alyssium

the stocking guidelines of aquariums does nothing but confuse me almost constantly. i think my tank right now is getting crowded. well... i know as soon as the loaches grow its' going to be crowded.

what i want to know is if anyone has an idea on a timeline for when i need to have a bigger tank up and ready for the loaches? like if they will be 6 inches in 6 months or a lot sooner.

As well can two clown loaches exist happily in a 55 gallon? or do i need to go bigger? when i got them i checked with my pet store, and if they get too big for my tank i can bring them in and they will find them a home. i love these little guys and i want them to be happy.

sirdarksol

I think two clowns would be happy in a 55g.

As far as stocking, I would say planning on getting a bigger tank in six months would be alright (faster is better, but I understand that these things take time and money).

I'm not really sure how fast clown loaches grow, but I know that my kuhli loaches are still juveniles (maybe "teens"), and I haven't noticed any significant growth yet.

seedy

Hi alyssium
My 2 clown loaches are quite happy in thier 50g at the moment , but with any fish with potential size , the bigger the better.
There is a thread about growth under the "loaches" heading. ( sorry , I'm not sure how to link yet )
Hope this helps

sirdarksol

Seedy: Find the thread, highlight and copy the url (you can right-click on the link to the thread and hit "Copy link location" in most browsers) then, when you're posting in a thread, click on the little button that looks like a globe with a few links of a chain below it, and a window will pop up, asking you to enter the url. Paste it, hit okay, and you'll have the link.

You can also just put the link in the body of the text, though this sometimes doesn't give you the name of the thread, just the url in the body. The method above usually turns the link into the title of the page in question (or you can modify this by changing the text between the tags)

Butterfly

Eventually the Clowns will need at least a 75 G tank or bigger. My two grew very fast the first year and then slowed down. After they get a little size on them they will need lots of turning room when they are playing and swimming fast. The 55G won't provide that for long. The more space they have the faster they will grow in size and personality.
Here is a really great link on clown Loaches in case you haven't already seen it. http://www.loaches.com/species-index...a-macracanthus
Carol

alyssium

thank you all for the replies.. i have read a lot about them and i love them and that is why i deceided i had to have them... and the two i have are wonderful and want to do all i can to maintain them and keep them happy.

i do plan on getting a bigger tank, hopefully within the six months if not i do know someone that has a large tank that can adopt them.