Loaches Online Forum

I been keeping clown loach for exactly one year now (from May 2014 to May 2015). I got about 80 small clown loach 1-2 inches, now they're about 2-4 inch. Half of the clown loaches are tank raised and other half are wild caught. One dead last month and i dont know why its died after the feeding. When I pick him out his stomach were fatted, maybe choking? I do 50% sometime 80% water change a week. I prepared water a week ahead in a brute trashcan and still add Prime right before put water in aquarium.

I stop feeding pellets or any kind of dry food because i learn that it have preservative or wheat flour to bind the food.

I have tested with New life spectrum for 10 days with clown loach to see if they look healthy and more colorful. They dont like it. They take forever to eat it, going back and fort spit them out, and cloud the water.

Now I feed mostly frozen food: Pe mysis, hikari brine shrimp spirulina, bloodworm, chopped salmon, chopped snail, chopped clam, chopped mussel, chopped scallop, chopped crab meat, and fresh cucumber.

I have stop using almond leaves. It's too much work and maybe money for it. One of the member in here "redshark1" was right, almond leave is not necessary.

This is my way to keep clown loach for 1 year now. Do you guys have any advice? Anything i can do better? thanks.


1 year clown loach video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaQP5j2gWss

Feeding bloodworm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ6k_BFHVUo

if the link don't work type in youtube "1 year with clown loach"

I hope those 80 clown loaches are in a large tank
Just make sure you do enough water changes and I'd also recommend feeding them some green stuff as well like blanched peas, cucumber, etc..
Be careful with some of the meaty stuff as diseases can be transferred into the tank.
I feed mine NLS pellets and they love them so I think it's all about what they are used to.

I have about 80 clown loach, 2 pleco L25 scarlet, 15 rummies nose tetra, 2 zebra loach, and 4 tiger barb in 240 gallons tank. is that overstocked? I tend to overfeeding. I feed them one a day. they are all fatted after the feeding.

My dream is one day i upgrade my tank to 2000 gallons. They are about 35,000 to 45,000usd. Im saving up right now. My wife already yell at me with the idea having that tank.

What other green food you feed your clown loach? im worry my fish dont get enough green in their diet. Right now i feed them fresh organic cucumber and zucuchi.

For pellets arent you afraid of preservative and too much wheat flour?

NLS pellets are a good quality dry food. They give good long term results with clown loaches even as a staple diet. All dry foods have some sort of binders. The ones to avoid would be corn based. There's a very good discussion about fish food at the link below I posted. Here is an extract about wheat flower:

With regards to "wheat flour", just like most carbs/starches, it only becomes a "bad" ingredient if excessive amounts are used. There's a BIG difference between a food that consists of 18% wheat flour, and one that consists of 38% wheat flour. While it doesn't add much in the way of protein, when used accordingly the carbohydrates in wheat flour are easily assimilated by all fish species & utilized as a form of energy, as well as assisting in synthesizing lipids and protein. So while its primary function is typically as a binding agent, wheat flour does add some nutritional value beyond just roughage.


Source link: http://forums.eastcoastcichlids.org/sho ... php?t=5361

Besides the veg you mentioned, clown loaches also like melon. You can try blanched peas(peeled) too and see if they take to them. Mine do. They of course like algae wafers too but if you don't want to feed them dry food, that's fine too

Long term the tank would be overstocked if 80 loaches grow to full size

Wow, those fish eat better than some people! LOL I would love to see pics of the tank as a whole and some clown close ups! I don't think I've ever seen a pic with 80 loaches in it! Again, you said they were wild caught or did you breed them? Thanks.

My clown love a big leaf of romaine lettuce!

They were very small when i bought them about 1 inch or less (about a thumb nail, very very small). The LFS told me they are tank raised and have a lot of odd pattern on them, so i believe them. I bought another batch at different LFS slightly bigger 1 to 2 inches, and their pattern are not odd, so I think they are wild caught.

Can someone tell me how to post a picture in here? thanks

You need to first open a free account with an image webstie like photobucket.com for example.
Then upload the pictures there. Once uploaded, on the right side of the uploaded picture you'll see the "direct" link which you can use in forums.

Copy and paste that link from the picture account here or just insert it between [img]picture%20link[/img] and once you submit, it will show up here.

Or, if video is easier that would work too. I've found uploading to YouTube is the easiest and then you can copy and paste the link here in the same fashion as Loachloach suggested or just copy and paste the link without inserting it in between the brackets.

Thanks for trying.

1 year clown loach video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaQP5j2gWss

Feeding bloodworm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ6k_BFHVUo

if the link don't work type in youtube "1 year with clown loach"

Oh, wow, just saw the videos. They look great in there and enjoying themselves.
And the tiger barbs are a big confused joining in the rush

Great sized tank. Clowns look wonderful. I saw some larger tiger barbs, rummy nose tetras, and perhaps yoyo loaches?

yep. There are 4 tiger barbs, 2 yoyo loaches, and 15 rummies nose tetra.

I have Yoyos too and I like them very much.