Does size really matter?

[L&L]

We have a guppy tank. They share with the 3 healthy clown loaches.

How long would it take for them to outgrow a 35 gal tank?

They've doubled in size so far, they are about 3 inches. We've had them for 2 months.

[mikev]

They've doubled in size so far, they are about 3 inches. We've had them for 2 months.

You mean the guppies, right?
Because Clown Loaches don't grow THIS FAST for sure.

[shari2]

Actually mike,
Little clowns DO grow very quickly. They will slow down, but probably before they outgrow the 35. How much time? It's hard to say and will depend on how much you feed, and a whole lot of other factors. You will know when they are getting there.

When they can do the length of the tank in the time it takes you to blink an eye, when the food you have to feed to get them full bellies has increased remarkably, when the mystery snail becomes their favorite plaything...when they look cramped in the tank. When you have to increase water changes or the nitrate levels get too high, too fast...

The mystery snail is probably fine for now. But not for too long. Eventually, the loaches will harass it so much, it won't be able to get enough food.

[mikev]

Actually mike,
Little clowns DO grow very quickly.

The do, but 1.5" in two months? Well, if you say so.

[L&L]

Heh heh... Been reading lots today about how others feed their fish...

Seems we feed ours 2x per day. Could be reason to large loaches... heh

Perhaps we should back off a tad?

We have fry. So we feel compelled to feed...

[L&L]

Will move smiley to the 10 gal next water change. He's on the bottom of the tank... He doesn't look so happy next to those clickin' loaches...

It was just today that my gf discovered it was the fish that made that clickin' noise!!!

I was going crazy thinkin' the tank was shortin' out or something...

[shari2]

What are you feeding? Lots of people will feed 2x per day. And yes, they do click! The sound gets deeper as they get older and starts to sound like a rock tapping on wood.

Lately mine have gotten very friendly. They show up expecting food every time I come in the room. The smallest one actually sits inside my hand while I hold the bloodworms and gets more than his share. The largest loach spends so much time chasing everyone else away that the little one actually gets the most food. Even he is now eating out of my hand (or sometimes trying to eat my hand!). They are so soft and smooth. Feels like warm satin.

[Martin Thoene]

Young Botiine loaches grow quite rapidly and have high metabolisms. They use up food quickly and put on bulk.
The Czech-bred "histrionica" that I inherited from angelfish83 are growing at an amazing rate and they're always after food. they're little bellies get fat, but within 2 to 3 hours they're slimmer again.
Just like human babies, young fish thrive on "little and often", so feeding twice a day is perfectly ok.

Good feeding coupled with frequent water-changes will see many young fish species grow rapidly.

Martin.

[shari2]

We have fry.

You mean guppy fry? They will be loach food eventually...unless you have really good hiding places for them that the clowns can't get in to. Or unless you feed so well that the clowns are always stuffed and laying around sleeping on their sides.

[mikev]

Young Botiine loaches grow quite rapidly and have high metabolisms. They use up food quickly and put on bulk.
The Czech-bred "histrionica" that I inherited from angelfish83 are growing at an amazing rate and they're always after food. they're little bellies get fat, but within 2 to 3 hours they're slimmer again.
.....
Good feeding coupled with frequent water-changes will see many young fish species grow rapidly.

Right, but the specific growth patterns and rates are species-dependent. With Yoyo's, the initial growth is extremely rapid, and 1.5" in two months is surely possible. I guess your Czechies follow the same pattern. But for clowns, it is about 1.5"/year in good conditions, often less.
The stated 1.5"/2 months is 6 times faster than this!

Makes one wonder. Perhaps, guppy fry diet helped.

----

APPEND. Incidentally, it would be interesting to compare the growth rate/pattern of your Czechies against std. Histrionica.

[clownloach]

get a big tank (180) and buy more fish, pretty soon you'll have some huge fish! lol

[bevans]

Relative newbie here. How big a footprint do kuhlii loaches need? They don't seem to get as big as some of these other sorts of loaches. I was thinking about getting a 20L tank and planting it with nice sand and wood or rock hidey holes for my kuhliis, but would it even be big enough for say 5-6 of them if there weren't other fish? And is it better to get long tanks for them? I have learned from my other fish tank that I need sand rather than gravel, and this would be my first try at an actual planted tank. Given that they are stream fish, is there some sort of filtration that is better for them than others? Should I get some sort of power head to give the water more movement? How long would you give the tank to establish itself before introducing them? In short, what would you do to make a kuhlii loach paradise?