Lonely Loach

[QueenBee]

14" that sounds amazing! Can you post a pic so I can see what I have to look forward to?

I do hope his personality stays mellow, but he still has a lot of growing to do. I will have to wait and see. Mine is only at 6.5". I got him at around 2". Best birthday present ever!

[mikev]

I'll do this later.... but actually nothing interesting, looks very similar to yours.

Mine started at about 1"... I recall asking the guy at the store if 29g would be ok for him... and he said that no problem, I can buy ten and keep them all in a 10g.

......

BTW, I just repeated your clown rescue act today.... probably the most insane thing I did in years.....

[QueenBee]

Finding reliable help/advice is hard. Which is why I came to this forum in the first place

I certainly had a few "what am I getting myself into" thoughts when I decided to take on a sickly loach. But sometimes you just can't ignore what is starring you in the face and you have to act.

I hope the loach isn't in too bad of a shape. Good luck with your rescue!

[mikev]

Thank you!

Nay, the problem is not that she (obvious in this case) is sickly...no signs of this... worse... she is ... hmm ... large ... does not fit into the qtank.

[QueenBee]

yes, that is a bit of a wrinkle.

Double good luck then!

[mikev]

Pleco: not trying for a good image and not cleaning the glass! But here is him:

[mikev]

Right click on the image and View Image to see him in full....

[QueenBee]

He is spectacular! Great patterns

With you there on the glass! Glad to see I'm not the only one.

[Loachloach]

Well done for saving the clown loach. It looks great.
I too have a common pleco living with my 6 clown loaches. My pleco is around 12-13", I haven't measured him in a year so not sure the exact length now. I have him since he was a tiny baby. He grew up amongst corys with which he's been living from the start and he lets them eat his food under his nose. He's always been very peaceful and hasn't harmed the tiniest of fish. They aren't afraid of him too. My ottos use him as a landing spot, like a piece of bogwood. I've got pictures somewhere too with the pleco standing on his fins on the substrate and two corys using him as an umbrella, sitting underneath.
The clown loaches came after him and they evicted him from his cave at the time about which he wasn't very happy and it was the first time I had seen him so annoyed. He'd flash around the tank like a lunatic when he couldn't get into his place. I made him a new cave then which he took instantly. That was years ago and it's been a happy family ever since.....
.

[QueenBee]

Thanks! I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into but it has worked out.

Queen Bee is doing well, and forages mostly in the early morning and late at night. I have ordered moon lights so I can see her better and I am sure that when more clowns get added she will be more comfortable and come out more. I am cycling a tank now to be able to quarantine in a group of friends for her.

The pleco is a really nice fish. He has his place in the back of the tank and is out all the time. I wonder if he will also be evicted once I add in additional clowns. There are plenty of hidy-holes for him though, so we shall see. The "cave" she found in the drift wood is fairly large (never used by the pleco) so they all might decide to jam themselves in there, as I see is common with clowns. Would be fun to see a bunch of tails sticking out of it She sleeps there, upside down, during the day. Really fun to watch her even just sleep

I have also been thinking of adding zebra loaches to the tank, but that is further down the road.

[mikev]

Great that Queen Bee is fine.....

Personally, I'd pass on zebras for this tank... the combination of different loach species does not always work well and Queen Bee wants more Clown companions and not Zebras.

(Mixing loaches is not always predictable... I mix clowns with yoyo's and have no problems, but I heard others saying that this does not work. OTOH, kubs+zebras seemed like a very safe combination, but it did not work for me.)

I am cycling a tank now to be able to quarantine in a group of friends for her.

Here is one thing may be of help later... I do not cycle tanks anymore, and neither does anyone who has many tanks. Instead, simply run a second filter (sponge usually) in an established tank.... I always have such extra filters running. After two weeks new filter tends to be charged, you can transfer it to a brand new tank and it is instantly cycled.

[QueenBee]

Personally, I'd pass on zebras for this tank... the combination of different loach species does not always work well and Queen Bee wants more Clown companions and not Zebras.

You are right, why get a set of zebras when I can add in a 1-2 more clowns to the tank instead. Queen Bee thanks you!!

Instead, simply run a second filter (sponge usually) in an established tank.... I always have such extra filters running. After two weeks new filter tends to be charged, you can transfer it to a brand new tank and it is instantly cycled.

Oh yes, I did that when I had to quarantine Queen Bee with short notice the day I rescued her. Queen Bee was in horrible shape when I got her and was clearly sick so a quick filter swap was the best I could do in a pinch for her. I am cycling the new quarantine tank with rummy nose tetras (which I want to add to my 75g once they clear the quarantine period), since the added stress should help cause them to show signs of disease. I got them for my lfs and although it is not a nation wide chain, and is a family run business you can never be too sure. They look outwardly healthy (big, sleek, bright and fat), so I need the added stress to make sure they show me if they have something. I read you could bag them for a couple of days to a week to stress them out, but that would stress me out too much so I went this route. So far so good with them, but we only just got started.

Thanks!
Nat

[mikev]

Family run lfs are not necessarily safer than chains, so quarantine well..at least a month, better two.

They are nice.. but down the road, especially if you upgrade to a 6' tank, consider something larger for clown companions. You want top fish to be 3"+, better 4"+... not for safety, clowns would not molest even small dither, but the tank would look better.

As for zebras: 20 gallon tank is fine for them.

[QueenBee]

I have denisons that are in the 3-4" range now, raised them up from small little ones, probably in the 1.5-2" range when I first got them.

I like small fish in my planted tanks because I like how they look swimming through the foliage together I went with rummy nose because I think they will look good with the denisons.

And I got the denisons because I went looking for new plants at my lfs and there they were. The rest is history....

[mikev]

Denisons .. that's one fish I'd love to have .. no space now, but hopefully one day !

I like small fish in my planted tanks because I like how they look swimming through the foliage together

Likewise, lots of tanks with small fish here ...