# 2.5 cm clown loaches not growing much.



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I bought four tiny (nearly fry size) clown loaches, two died within two days of bringing them home. Perhaps I didn't acclimatize them correctly. My tank PH is 7.6-7.8, and the fish store water was lower. Apparently the drip method doesn't help the fishies out much.

Anyways, healthy clown loaches are going to quickly grow to a point that they'll need a bigger tank, which if these two tiny guys ever start doing, I'm fully prepared to do. Right now they're in a 30g. I'll get a 65g or 90g going if I can even get these guys to bulk up. I've had them 3 weeks now and no change in their size. I've fed them small round sinking tablets, of the sort that the menagerie guy recommeded, ones good for loaches apparently. 

I've also read that loaches don't like to be in this small a group (2 survivors). They were tiny tiny clown loaches from BigAls, should I get them two or three more buddies, to make a reasonably happy little group? The 30g tank is lightly stocked. It has also got a 4 cm long khuli loach (he'd have a friend in this tank too, if I can only find him, he's hiding really well in the other tank) and four very small zebra danios that I plan to move out if the clown loaches start growing on me.

What do I gotta do to get these little guys to start growing? They seem active and play with each other quite a bit, and there's always enough food; I leave the sinking tablets around overnight and they get good and soggy and the khuli eats some of it, and the danios nibble at it and I still have some I have to clean out in the morning. 

Water quality is good, PH is in the range 7.6-7.8, I check ammonia levels regularly and they're zero, the tank is cycled, the GH is somewhere in the 180-200 ppm range. 


W


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

Sounds like you have illegally caught too small to move safely loaches...

Clown loaches dont grow very fast. Fully grown you'll want like a 200 gallon tank.

You need to also have your temperature higher, ideally like 84 85, and your gH and pH could be lower too but dont screw with it unless you know how to do it safely

if these clowns are TRULY 2.5cm, which is like barely an inch, I'd like to personally go to that Big Als and lip off the guy who ordered them.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

I think you might need to get used to it. From what I've been seeing. The clown loaches at the store comes smaller and smaller. I once was a SuperPet store that have some that are still slightly transparent. I mean, they are baby infants and yet the get boxed and shipped.

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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

that's absolute bull****


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Illegally caught? 
Aren't clown loaches captive-bred?

W


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Will little danios need to get moved to the other tank if I bump temperature to 82 F? Should I go up a degree every few days? Or is the volume of 30g enough to prevent my little heater from going up too fast anyways?

W


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Illegally caught?
> Aren't clown loaches captive-bred?
> 
> W


There are rumors that this has been achieved with massive hormones in Asia somewhere but most of the clowns you get are wild caught.


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Will little danios need to get moved to the other tank if I bump temperature to 82 F? Should I go up a degree every few days? Or is the volume of 30g enough to prevent my little heater from going up too fast anyways?
> 
> W


Not 82 84.

And make sure you have a rediculously high level of surface movement for oxygen and bottom movement for the loaches enjoyment.

I'd say one or two degrees a day is fine. I'd probably do 2


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

The AquaClear110 seems to generate a fair bit of oxygen plus lots of surface turbulence. They like to scramble around in the filter-current, and when they are tired they go and sit on the fake plastic cambomba. When they're bigger I want to get a nice big loach-tank going with powerhead driven currents in it and stuff. I got the Loach Book from Menagerie and it's giving me ideas on how to exceed my budget. I love the river-tank idea from that book. Do you think Loaches would like a 6' river-tank setup with the powerheads and so on as shown in the book? 

W


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> The AquaClear110 seems to generate a fair bit of oxygen plus lots of surface turbulence. They like to scramble around in the filter-current, and when they are tired they go and sit on the fake plastic cambomba. When they're bigger I want to get a nice big loach-tank going with powerhead driven currents in it and stuff. I got the Loach Book from Menagerie and it's giving me ideas on how to exceed my budget. I love the river-tank idea from that book. Do you think Loaches would like a 6' river-tank setup with the powerheads and so on as shown in the book?
> 
> W


Well Martin put that together mainly for Sewellia as far as I know but I imagine itd work for other loaches...

He'd tell you... I dont know for sure...

For the time being the AC110 in a 30 gal Should be enough at lower temps but since you want to warm it to 84 I'd add a small powerhead aimed @ surface to really beat it around and another small powerhead on the bottom.

Always leave a calm area for rest and sleep.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I've never bought powerheads before. What kind should I get?

W


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## Pablo (Mar 27, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I've never bought powerheads before. What kind should I get?
> 
> W


No need to get fancy the small Aquaclear ones will be fine  not expensive.


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## MT-ED (Apr 4, 2006)

6 foot River-Tank for Clown Loaches?

http://www.loaches.com/articles/my-clown-loach-aquarium

Article is a little out of date now. Current water turnover is 3000gph through all the filtration and pumps.

A lot of the really weeny Clowns that we're seeing now are coming out of Hormone-induced breeding techniques. A lot of it's going on in Russia and the Czech Republic, also possibly from similar pprogrammes in SE Asia. Harold has had some really nice ones in from the Czech Republic on occasion. _Really_ tiny ones are delicate and need LOTS of food and pristine water conditions. They will grow rapidly up to about 4" or so, but then slow right down.

Interesting article........ http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1633

Martin.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

^ ^ ^ ^ ^
| | | | |
KhuliLoachFan, meet the guy who wrote that article you've been reading.

From the Czech! Hm, I shouldn't be supprise I guess, I though they all came from hormone-induced Asia.

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