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Clowns

lurcher

Member
Joined
6 Apr 2018
Messages
147
Location
Lincolnshire
i have a clown loach in a 39” x26” x16” 64 gallon tank.i bought him to get him out of a bad situation,I am thinking of buying a 48” tank ,300litres,to put him in with a couple of clowns for company,he is 4/5 inches.i know that ideally they need lots of companions in like a 100gallon tank ,I can’t supply that,but I want to give him a stable life here.i have tried all manner of things to get him an IDEAL life but with no luck,my only option is the 300litre with a couple more clowns,practically,will this option be ok..?i have no transport so travelling far is out of the question.please help me with fair advice, I am doing my best for him and sleepless nights seem to be the norm now.i could take him to the LFS and he ends up in a small tank alone or worse,I can’t do that.i watch him at night by blue light swimming with bronze corys and feeding and doing a lot of clicking so he is ok, but he will outgrow the 39” and he needs a couple of companions. Thank you.
 
It's one of those tricky questions to be honest. I could say that truthfully a 4ft isn't ideal for such a potentially large species but it is better than most are kept in. I started looking after my dad's tank when I was little and inherited a group of 11 clown loaches. That tank was 6.5ft long and some would argue it wasn't strictly big enough. I have 6 of those still left, which is the minimum group size I'd suggest, after 25+ years and all the others made it over 20 years under my care and I don't know how old they were when I started looking after them.
The loaches themselves seemed to grow like Russian dolls with a big one, slightly smaller below it in the hierarchy and then decreasing size as they become more submissive. The biggest reached just over 11" but it took a long time but the smallest in the same time frame only grew to 6", so it's very variable.
You do see stunting in these loaches and a sure sign is a really fat body when they should stay long and slender. @sciencefiction is a really dedicated loach keeper so would be good to get their advice but for me company is more important than space to begin with but I do think ideally you'd have more space for them in a couple of years and don't underestimate how long they could be with you.
 
I will add, please don't lose sleep over it. The fact you care so much means it's probably getting a life much better than most clown loaches at the moment. There are some really dedicated loach keepers but they are few and far between so it might take a while to find a new home should you decide you need to. I don't use Facebook but wondered if you could find a loach group on there. I know there was someone not too far from you who was on the old practical fishkeeping forum and they had 50 plus clowns of all sizes, so don't know if they are still about.
 
Thank you mort,I tried many routes to rehome him, but none suitable,one guy contacted me and said he had fifty in a six foot tank, another had a two foot tank another was a dealer, and so it went on ,so I decided to take the route I am thinking of.i could drop him off at the LFS but what fate then for him.i don’t have transport so can’t take him far.when I first got him I contacted science fiction ,but they were to far away. But very helpful.i took him on so he is my responsibility.one guy said “he is only a f******g”fish. NO HE ISNT.i have offered him free and said that I would pay for petrol to the right home,with other clowns.
 
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We did the same - took one in from someone and had it in a four foot - wasn't really ideal though. Found a home via our local facebook fish group. Actually had several offers from people with 6-10' tanks. I think we picked one with an 8' tank and a group of similar sized companions. They even sent us photos to show him settled in. You could try an advert in your local fish shop or facebook - there will be someone out there it's just finding them.

If you keep him that's a 20 year commitment to a very large tank for a fish that you maybe wouldn't have chosen. No rush though you have time to find the right place - he's not going to double in size overnight :)
 
cartoon-clown-fish-holding-a-horn-by-toonaday-8044.jpg
 
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