The perfect clown loach tank mates.

[Loachloach]

So after all these arguments we have no reliable data or information from what exactly type of water clown loaches come from?
Do not get me wrong, I am not trying to justify how I keep my fish but I am now very curious to know all the important parameters of their native waters.
You are suggesting soft water and presuming our testing methods are always correct, can you be more specific as to the Ph, Gh, Kh and TDS ranges exactly you have in mind? And where did you get your source of information about it?
Water can have a low ph and high mineral content and TDS, or high ph and low mineral content and TDS, could have high Gh and low Kh and low Ph, etc...Now, we can never have exactly the same water the clown loaches came from, but what is a close one to it if we try to reproduce it. And how do we go about it? RO and mineralize? But to what values?

Also, what would be the consequences I am facing of keeping my clown loaches for 3 years in the incorrect water stats? What should I be expecting to see as a result of them not tolerating it well?

[chefkeith]

The tropical water conditions in Borneo and Sumatra vary greatly depending on the monsoon season. The water's pH can range anywhere from 4 to 8 from what I've read. Along with the pH changes, the temperature, oxygen levels, CO2 content, TDS, GH, and KH levels change throughout the seasons also. So in nature, clown loaches rarely have steady water parameters, like we do in our aquariums. The water parameter changes in their nature environment are slow and steady though.

I wouldn't worry so much about water parameters. Concentrate more on keeping the water clean and well filtered, having plenty of water flow and surface agitation to promote oxygen exchange, and lots hidey holes and caves for the clowns to rest in.

[Loachloach]

Thanks chefkeith. I did a bunch of research yesterday. There isn't much info but it seems you are right.

From what I gather the baby clown loaches in Borneo grow in swamp acidic conditions where they are normally collected for the aquarium trade but move on once they grow to higher areas in the main river where conditions are different and water can be even cooler and very fast moving, with different stats. Plus the monsoon season and floods cause the conditions to change drastically half the year. It did say that the areas where adult clowns stay are not as regulated fishing wise and they suffer from overfishing already as locals eat large clown loaches and never release them back if caught by accident, apparently they are tasty. Something of the sort of 24 adult clowns per square kilometre lol. We keep 24 loaches in one large fish tank.

But from what I read conditions vary from quite acidic tea coloured stagnant peat swamps to fast moving clear, and even cooler water with totally different water conditions where the adults tend to live their adult lives and rarely if ever go to the swamps.
But I still couldn't find exact parameters like Gh, Kh, TDS for the main rivers but it seems they are poor in nutrients like nitrates and phosphates so higher underwater plants don't flourish.

[Loachloach]

I actually have to correct myself. I checked my old videos and I got the clown loaches in 2012 so I've had them for probably a bit longer than 2 years, not 3 as I thought.