Clown Loaches

courtney · Post by **courtney** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:30 am

I finally got some clown loaches. I got five of them. They are in a 75 gallon tank and eventually will be transferred to 150 gallon tank. I have been really thinking a lot about them because I know they are extremely prone to ick but ick is easy to cure so if I see I will just medicate. So Im medicating the tank now because you can guarantee they will get it.

But how cute are they?!!! They just have a blast in that tank swimming like loonies and just zoom around like nut balls. I just love them.

Sorry I could not get very good pics of them. They swim to fast to get a clear pic.

U.S Marine · Post by **U.S Marine** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:17 pm

When i had a fish tank, i was looking at loachs to buy. I seen some interesting ones.

Mjay · Post by **Mjay** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 3:56 pm

Very nice

i have 1 clown loach, but he's not alone

i also have 2 gourami's, 1 koi angel, 2 silver sharks, 1 kribensis, quite a few guppies, 1 bristlenose, 1 rainbow shark, 4 black widow tetra's and 2 zebra danio's, i see you have a goldfish, do the loaches annoy him

SkyBaby · Post by **SkyBaby** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:41 pm

I love loaches. They're lots of fun. At that small size, I'm sure they love that 75 gallon. The tank size is great

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clown_loach

Only thing is, Loaches are a tropical fish and prefer more acidic water (a pH of 5-6 or so) and goldfish prefer more basic water (pHs 7-8). It is true that most tropicals in aquariums will get used to higher or lower pHs and different water hardness than this wiki article states. My tap water pH is naturally on the high end, typically 7.5-8. My betta doesn't seem to mind it. Don't get those pH Ups or pH Downs. Those cause fluctuations which stress your fish and make them more susceptible to illness.

Most tropical fish like their temps to be between 78-80 degrees F. Goldfish tend to prefer the cooler temps.

The goldfish are also heavy waste producers when they're large, so that will increase an already sensitive fish's risk of getting sick.

I would buy the goldfish their own large tank so everyone has the recommended water levels.

I recommend the API Master Test Kit. That's what I use and it's quite accurate.

Sorry for the onslaught of info. I'm a fish geek. If you need any help, let me know.

courtney · Post by **courtney** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 3:13 am

I also like the yo-yo loaches, does anyone know if you can put them together?

Marine-you NEED to get loaches then. It’s amazing how active they are.

Mjay, how many tanks do you have? Wow! I have three.

Thanks Skybaby. Those goldfish are my friends goldfish. She got a new tank because her’s was leaking so until she got it set up I held on to them for her. So they are not in there now, she picked them up. So don’t worry I do know they don’t mix. I test my water once a week. I will never use ph buffers unless the ph are unstable. NO CHEMICLES unless absolutely necessary. Sop the five loaches have the 75 gallon to themselves now.

Thanks I will let you know if I need advice. But I do have one question. I know loaches are super prone to ick so how often do they get ick. Every time you clean the tank, add a new fish? Are you supposed to medicate every time you do something to the tank or just when ever you see the ick?

U.S Marine · Post by **U.S Marine** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:30 am

Sorry, i can't. I took my aquarium down.

SkyBaby · Post by **SkyBaby** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 5:48 pm

courtney wrote:I also like the yo-yo loaches, does anyone know if you can put them together?

Marine-you NEED to get loaches then. It’s amazing how active they are.

Mjay, how many tanks do you have? Wow! I have three.

Thanks Skybaby. Those goldfish are my friends goldfish. She got a new tank because her’s was leaking so until she got it set up I held on to them for her. So they are not in there now, she picked them up. So don’t worry I do know they don’t mix. I test my water once a week. I will never use ph buffers unless the ph are unstable. NO CHEMICLES unless absolutely necessary. Sop the five loaches have the 75 gallon to themselves now.

Thanks I will let you know if I need advice. But I do have one question. I know loaches are super prone to ick so how often do they get ick. Every time you clean the tank, add a new fish? Are you supposed to medicate every time you do something to the tank or just when ever you see the ick?

The best way to prevent ick is to keep the water very clean and quarantine new fish in a separate tank, using a separate set of supplies. You don't need to treat them unless they're obviously ill. Just keep an eye on them in the separate tank for about 2 weeks, some say 4-5 weeks is best.

I hope your tank is cycled. It will cycle itself with your fish in it, but the water goes through such large fluctuations of ammonia and nitrite and nitrate that it may hurt your fish. If your tank isn't cycled, I recommend getting a smaller tank for them for the time being that you can do larger water changes on until your 75 gallon is cycled. If it is cycled, you're doing everything right so far. Caring for a cycled tank is easy. 25% water changes once every 5-7 days.

Ich can be treated with a dose of aquarium salt. Just follow the directions on the carton. Try to catch the ich in its earliest stages.

http://www.ultimatebettas.com/

This link is to a very helpful fish forum. It's more dedicated to bettas, but they have all sorts of other fish on there too. Have fun!

xx_sheena_xx · Post by **xx_sheena_xx** » Wed Jun 17, 2009 11:15 pm

i have two clown loach's.
there kinda getting big now, i love them.

U.S Marine · Post by **U.S Marine** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 12:46 am

Getting Ick sucks, it killed my entire tank.

Deano · Post by **Deano** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 2:20 am

I used to have a few clown loach's in a tank i had a while ago, it was the only fish i could put in there that the oscars wouldnt eat, cause of the loach's barbs

julie · Post by **julie** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 5:15 pm

We have a clown loach in a tank with 1 oscar , 1 blue acara and a electric blue. The loach was thought to be dead several times because of the way they sleep, it often lays on it's side with it's head resting on a rock , like a pillow .I'm thinking about getting a few more for that tank .

pinkdevil · Post by **pinkdevil** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 6:37 pm

julie wrote: The loach was thought to be dead several times because of the way they sleep, it often lays on it's side with it's head resting on a rock , like a pillow

Awww....that sounds so cute. I want one now. lol

bec · Post by **bec** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:58 pm

Deano wrote:I used to have a few clown loach's in a tank i had a while ago, it was the only fish i could put in there that the oscars wouldnt eat, cause of the loach's barbs

i read that too so i tried loaches in with my oscar dextor but he ate them any way

i told my dad who has been breeding fish for about 50 years dads reply:
"well of course what you read wont work !! dont you know fish cant read?!"
dad speak for what the books say is the general rule there are always exceptions to the general rule

julie · Post by **julie** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:55 pm

bec wrote:
Deano wrote:I used to have a few clown loach's in a tank i had a while ago, it was the only fish i could put in there that the oscars wouldnt eat, cause of the loach's barbs
i read that too so i tried loaches in with my oscar dextor but he ate them any way i told my dad who has been breeding fish for about 50 years dads reply:
"well of course what you read wont work !! dont you know fish cant read?!"
dad speak for what the books say is the general rule there are always exceptions to the general rule

Barbs on clown loaches? Are we talking about the same fish?

bec · Post by **bec** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 11:01 pm

yep clown loaches have poisonous barbs in their fins its a defence for them corydoras catfish have them too

julie · Post by **julie** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:53 am

cool , I didn't know that before. I think my Oscar is broken, he doesn't try to eat the other fish much. They recently died but I had breeding bristle noses in the tank too.

julie · Post by **julie** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:01 am

pinkdevil wrote:
julie wrote: The loach was thought to be dead several times because of the way they sleep, it often lays on it's side with it's head resting on a rock , like a pillow
Awww....that sounds so cute. I want one now. lol

someone actually got them on video doing it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udMK76w7w6A

Mjay · Post by **Mjay** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 4:21 am

Skybaby, i have 1 tank (5 foot, approx 400 litres)
Julie, we had a 25cm clown loach at work and nearly every single person who saw him said he's dead because of the way they lay lol, we ended up making a sign!

WoW, an oscar with a loach

lets hope he doesn't have him for dinner lol
i used to have oscars years ago, but decided to go more community for a while

i do love them (oscars), they have so much personality

i did have a 10cm pleco but my 5cm bristlenose killed him

and yes, it was the bristlenose

he's crazy

bec · Post by **bec** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:13 am

yeah oscars are the coolest fish!!!
my dextor used to dance to certain songs and rush to the side of the tank to greet me with his tail wagging like a puppy and he loved!!!!!belly rubs

julie · Post by **julie** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:42 am

I have 2 tiger Oscars, but they are in different tanks. The one that is by itself is a fish killer. The one in the tank with the other fish follows us around, the tank is a room divider so it can see us whenever we are in the lounge room.

julie · Post by **julie** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:47 am

here is a old pic of my tank, the oscar is heaps bigger and slower now.