Loaches Online Forum

I have a nice sized single healthy clown loach. He is in a 200litre tank with angelfish and Rummy nose tetras. This has been a nice stable setup for many years. I know now that the loach would have been better off in a group but didn't find out until after I bought it - a common story I bet. Any way he is healthy and friendly, a bit like a dog, coming out to beg for food at meal times and having a fine tantrum if I am late dropping in his pellets.

Anyway. This year I am getting another larger tank. 450litres. Again it will house angelfish, and I intend to move the clown loach to this bigger home.

In turn I am now faced with a few choices and I'm not sure which to chose:
1. Leave the status quo and keep him on his own.
2. Get some yo yo loaches. Will the 2 types of loaches mix enough to give him company? They are more practical of course as they will not get quite so big.
3. Buy more clown loaches. This worries me as, now I am a bit wiser, I don't want 5 massive loaches stocking out a tank when it's main purpose is as a retirement tank for adult angelfish I don't want to breed but don't want to sell.

Your expert opinions will be great fully received.

I'd suggest that you either get more clown loaches, or find the one a good home with more of his kind.

Sell the clown loach. You'll get a good bit of money for a decent sized one. Then get yourself a little school of kubotais or histrionicas. They stay a bit smaller than the yoyos and don't have the reputation for aggression. Of course, having said that, I know nothing about angelfish...maybe they do well with angelfish. And Most loaches have that dog-like personality (it's why we love them so), so you will still have that personality in the tank, but with group antics.

Keep your older Clown Loach and maintain the status quo.

Why change something that clearly works well for you?

Changing things involves significant risk for your fish.

If you were starting out afresh I would advise getting a group of Clown Loach, but now? I don't think so.

Other Loaches? Unlikely to improve the situation.

But if you are dissatisfied with the current situation, you can always experiment if you are bored with things.

redshark1 wrote:... you can always experiment if you are bored with things.

But, don't experiment doing something that will put the fish at risk just because you maybe bored. A 200 liter (50 gal) tank is not really big enough for one clown much less a clown with several angels plus tetras. Of course, if it has been several years, both the angels and clown are stunted in their growth.

Ok thanks everyone. I am glad I asked. I won't sell him randomly - here in Australia I see too many big clown loaches languishing in pet shops and I don't want that fate. I might need to rethink what I am doing with my new tanks. Actually the angels are not stunted. I have 14 tanks of various sizes and breed/sell angels on a small scale. I am very pedantic about feeding and water quality. My question arose, not out of boredom but because I am expanding my fish room and saw it as a potential to give the clown a better home. I am no loach expert, I don't think he is stunted either but I guess I have nothing to compare it to so I bow to your experience. I will attempt a photo, although he moves that damn fast.

I bought a clown loach last year to join my group of 5. The only reason I bought him was because he was deserted in a small fish shop by it's ex-owners having being kept on his own before. He was quite big, around 6 inches when I got him. He adapted extremely well to my tank. There were no territorial fights although he's the biggest I have, my other 5 are only a few years old so 4-5" max. He wasn't in the best of shape when I got him, his colours were quite dull, the orange looked faint pinkish for a good while and he had a white bump on his nose but the transition went smoothly. He's now grown even more and has recovered his colours. He loves the company of this new friends too so I am sure they prefer being kept in groups no matter what or at what stage of their life.

My point is that if you find him a good home with someone you trust and has other loaches of similar size then maybe you can give him away. Otherwise I'd keep him because some people manage to kill fish pretty fast. Better a loner than a dead fish. On another hand buying young clown loaches presents a risk to your own clown because people say they can be susceptible to ich and possibly aren't as healthy as your own loach too.

Good luck whatever way you go about it.