50 Gallon In 10 Hours And Counting

[poopsydrew]

Hey all,
as many of you may know i am finally getting my FREE 50 gallon tank in like 10 hours. anyway, i have been researching tons of fish to add to it (once it is cycled ) and then i came across the clown loach. now before everyone jumps all over me i know they eventually grow very large up to a foot or more. i also know i need at least 3. Hoever from the reasearch i have done and from what i have read, 3 small clown loaches would do fine in a 50 gallon community tank for years until they everntually needed a bigger tank, which i could then definatley afford. Am i way off or would i be ok purchasing some small ones knowing one day i will need a bigger tank? any and all input appreciated as i want to know how everyone feels and would like to know how fast they grow (not a very practical question i know..but still)

 

[tetraqueen]

Personally they all scare you on here but for good reason, however I have enjoyed my clown loaches and the colour, placid nature and varying idiosyncrasies etc and find they are as good as any community fish you will get.

I would look at the room they will take from new to a couple of years old which mine are. I have five clowns each approx 10 cm long which is fine and they get fatter before they get longer so I guess another 10 years before my tank width will be too small.
This is a lot of time before you would need to take them back and some other fish do not last that long.

They are out a lot in my tank but they like the dark, I now put no lights on at all as if I do they all hide under the heater, with my Bala's so little room in there to move.
So a no go if you want a planted tank.
They do like being with others and I had two to start with and really they were in their log hideout nearly 24/7 before the others came along.

I would like to keep these and have no concerns as they are relatively slow at growing but I have also got Bala sharks and I would not recommend those, they are skittish but lovely too but I fear for them as they seem scared even though they are maturing and look great. They will soon require a lot more room and that to has been in the last two years. What I am saying the temperment is also worth taking note of if you like jumpy fish do not get loaches they move around a lot when happy and do acrobatic back flips etc play dead so you approach the tank then almost laugh at you as they swim fastly away.

They also like blood worms and algae wafers they do not like cheap flakes so depends on how you like to feed.


Thanks.

 

[poopsydrew]

Personally they all scare you on here but for good reason, however I have enjoyed my clown loaches and the colour, placid nature and varying idiosyncrasies etc and find they are as good as any community fish you will get.

I would look at the room they will take from new to a couple of years old which mine are. I have five clowns each approx 10 cm long which is fine and they get fatter before they get longer so I guess another 10 years before my tank width will be too small.
This is a lot of time before you would need to take them back and some other fish do not last that long.

They are out a lot in my tank but they like the dark, I now put no lights on at all as if I do they all hide under the heater, with my Bala's so little room in there to move.
So a no go if you want a planted tank.
They do like being with others and I had two to start with and really they were in their log hideout nearly 24/7 before the others came along.

I would like to keep these and have no concerns as they are relatively slow at growing but I have also got Bala sharks and I would not recommend those, they are skittish but lovely too but I fear for them as they seem scared even though they are maturing and look great. They will soon require a lot more room and that to has been in the last two years. What I am saying the temperment is also worth taking note of if you like jumpy fish do not get loaches they move around a lot when happy and do acrobatic back flips etc play dead so you approach the tank then almost laugh at you as they swim fastly away.

They also like blood worms and algae wafers they do not like cheap flakes so depends on how you like to feed.


Thanks.

Tetra queen,
Thanks so much for the input. I really feel if i pick up 3 small clown loaches i will be ok for at least 2-4 years, by which time i will have a bigger tank. I understand everyones worry but i see no problem as long as i provide them with the proper care they need. I will look into it further and do some more research. again, thanks for your input!

 

[Don Trinko]

I would not feel like I was mistreating 3 clown loaches by putting them in a 50. If you look at what the breeders do to "grow out" their fish you will see that under good conditions with consistant care you can put a lot of fish per galon. I've had fish since the 60's and recomendations for fish/g are very different now, Yet my fish lived for years back then and even bred.
I have seen ridiculus recomendations. Sometimes I think some people are trying to discurage you from keeping certain fish. If you read abought pond managment you will find that you can have a lot of little fish or a few big fish or anywhwere inbetween. I think some of this apply's to aquariums.
If you are looking to grow the biggest fish less fish/g, if you will settle for slightly smaller but healthy fish you can put in more fish/g.
One other point: I see lots of posts that say " they git as big as 12" " Probably true but most of them are more like 6 to 8". My sun inlaw has a pond with Bass "as big as 20" " but most of the ones you see are 8 to 12". Don T.

 

[poopsydrew]

I would not feel like I was mistreating 3 clown loaches by putting them in a 50. If you look at what the breeders do to "grow out" their fish you will see that under good conditions with consistant care you can put a lot of fish per galon. I've had fish since the 60's and recomendations for fish/g are very different now, Yet my fish lived for years back then and even bred.
I have seen ridiculus recomendations. Sometimes I think some people are trying to discurage you from keeping certain fish. If you read abought pond managment you will find that you can have a lot of little fish or a few big fish or anywhwere inbetween. I think some of this apply's to aquariums.
If you are looking to grow the biggest fish less fish/g, if you will settle for slightly smaller but healthy fish you can put in more fish/g.
One other point: I see lots of posts that say " they git as big as 12" " Probably true but most of them are more like 6 to 8". My sun inlaw has a pond with Bass "as big as 20" " but most of the ones you see are 8 to 12". Don T.

Don trinko,
I cannot tell you how well you captured how i feel about this site. Dont get me wrong, this site is extremely helpful and knowledagble, but sometimes it feels like they are just being way way too careful and trying to discourage people from keeping certain types of fish. And i completely agree with what you said even if you are a little overstocked with consistent care and good water conditions it really isnt a problem. I love this site but sometimes it just sounds like people are just too too careful. thanks for your help and advice. I think i will be picking up some clown loaches when my tank cycles. Thanks again.

 

[rdd1952]

The reason people are too careful on here is that we are trying to help people that are new to the hobby and make their life easier. Once you have cycled a tank and it has had time to mature and you have learned how to care for a tank, you can push the stocking limits. As for telling people how big fish get when they get older, it's so they don't stunt the growth of a fish by keeping it in a tank that is too small. They may not have the option of upgrading to a larger tank later on and have no place to rehome them.

 

[Amunet]

I've read up on Clowns when I used to want them and have read that as they get older, they start becoming more aggressive.
It was a while ago when I read this information though, so not sure when they start showing aggressive behaviour... how aggressive or any of that.
Maybe it was just during mating..... eh I can't remember lol.... I'm sure you can find some info on that if ya look hard enough

 

[wendywc]

I second rdd1952's statement. I've personally seen people buy fish (mostly plecos, in my experience) with the initial good intentions of upgrading later. But then later comes and they don't. Then they say that they can't rehome them since they are attached to them and they can't afford a bigger tank. Or that they reason the fish have been happy so far, so why bother... or so forth.

Anyway, nothing against you poopsydrew. You definately come across as a most responsible and smart guy with your topics and comments.

As for clown loaches getting aggressive, I've never personally heard of any stories on that. However, I really don't know anyone whose kept them for that long, that have grown that big. I can tell you of personal horror stories about the red-finned loaches... so sweet when little and so mean (and popping out their eye spines tearing stuff) when they get past 4 to 5 inches.

 

[poopsydrew]

rdd, amunet, and wendy,
Thank you all very much for your imput and advice. I want to say i really hope i did not offend anyone, especially you rdd as i did not want to come off mean or defensive. I dont like how my tone sounded in my last post and i believe i would never have gotten into this hobby if it wasnt for the help of the people on this site. I understand why "you guys" are a little bit overcautious, for the better and best life of the fish. So with that said, i am still very confused about wether or not i will get them. My tank is very very long, so that makes me happy they will have plenty of swimming room. I am more worried about aggression than about length. If i decide to take these guys on, I WILL upgrade to a bigger tank when necessary. plus i am always looking for a good excuse to get another tank Thanks for the compliment wendy, You have always been respectful and helpful to me and i appreciate it. Well i could really use some more input and advice....thanks again everyone
anyone else know anything that might help me make a decision?

 

[wendywc]

Hey Drew, I just looked at your profile... don't know why I haven't before. Anyway, I would personally take that lone yoyo loach from your 10 gallon and put him in the 50 with a few buddies. Three small clown loaches sound okay, but 6 yoyo loaches or more would be much more fun I think... of course, I'm bias because I'm a big fan of group dynamics. I just love big groups. Just another option to think about.

 

[tetraqueen]

The good thing about this thread is it has made me question my five clown loaches and whether I will be keeping them longer.

On here Many people adore agressive fish and I am now getting agitated as I will be petrified if my loaches get aggressive.

I have a Plec and it is easy to get into the feeling,' 'I'll keep these forever they are fine',however, I am the least confident fish keeper but I observe my fish daily and even I don't need to be told the Plec will get gigantic and that it would be like living in a lshoe box. The Bala's well they just want more swimming length now. They sorta dont get enough stretch in a length.


You will know what to do ,to be honest the thread has helped me decide. I think this is the presient of the forum where if read and get the chance to debate and can interpretate other debates and we will all differ we can then decide what we want.

If we did not disagree experiment with life none of us would be independent adults. Interact, choose what info is best and react and face the consequences.


As you say you are responsible. I say good luck and enjoy fish keeping I do.

 

[sheree]

Can I just say this thread as been really interesting. I have been in a similar predicament. I have a 45gal tank with currently 2 clown loaches in. I was discouraged to buy them as they can get so big, however, when i bought them about a year ago they were very very young and only about 1.5" and felt by the time they did get big, I could rehome them. Luckily enough I have a friend who has a much larger tank and she was willing to take them in if they got big soon. At the time of getting the 2 clowns I also had 2 smaller bala's who quite quickly grew and started ripping up my plants, so my friend took them in. However, the loaches always seemed to play with the bala's and ever since getting rid of them, I hardly ever see my loaches now. I wondered about getting another one or two smaller ones for company but again I wasn't sure if my tank would hold it. My current loaches have probably grown about an inch or two, one of them seems to have fattened out more while the other one is still much smaller so I'm assuming I've got a male and female. They have great characters and when they do come out, thye are fantastic to watch nosing each other for dominance. The larger one does sometimes chase the other one when they are being fed but otherwise no other problems. I am tempted to get another one for company and hopefully get the other 2 out of their hiding home alittle more.

 

[rdd1952]

rdd, amunet, and wendy,
Thank you all very much for your imput and advice. I want to say i really hope i did not offend anyone, especially you rdd as i did not want to come off mean or defensive. I dont like how my tone sounded in my last post and i believe i would never have gotten into this hobby if it wasnt for the help of the people on this site. I understand why "you guys" are a little bit overcautious, for the better and best life of the fish.

No offense taken. I understand the way written statements come across sometimes as opposed to spoken statements. Voice inflection can make a lot of difference. As you said, we're all here to help and we were all newbies once and asking the same questions. There will always be differences of opinion and that's what makes the world great. After all, you're all entitled to your wrong opinion.....LOL, only kidding.

 

[tetraqueen]

rdd, amunet, and wendy,
Thank you all very much for your imput and advice. I want to say i really hope i did not offend anyone, especially you rdd as i did not want to come off mean or defensive. I dont like how my tone sounded in my last post and i believe i would never have gotten into this hobby if it wasnt for the help of the people on this site. I understand why "you guys" are a little bit overcautious, for the better and best life of the fish.

No offense taken. I understand the way written statements come across sometimes as opposed to spoken statements. Voice inflection can make a lot of difference. As you said, we're all here to help and we were all newbies once and asking the same questions. There will always be differences of opinion and that's what makes the world great. After all, you're all entitled to your wrong opinion.....LOL, only kidding.

Tis true though the way most people change from there mstakes if they make them in the first place. I think it is good to get someone to stand ground on something as respect comes from just that.

 

[FreshwaterMike]

I have 2 clown loaches in my 3 foot tank. They are calm fish that love hiding around the bottom of the tank but they dont seem to mind the light at all really.