Help Me Explain To My Brother And Sister-in-law

Hello everyone,

My sister-in-law has convinced my brother to get a 29 gallon tank ( i suggested a 20 long but she says she doesn’t like those). Anyway, she wants to put clown loaches ( i explained those need over 100 gallons and she disagrees because her dad had one that was only two inches long) she also wants silver dollars ( i said they were too big but she doesn’t think so) and I believe she wants an albino cory.

What should i tell her to make sure they don’t get those fish?

Also if you could suggest any stocking ideas i could let them know so they don’t go out and buy unsuitable fish, that would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

Show them the fish when they are full grown and show them this site.

 

Tell her to research the fish on seriouslyfish. Its one of the better sites for info on fish. The profiles on here are ok but outdated some.

 

Show her this video, which shows the clown loach in comparison to fully grown cichlids and sharkfish




And this video of fully grown silver dollars:



There will be others that show comparisons so she gets a better idea of relative size.

 

Also, you asked for additional stocking ideas. What about a big school of kuhli loaches? they are absolutely delightful to watch (need small ish smooth gravel or sand substrate). or the zebra loach? google videos of both.

she could think about diamond tetra instead of silver dollars...keep in mind they are very aggressive and you will need to design your stocking around them.

I haven't checked temp compatibility between kuhli's/zebra and diamond tetras in a while btw.

 

Thank you! I will send her those!

This is almost exactly what i suggested! I will have to tell her about diamond tetras, great idea!
I’ll check the temp compatibility first
Thanks

 

Ha! you're onto it then, mate! those leaped to mind when you said she wanted clown loaches in that size tank... i reckon kuhli's and zebra's are actually "cuter" and STAY cuter because they stay smaller. (no offense to clown loach lovers out there...they are totally cute fully grown in the right size tank.)

maybe you can go to the LFS she will go to and have a quiet word with the staff so that they say the same things you're saying?

 

Good idea! She is getting all of her information from her very old school dad who hasn’t re-touched on the new ways of fish keeping. Let’s hope she can’t talk my brother into getting them, ive sent him tons of pictures and links to forums taking about how big they get!

 

That's one porker of a Clown Fish. At least to me it looks really chubby.

-G

 

I've seen "chubbier" at one of the LFS where there wasn't enough room for it to turn around or swim more than half it's length forward

 

I was at one store on the weekend and there was this big tank (maybe 2m long and around 600mm deep, but with a lot of rock taking up half the tank) at the front and I kept telling my girls that the tank was severely overstocked...even with the big filter (sump, etc.), there were far too many fish in that tank for them to move around and some that belonged in something far bigger. I get that you can fit more with lots of filtration...but when fish have to bump other fish out the way to move from one end to the other...

So not all LFS are good... their main display tank is to me, the best way to judge the quality of their fish/knowledge.

-G

 

There are alternatives to clown loaches and silver dollars - diamond tetra get a bit big for a 20 gal long, but black or white skirt tetra would be size appropriate. Cories have similar body shapes and activity levels as clown loaches, so they might be a good option!

 

Yeah, none of our locals seem to have display tanks...not even the one a few hours away. There's a few in Auckland that do. But there are other signs... like how they keep the big plecos/loaches... it makes me so sad when they basically can't move. One had a giant common pleco in a tank about 1.5mL and 600mm deep (so similar to the one you saw) but the pleco couldn't turn around and the staff person had just put a fairly large fire eel in the tank with the pleco who really wanted to move away from the eel but couldn't.

I think the OP said her sis had a 29g despite her suggesting a 20long. do you think diamond tetra could be ok in that size?

@mmerton what are the exact dimensions of the tank? @TexasDomer is an absolute legend and a whiz at stocking but that's often one of the things she needs to know trust her recommendations

 

I believe it is a 30x12x18 !

 

If its a standard 29 like mine its deep and not very long. I despise that tank. Only thing i ever put in it was guppies.

 

Yep that’s what i told them! That’s why i suggested a 20 gallon long, haha

 

I like a 29 better than a 20 long as it's the same footprint, but more volume and space and therefore more stocking options.

Diamonds should be fine in a 29 gal!

 

Thanks everyone for the help! They have opted for tiger barbs instead of clown loaches.

 

They're not really a replacement for each other, as they have completely different behaviors and aggression and they inhabit different levels of the tank.

Did he get a 29 gal? Is there anything else with the tiger barbs?

 

They actually found a 40 gallon for the same price so they went with that. And they only wanted clown loaches bc they liked they way they look ( they don’t know about behavior or anything like that) which is why i suggested tiger barbs because they look somewhat similar. Right now it is just a school of tiger barbs and they are working on getting more fish later on.