I am new and messed up

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Tardigrades953
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:19 pm

I am new and messed up

Post by Tardigrades953 » Sat Oct 24, 2015 10:24 am

Hi, I am new to this site. It looks like there is a lot if great info.

I just wanted to give you a background of my loaches so maybe an expert can push me in the right direction.

I got a 20 gallon tank, lightly planted for my balloon mollies. I had a snail outbreak in all my tanks. I looked online for all options. Many warning against getting loaches for small aquariums. So, I sought to get a pair of dwarf puffers for my 10 gallon planted that was being taken over by pond snails. I hate snails. I called the pet stores and no one had dwarf puffers. I really didn't want to tear my whole tank down.

I finally decided that I had to get some clown loaches. I could always give them back after a time.

So my husband brought the last 2 clowns from the lfs. They did not look like any if the pictures! One was very very skinny and almost looked stunted around 1.5 inches. The other was a bit healthier, skinny around 2.5 inches. I quarantined them and let them eat all the snails. I was happy, they seemed happy. I got a coconut cave, put more plants in my 20. I gave them zucchini, squash, cucumber, many kinds of fish foods and snails as often as I can. I keep up with 50% water changes every other day. They have grown at least an inch in 6 months. I got very attached to them. I keep telling myself soon I will give them up... But it is hard! They love to play. I have 2 filters with strong flow rate. They seem happy and come out to ask for food!

I thought they will grow much slower, and I feed them daily mixed foods to ensure proper growth and water changes. But, it looks like I will have to get a larger tank soon even though they have comfortable swimming space now. How long will they be ok like this or can someone push me in the right direction?

Greek
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:17 pm
Location: Krakow, Poland

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Greek » Sat Oct 24, 2015 3:53 pm

Hello! :)
It's always bad idea to buy loaches as an 'antidote' for snails. But if You are after this decision, and you became 'loachholic' (as I can see :wink: ) that's good - now it's just only Your task to provide them a suitable tank.
Tardigrades953 wrote: How long will they be ok like this or can someone push me in the right direction?

Some information about dimensions of Your tank will be very helpful to answer that question :)
I understand that the bigger one is now 3.5 inches long. Am I right?

You said that Your clowns were skinny. Is that fact still actual? The fast growth is the more interesting, considering the fact, that they were (still are?) skinny. Usually weakened loaches grow slower. You must be lucky ;) Have you treated them for skinny disease?

One thing more: clowns are soooo sociable loaches, and will be happy if You buy them some mates. But of course not untill You would have a proper tank for them.

Tardigrades953
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:19 pm

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Tardigrades953 » Sat Oct 24, 2015 4:14 pm

Hi, thanks for the reply.
My tank dimensions are for 20 high which are
24"lx12"wx16"h

Trying to measure the loaches reads about 3" for smaller and 3.5" for larger now.

I did read on skinny disease and really hoped my clown loaches did not have any parasites. I don't know anything or feel confident to start putting meds without knowing for sure. I suppose the clown loaches were just really young or underfed. They have grown in height and girth, so I am not worried about any diseases as of now. I guess if they had any growth stunting or disease, they would not grow or a lot slower than now?

Greek
Posts: 72
Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:17 pm
Location: Krakow, Poland

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Greek » Sat Oct 24, 2015 5:16 pm

Tardigrades953 wrote:I guess if they had any growth stunting or disease, they would not grow or a lot slower than now?
Yep, as I wrote, it can indicate that Your loaches are in a good shape :)
Tardigrades953 wrote:24"lx12"wx16"h
That's not good, cause the most important thing is length (and also width) of a tank. The height doesn't have a significant impact for those fish.
IMO it's the high time to search for a bigger home for them. Now the bigger one's length is over 1/7 of a tank's length. That's too much and it can become uncomfortable for clowns.

Tardigrades953
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:19 pm

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Tardigrades953 » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:37 am

Ok, so they will be ok for now until I figure out what is the best home I can give them and we may be moving sometime In the future. Thanks for the help.

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redshark1
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Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, Great Britain.

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by redshark1 » Sun Oct 25, 2015 5:42 pm

Nobody knows what is the minimum tank size.

People can say 6' x 2' x 2' but nobody can say for sure what size the Loaches will get to after 20 years in that size tank.

People have said they reach 15" (though how they know this they didn't say). If that is really true I would suspect that a larger tank than 6' x 2' x 2' is needed for Clown Loaches to reach their maximum size.

Mine have reached 9" after 21 years in a 6' x 18" x 18" aquarium so are stunted. Now get your ruler out and seriously consider it. Go on, I am not joking, get out your ruler and think about this! 9" is stunted!

On the other hand I have read that fishermen interviewed in Borneo by a research project stated that 8-10" is the normal adult size caught by them. The project to study the fishes was unfortunately abandoned due to extreme turbidity in the rivers. All environments seem to be damaged in some way these days by man's activities. This is extremely sad as objective information is desperately needed.
6 x Clown Loaches all 30 years of age on 01.01.2024, largest 11.5", 2 large females, 4 smaller males, aquarium 6' x 18" x 18" 400 ltr/90 uk gal/110 US gal. approx.

Tardigrades953
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:19 pm

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Tardigrades953 » Sun Oct 25, 2015 7:12 pm

It seems like it may all be a big guessing game what is the best environment other than natural. We should feel a little confident if our loaches are disease free, eating a balanced diet, look healthy, have comfortable swimming space, seem happy and playful, growing at a steady pace or were. Most of us don't have access to a vet. Obviously if you love your pets you do your research and use good judgement as we go there is no need to panic and constantly belittle our efforts? Maybe that is just me, but that seemed like the tone of your response. I just elaborated a bit.

Diana
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Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:35 am
Location: Near San Franciso

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Diana » Sun Oct 25, 2015 7:51 pm

For an active, social fish I would go with a foot of tank for each inch of length of the largest fish, especially while they are still growing. A tank that is longer and deeper (front to back) is better than a tall tank. My Goldfish, for example, got moved out to the pond when they got about 4" long. I raised them in a 4' long tank for less than 6 months before moving them out.

Baby Clown Loaches can grow really fast when they have a nice assortment of food. Sounds like you are taking good care of them.
If you keep up with the water changes, they may be OK in something like a 20 long for a little longer (30" long, but still small enough to be easy to move) but a 40 gallon breeder style would be better- the whole floor area is a lot larger, and floor area is important to fish like this. A 40 breeder is 36" long x 16 or 17" high and deep.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

RD.
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 2:51 am
Location: Canada

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by RD. » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:16 pm

People have said they reach 15" (though how they know this they didn't say). If that is really true I would suspect that a larger tank than 6' x 2' x 2' is needed for Clown Loaches to reach their maximum size.
I have seen clown loaches in captivity that were 14-15", the LFS that had them in one of their massive display tanks sold them a few yrs back. Selling price was $450 per loach, and they were supposedly 15+ yrs of age. They all sold rather quickly.

Having said that loaches that size is certainly not typical, and like many clown loaches kept in captivity they seemed to be obese. Most larger adult wild caught loaches that I have seen collected were quite slim in comparison, and the largest specimens that I have seen imported have been in the 10-11" range, although it is certainly quite possible that larger specimens have been collected in the wild. My experience with clown loaches is that in a large group some will grow much larger than others, and as redshark has stated some may not ever exceed 8 or 9", even after 20+ years in captivity.

While bigger is always better, IMO some people tend to get a bit carried away when suggesting min tank sizes for clown loaches. The good news is that large CL's always sell very easily, so if/when the day comes that you have to move them out finding them a new home will not be an issue.

Tardigrades953
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:19 pm

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Tardigrades953 » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:16 am

Well, supposing my fish will get pretty big and need a foot/inch space, maybe I will just put them for adoption? Where is a good place to do that? I was thinking maybe I could do 100 gal or 120 but not more. Is there a place on this website for adoptions?

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redshark1
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Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, Great Britain.

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by redshark1 » Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:37 pm

Thanks RD. I was pleased to read your contribution about the giant Clown Loaches :) .

Now i know they really exist! :D
6 x Clown Loaches all 30 years of age on 01.01.2024, largest 11.5", 2 large females, 4 smaller males, aquarium 6' x 18" x 18" 400 ltr/90 uk gal/110 US gal. approx.

Diana
Posts: 4675
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:35 am
Location: Near San Franciso

Re: I am new and messed up

Post by Diana » Wed Oct 28, 2015 11:47 pm

You can just offer them in this forum. Site is not so big that it needs separate forums for each subject.

100-120 gallons can be a good sized tank, if you select a longer one rather than a tall one. You won't need one this large for a few years. If you are moving, perhaps the new place will have a good location for such a tank.
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

Tardigrades953
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2015 6:19 pm

Re: I am new and messed up update

Post by Tardigrades953 » Mon May 23, 2016 12:44 pm

Just wanted to update on the 2 clowns. They have been steadily growing on their diet of algae wafers, snails and vegatables until a little while ago. My husband really loved them and was hoping to upgrade. It never happened.

We moved and the clown loaches just hid all the time. They still ate lots and I changed water frequently, so was not worried about their health. We decided that it was time to get them to a new home.

The person who came and got them assured us they would have a very big home and cared for well. I am never going to make that mistake again. Though if we get a very large tank we will fill it with loaches.

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