Did I Make A Mistake?

[krabby]

I know the rule of thumb: 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, but here is where I'm at. I have a 30 gallon tank stocked with 5 platys, 4 Cardinal Tetras, 4 Ghost fish, 3 Rose tetras and one cory cat. I ran into a snail problem recently and decided to get a Clown Loach. After researching a little more I realized they work better in schools so I got 2 more for a total of 3. Add them to what I already have and I'm sure I'm pushing the envelope (so to speak). So here are the questions: 1. Will the Loaches limit their growth based on the size of the tank? 2. Could I have stuck with one? 3. Am I OK with what I have or should I do something else? Any feedback would be helpful.

 

[lilfishie]

i would take the clown back and innvest in a smaller loach, if not the clown may become stunted, although they are very slow growers so if your planning on upgrading then think it should be fine

 

[Aqua Andy]

Clown Loachs like to be kept in groups, and your tank is to small for them, they can grow to 12"/30cm. I'd take them back.

IMHO it's not a good idea to get fish to try and solve problems with the tank, like snails and algae. I'd remove as many of the snails as possible and use a snail treatment, but make sure to check that the treatment you use is suitable for use with the fish you have.


Andy

 

[mark.w.jones]

If you have loads of snails it is likely that you are overfeeding your tank. It is very difficult to have a completely snail free tank and 30 gallon like that should only have maybe 5 - 10 snails tops as long as you are not over feeding. And actually a small number of snails is not necessarily a bad thing as they are great at mopping up uneaten food and algae in many cases.

How often are you feeding and what are you feeding, in what amounts? As by eliminating huge amounts of left over food you will really reduce your numbers to something much more managable.

Getting rid of snails is next to impossible once you get them. Loaches are a good option but in the vast majority of cases the clown loach is really not the best one. As mentioned above there are many smaller loaches which will do an equally good job. The Pakistani Loach, Botia almorhae is smaller and very effective at ridding the tank of snails as is the Zebra Loach, Botia striatus for example.

 

[krabby]

Thanks for all the advice. I generally feed flake food twice a day (small pinch). I've been thinking about upgrading to a bigger tank for a while now. Maybe this would be the time since I really hate to bring fish back once I have them. I would have gotten Zebra Loaches but went to three different places and couldn't find them.