Clown loaches

[Ron Sower]

Scott,

What type of setup do you keep your clowns in?  I have 11 of them, ranging from 5-8.5 inches snout to tailtip. I have them in a bowfront corner tank - 54g with several pieces of bogwood raised so that they can group under the center of it.  Bogwood is covered with Java fern and Christmas Moss.  I have some patches of corkscrew type Sagittarius and a clump of Cryptcoryne, still in the pot.

They like to stay under the wood most of the time, all piled on each other. I feed them a mix of dry flake foods, micro-pellets (they spend a lot of time out and sifting thru substrate for this), frozen bloodworms and daphnia, and live blackworms (from CA Blackworms!) when I have them.

Any thoughts or ideas you might want to share?

[b125killer]

clown loach will grow too be over a foot long. I have 5, My biggest as around 8 inches. I have the three biggest ones in a 72g bow front. There is also two more that are small around 2 inches. That are in a smaller tank until they get bigger. They will establish a pecking order and I don't want them to kill the smaller ones. They killed off a yoyo loach that was too small for them. They need a long tank 4 to 6 foot the bigger the better. There fast swimmers and like the longer tanks. I'm keeping a eye out for a 150 to 180 gallon tank just for the loaches. 11 in a 54g corner tank is way too many. Mine don't seem to care if there's live plants or not. But they do like to hide and play in caves and drift wood. I get big bamboo caves from Captain Bob. They love them things. They will eat anything I give them. There main diet is Captain Bob's flake foods. I also give them frozen brine shrimp and blood worms. There absolutely favorite food is live rams horn snails.
They all have there own personality.  And there all little hams. They like to play dead. They will lay on there side and not move. The first time I seen them do it I thought it was dead. I tried to get it out of the tank than it swam away.

[EverythingAquatic]

I rescued 2 Clown Loaches that had been kept in a 55G for 15 years.  They are stunted.  Only grew to 8 inches, and should be well over a foot.  I cannot imagine how crowded 11 must be in a similarly sized tank.

These guys are schooling fish.  Extremely social.  And prefer fast moving water.

They need a 6 foot tank to see their true personalities.  Clown is a very fitting name.  My oldest two are now 20 years.  I purchased 3 more to create a small school.  What a change with a proper sized school and now being in a 125g.  Very playful fish.  I've never experienced issues with them killing off other fish.  Only time fighting breaks out is when the girls fight for dominance.

[b125killer]

When I got my first clown I didn't know much about them. I only got one, poor thing just looked sad. I did some research and found out they needed to be in schools. So I got another one and two yoyo loaches. They all played nicely until one of the yoyo stopped growing. Then they all started to pick on it. Other than the yoyo loach they leave the other fish in there tank alone. I didn't plan on having so many clowns. I did want to get a third that was close to the same size. That's when Willie gave me Lil Willie. He was just the right size for my first two. The other two I got from taking in the leaf fish.

[Ron Sower]

I've acquired all my clowns thru rescue mostly.  I know they would be better off in a larger, longer tank, but for now they'll stay where they are and I don't plan to acquire more until later.  Later is when we take the corner pellet stove and mantle out of the den to give us more wall space and I get a 6' or so tank for them.  That will be either this summer between foot surgeries or in the winter after the second foot is done in the fall.  I actually thought about giving them up.  That thought lasted about 13.85 seconds!

[EverythingAquatic]

Something I forgot about...Clown Loaches will chow down on smaller tankmates when bulking up to breed.  I lost over 2 dozen WCMM because of this.  Although I never saw any eggs.

[b125killer]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/mix/clownloach.php

http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-loach-breeding-related-items

I have seen my loaches eat smaller guppies. and snails don't last long at all in there tank. I think I would do the same thing Ron. I wouldn't give up my loaches either.
I have posted this video before but i like it and it seems appropriate.

[wsantia1]

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/mix/clownloach.php

http://www.loaches.com/articles/clown-loach-breeding-related-items

I have seen my loaches eat smaller guppies. and snails don't last long at all in there tank. I think I would do the same thing Ron. I wouldn't give up my loaches either.
I have posted this video before but i like it and it seems appropriate.

Nice video. Those snails don't stand a chance. LOL

[b125killer]

Thanks Willie, they are neat watching them play with there food. I was reading that they can make a clicking noise when there content. Also they will start clicking when there given there favorite foods. Has anyone heard them?

[Mugwump]

LOL..I don't have loaches, but I've the Big Raphael's croak at us....LOL...eerie too..

[Ron Sower]

Yes!  They do click when I throw in a bunch of snails or Repashy gel food!  Wonder how they do that?

[EverythingAquatic]

Mine too.  Click over snails and foods that sit on the bottom they hunt for mostly.  Fun watching them move the gravel to get to it too.