Clown Loach Questions

[Chtheo]

Hi,

About six months ago, i adopted a clown loach from a friend who was giving up the hobby (something about needing money for children or something...)i agreed on impulse, as i needed help with a snail issue, and I am semi-regretting this after reading up on them, but, he is settled in and doing well. and hopefully before he is too big i will be able to upgrade to a more suitable tank size (currently he is in a 100l, 80cm tank, he is currently 5 inches, adn spends most of his time hiding in a cave). Or worst case scenario he will soon join other loaches of a similar size at my lfs.

Anyway, i have 2 questions about him.

1) If i do get a bigger tank (4-6ft seems to be recomended) will i be able to add younger more clownloaches to the tank so he has friends? i know they spar in order to sort out hierarchy, i obviously dont want to add little fish only to have them killed by Clive.

and

2) I originally agreed to adopt him because i had loads of snails. My friend offered him as he was giving up the hobby and he will deal with my snail issues, for the first little while he did, there were no snails what so ever. now, however, i am over run by them! he doesnt seem to be touching them, and i am wondering if they are simply too small, and therefore not apetising enough for him! I have cut down on supplementing his food, in the hopes that will force him to graze but nothing, and obviously i dont want to starve the poor thing.

A different friend recomended assasin snails to tackle the snails. but obviously i dont want to add them if Clive will go and eat them. Will they be safe? or will he see a nice juicy snail-steak?

3)Finally, how big to they actually get?? I know they are active fish, so probably no way i can keep him in my tank much longer, but i have been through the interwebs and maximum sizes seem to range from 6-12 inches! with no definitive answer.

 

[Iiriva]

The bigger the tank the better. I wouldn't keep any in a tank smaller than 6 feet as they are strong fish which like stream-like waters and therefore a lot of space. The fact that he is hiding is because he is unconfortable. They are shoaling fish, and need the company of their own kind. They grow slowly, but indeed grow into big size and can live up to 20 years and beond if well kept.

The size of the other clowns shouldn't be an issue. If all of them are smaller than the old one there's no question about who should be the boss.

Clowns aren't really too great with snails. They might eat few of them every now and then, but for destroying the whole population you should be picking up and killing them for yourself, too.

Your tank is definetely way too small for clowns. For my opionion, it should be at least five times that bigger that it is now.

And for the final size, well, it depens. But they get big. One of my beloved, old clown loaches died a few days ago, and he was quite large, but they can get even bigger (I have 25 clown loaches in a 1125 liter tank, which is about 8,2 feet) than he was.

 

[Chtheo]

Firstly, Sorry for your loss. Its only been a short time, but ive grown quite attached to Clive, so i dread to think how you felt!

Secodly, 1125? OH MY GOD! I WANT ONE! you must be able to get in there and go for a swim!

As it is, i dont think i can justify buying some companions for him. as i simply dont have the room at this moment, and after your post, i think i may have to take him to my LFS sooner rather than later, i have a pretty good relationship with them, so maybe they can even hold him for me until i can get a bigger tank.

The Snails thing was lazyness, i had tried a low dose of aquarium salt and 101 other methods i found online, and it didnt impact them, and aside from trying to net the little buggers, i didnt know what else to do. there are quite a few of them, and i honestly dont think i will be able to get enough of them out to make a dent in their population. but going by what you said, i should be OK with assasins?

Obviously once Clive is gone there will be no issue.

Also, i noticed the clown loack in your picture has different markings compared to mine, is that significant in any way? My Clown loach has stripes going all the way down, where as the one in your picture doesnt.

 

[Iiriva]

Also, i noticed the clown loack in your picture has different markings compared to mine, is that significant in any way? My Clown loach has stripes going all the way down, where as the one in your picture doesnt.

All clowns have small differences in their patterns, it's like fingerprints.

 

[Chtheo]

Ah i see, i wondered if it was that, or different sub species or something. I prefer to think they are all unique though