2 Clowns in a 36

[Holdstrong]

Well, we can file this one under: "wish I had found this website BEFORE going to the LFS"

At any rate, I recently set up a brand new 36 inch bowfront tank. After cycling it I went back to my LFS to get my second round of stock. Thanks in part to my own ignorance and to the suggestion of the LFS employee I found myself bringing home 2 Clown Loaches (he actually suggested 4). Their tankmates at the moment include 6 cardinal tetras and 2 sunburst platys. They seem to be adjusting well and I am having a blast watching them interact with each other and their new environment (when they come out of the hole in the driftwood that is).

Of course it wasn't until AFTER I got them home and in the tank that I discovered that Clowns can grow to 12 inches, live for decades, and prefer the company of 4 to 5 other loaches.

So it appears I am in a bit of pickle and was hoping for some advice/guidance about my options for the future of these guys.

Should I:

- Add another clown (or two?!) to meet their social needs, but compound the space issue?

- Leave just the two of them in there to minimize the space crunch, but neglect their social instincts?

- Take them back to the store? This has crossed my mind as a way to "do right by the fish", but then I imagined that being back in a store tank to be given out again to someone who also most likely isn't prepared for them won't be helping them much.

I know, none of them sound acceptable.

This may or may not help you help me, but there is an outside chance that I can upgrade this tank to a larger size... but realistically I will not be able to swing anything along these lines for a year. However, if I do plan on eventually upgrading the tank in that time frame, what then would be the best action to take with them?

[mary.burns3]

If your clowns are around 2", as most LFS only have small ones, a group of 4 or 5 would be better, as long as you can upgrade within a year or so. They do get very big, but it takes years. I did the same, came home with a couple of clowns because of all the snails from the plants. My 2 are now a big group of 17, who are out all day and very boisterous.

[YellowFinned]

I would get three or four more clowns. They grow slowly, and your cardinals will be long gone by the time the clowns see them as food.

[mamaschild]

Be careful......I bought 4 at 2" and had to move them from a 40g to an 80g in a matter of 6 months They may take years to reach "full" size, but they don't grow slowly as young ones. Like most creatures, they have a fairly fast growth rate for the first year or two, then slow down.

My youngest are now about 3 years old and 5" to 6" long.......Thought you should know

[shazam26]

I currently have two clowns in a 20 gallon O_O
Though this wasn't by my own errors- they were definitely cute little gifts!
I'm waiting for a new group of clowns to come in, to add to their little family. My LFS refuses to sell clowns until they've been there for at least a month- so if any clowns with skinny disease arrive there, they can be treated and cared for before sale.

[crazy loaches]

I started out with clowns before I was on any forum online, not that long ago (~2 years). I bought them from petsmart and thier dang sticker said 6" or 7" (I cant remember exactly) and 10+ gallon tank. Figured my 40G would be perfect. I got three. Alteast my tank was a long tank, meaning 4 foot long. They were in there for probably less than 6 months. I upgraded the tank to a 75g. Then I found out the recomended minimum size was a 180G (6x2x2), and that they can get over a foot long but determined to provide for them I made the decision within a year or so I'd upgrade again. With this upgrade in mind I bought another 3 of them for a group of 6 in my 75G. So far in my 75, the biggest is about 4 or 5", though i beleive some stunting probably happened in my 40g or maybe even now in the 75. Ended up with a good deal on a 150 tall, but this was still only a 4-footer, and decided to use that for soemthing else and set my goals higher. So I finally broke down and got my clown tank. 240G 8x2x2 foot, from www.glasscages.com check em out. Although a bit small for clowns, thier 135G is a great price. And their 240G is a great deal as well. Their tanks are the best quality I have seen so far ina tank, and they are built to order, with many custom options. And they travel the U.S. attending reptile shows were you can pick up your aquarium, or they also have deliveries to certain areas and charge a small fee (much cheaper than shipping). My new tank is still sitting in my truck... cant get enough manpower to move it and still have to clear a really wide path through the garage! http://tristan.homelinux.net/fish/tank/240intruck.JPG For a good place for used tanks, check out http://craigslist.org/ and select your state and city and you can view local ads. Search for 'aquarium' as well as 'fish tank' some people may post it as one or the other.

[Holdstrong]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice!

Just figured I would update now that it has been a couple of weeks.

I decided to add another clown to address their social needs, making it 3 in this tank... and promising myself to upgrade the tank size as soon as financially doable and landlord lady doable.

It really appears to have been the right decision. Along with re-arranging the tank to provide a few more hiding holes, the extra company has really livened them up. The 3 of them have taken to each other and appear to be healthy and happy - dancing together during the day, hanging out during feeding time, clicking away while eating. They spend a surprising amount of time "out" and around the front of the tank, shooting back to hide when if I startle them, but coming back out quickly after.

They seem to have settled into a bit of a dominance hierarchy already too. The alpha is often grayed out during feeding and is not afraid to knock the others off their food, take his share, and retreat back to the hole. I get a big kick out of them, I swear they are more like dogs sometimes than fish.

Water prams are solid, water changes weakly, I'm mixing up the diet... fingers crossed that these guys and this tank will do well.

Next on the list after I let things settled a bit:

- Getting more subdued lighting for them, although they are anything but shy under their current lighting.
- Changing the substrate to sand.
- Exploring other feeding options for them, cucumber on a fork!

and of course... upgrading the tank when possible.

[LoachOrgy]

awesome! sounds like a happy tank. I notice my alpha greys out as well during feeding and pushes the others out of the way.

[Beowulf]

It's a great excuse to get a bigger tank in time. The thing I like about my clowns is while they can grow large they take more time then other fish to reach the size.

I started about 2 years ago with a 40g tank with and 2 clowns that where about 1.5 inches. I have since upgraded to a 65g with the original clowns that around about 4 inches or so and 3 new 1.5 inches and recently added 3 4.5-5 inch clowns from someone who was getting ride of his. I am not to worried about space as I am building a new house and once in the house the clowns will be getting a 210g tank to play in by August at the latest. So as long as you can upgrade, you can always add 2 more. But if you plan on remaining with the same size tank for some time I would bring the clowns back and try and get 4-5 smaller loaches like Zebras or YoYo's.