loaches, he may have asked the LFS for advice and we all know what LFS advice are like sometimes

Anyway, yes, have them temporarily in the 2'6" tank for now, if you can get a much larger tank for them, then that would be very cool but a 6 foot is a big tank to have.
So its possible you may have to reconsider taking them back to the same LFS with your brother and get something else, straight swap if you like.

Clowns do not grow all that quickly compared to other fish species and they are long lived so it will be a while before they reach full sizes.

Do bear in mind Clown Loaches are social fish and do better in larger groups of 6 or more, am sure you knew this anyway but never hurts as a reminder

Ch4rlie said:

That's a very nice and kind gesture your brother made, that's kinda cool he did that for you.

Although he did mean well so don't be too harsh on brother about the clown loaches, he may have asked the LFS for advice and we all know what LFS advice are like sometimes

Anyway, yes, have them temporarily in the 2'6" tank for now, if you can get a much larger tank for them, then that would be very cool but a 6 foot is a big tank to have.
So its possible you may have to reconsider taking them back to the same LFS with your brother and get something else, straight swap if you like.

Clowns do not grow all that quickly compared to other fish species and they are long lived so it will be a while before they reach full sizes.

Do bear in mind Clown Loaches are social fish and do better in larger groups of 6 or more, am sure you knew this anyway but never hurts as a reminder

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I’ll go easy on him, he runs the reptile shop at the LFS but doesn’t really have a clue about fish.

yeah 6ft is a big tank, hopefully the missus won’t mind to much tho.
Thank you for the info on them as as they are slow growing that will give me some time to source a nice tank I like rather than getting the first one I see but then being to house more of them would be beneficial.
Such a lovely looking fish I have to admit.

whats the best food to feed them on as well ? I’ll will probably keep them to be honest and just move them into a bigger tank.

Salts155R said:

I’ll go easy on him, he runs the reptile shop at the LFS but doesn’t really have a clue about fish.

yeah 6ft is a big tank, hopefully the missus won’t mind to much tho.
Thank you for the info on them as as they are slow growing that will give me some time to source a nice tank I like rather than getting the first one I see but then being to house more of them would be beneficial.
Such a lovely looking fish I have to admit.

whats the best food to feed them on as well ? I’ll will probably keep them to be honest and just move them into a bigger tank.

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Beautiful fish clowns, worth doing a lot of research on them, since botia are a very smart and sociable fish that form complex hierarchies. There will always be a dominant one, and with only two, that can mean the weaker one is targeted for bullying too much. A larger group spreads this out. Also bear in mind that while slow growing, they really do get huge. I use this video to illustrate just how large a healthy clown can get, and bear in mind that you'd be housing six or more of them:

There are smaller botia species that can be housed more easily if you decide that this commitment isn't for you!

You also have two otocinclus there. Otos are also a schooling fish, and do best in groups of six or more. They're all wild caught,and live in schools of thousands in the wild, so keeping a group of least 5-6 seems like the minimum we can do for them, given everything they already have to adjust to. They might be weak and frail after their catching/shipping/clean store tank ordeal, and they're prone to starving when in new tanks, since there isn't usually enough algae and biofilm to keep them well fed, they're constant grazers. Feed algae wafers and blanched veg like courgette, spinach, even peas. If they have nice round tummies, then that's good. If their tummies look flat or curved in, then that isn't good, they're not getting enough food. You want to see round bellies like this;

I've read that otos are happier in larger groups, too. (Edit: @AdoraBelle Dearheart beat me to it! )

Man, I wish I had a brother who works with reptiles and gave me nice fish, too.

It's such a nice notion to have your brother gift you fish, I've not known many people to go out and buy fish as presents.

To be honest there's not much to add that hasn't already been said. I do believe the only question that hasn't been answered is whether or not the clown loach will play nicely with your tetra's and pleco's.

Clown loaches are quite the passive fish, the only time they are aggresive is against one another and even then it's simply a means of determining "top fish". In fact they're so passive it has been known that when bullied a clown loach will hide away and starve itself and in some instances will die from doing so. All in all, I highly doubt you'll have any problems mixing the loaches with your tetra's and pleco's, at least until you get their new home.

Thanks for all the info guys, very much appreciated

just been offer to take a tank off my friends hands. A nice jewel trigon 350, needs a new filter so I’m thinking external and hopefully that will keep the clowns happy for the moment.
they are so funny to watch, they are a little shy tho. Keep popping out from behind the rocks see me move and quickly go again.

what is the best to feed them. Will theyEnjoy a bit of courgette?

Shiverz said:

It's such a nice notion to have your brother gift you fish, I've not known many people to go out and buy fish as presents.

To be honest there's not much to add that hasn't already been said. I do believe the only question that hasn't been answered is whether or not the clown loach will play nicely with your tetra's and pleco's.

Clown loaches are quite the passive fish, the only time they are aggresive is against one another and even then it's simply a means of determining "top fish". In fact they're so passive it has been known that when bullied a clown loach will hide away and starve itself and in some instances will die from doing so. All in all, I highly doubt you'll have any problems mixing the loaches with your tetra's and pleco's, at least until you get their new home.

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thanks for the info very much appreciated. I’m getting a 350L tank tomorrow to house them for the time being till I get a massive tank.
whilst taking a short video you can see one in the background playing hide and seek. They have so much character hence wanting to get a bigger tank for them as I think they are amazing

Your oto there has a very nice full tummy. Thats a great sign with freshly bought otos too.

I have nothing to add that hasn't already been addressed

Food for loaches, pick up some omegaone shrimp pellets, algae wafers, and bottom feeder bug bite pellets. Plus the usual frozen fare

NCaquatics said:

Your oto there has a very nice full tummy. Thats a great sign with freshly bought otos too.

I have nothing to add that hasn't already been addressed

Food for loaches, pick up some omegaone shrimp pellets, algae wafers, and bottom feeder bug bite pellets. Plus the usual frozen fare

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the 2 Otos in the tank look like they have really full tummies. I popped in to see my brother and have a look around the fish section and was quietly surprised. There must be 100’s of Otos in a large tank with other fish big and small with shed loads of plants and the biggest black red tail shark I’ve ever seen. All the fish look really really healthy.
he’s doing an weekend offer on Otos 5 for £8 so I’ll be adding more to keep the 2 company.
he was a little disappointed with my brother getting me clown loaches for such a small tank but gave me lots of advice and said I could bring them back at any point if I wanted.
I explained about the 350L tank I’m getting and said that should be better for them whilst they are growing but don’t keep them in it to long. Really helpful chap actually and really slated the other LFS for not caring and just wanting to fill their till everyday regards of the fishes health.
Gave me a pot of bug bites slow sinking and a pot of Plecostomus tablets and said that should keep everyone in the tanks happy and grind the bug bites between 2 lids for the tetras with a small amount of flake for the lamp eye. Told me to grab a courgette as a treat once a week for my pleco as well

Salts155R said:

the 2 Otos in the tank look like they have really full tummies. I popped in to see my brother and have a look around the fish section and was quietly surprised. There must be 100’s of Otos in a large tank with other fish big and small with shed loads of plants and the biggest black red tail shark I’ve ever seen. All the fish look really really healthy.
he’s doing an weekend offer on Otos 5 for £8 so I’ll be adding more to keep the 2 company.
he was a little disappointed with my brother getting me clown loaches for such a small tank but gave me lots of advice and said I could bring them back at any point if I wanted.
I explained about the 350L tank I’m getting and said that should be better for them whilst they are growing but don’t keep them in it to long. Really helpful chap actually and really slated the other LFS for not caring and just wanting to fill their till everyday regards of the fishes health.
Gave me a pot of bug bites slow sinking and a pot of Plecostomus tablets and said that should keep everyone in the tanks happy and grind the bug bites between 2 lids for the tetras with a small amount of flake for the lamp eye. Told me to grab a courgette as a treat once a week for my pleco as well

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Wow, sounds like you have a really good fish store there! I'm impressed!

Also jealous of your bargain otos, I paid £16 for four last time I got some more