FishProfiles.com Message Forums

For my 55 gallon currently stocked with:
2 mollies
1 dwarf platy
6 white skirt tetras
1 common pleco
20-ish fry from the mollies
1 dwarf gourami



would it be okay to add a few clown loaches?

I also plan on adding a school of panda corydora, and also getting rid of mr. plecostomus.


suggestions?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

No problems with Clown loaches in a 55 gal for quite while (years). Cory pandas love CL's and the reserve is also true. They love to play along, dancing in 8 forms from top to bottom. They make the perfect team for the bottom. Also, since Clown Loaches are not afraid of just about anything, they tend to give cory pandas a sense of security and you get to enjoy their presence much more than if they ( cory pandas ) were alone in the tank. You'd end up with a bunch of sleeping corys during the day.

I'd say, GO for it!!! I know I did and I don't regret it.

Happy New Year !!!

Sponge

If you remove the Common Pleco & some of the Molly fry will be eaten, you can add some Corydoras & CL's. Just remember that they both like to stay in schools.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/
http://www.deathbydyeing.org/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Sounds okay to me, Nothing in there that would cause problems with the clown loaches or vice versa.

Providing you can give them plenty of hiding areas and plenty of cover. Also remember they will get large they at an over all rate of about 1/2 ins per year.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

okay.. so about how many should i invest in?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Start with 3 & see how it goes.



http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/
http://www.deathbydyeing.org/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Like stated above 3 would work fine, and a bigger tank would be needed in the years to come, i find that the loaches do prefer planted tanks, i have a 65 with 3 loaches and ti is planted they are very zippy, but the 3 in the 55 not planted with sand bottom and rock work for caves tend to hide alot more.

First of all, the modest growth rate of Clown Loaches means that you won't have too many problems vis-a-vis rehousing for some time yet if you get juveniles.

Second, however, they DO grow, and eventually you'll have to make a decision - keep them and set up a larger home for them, or find someone with a suitably larger home to exchange for a less space demanding fish.

Although 2 inch juveniles will be fine in your 55 gallon setup for a couple of years, possibly more, once they reach about 4½ inches, you'll have to make that decision. When they surpass 6 inches, even a 125 is going to start being cramped if they're sharing it, and if they have it to themselves, they'll need moving to somewhere even bigger once they reach about 8 inches. Which, they will in time. May take several years, but it WILL happen. Plan for it NOW and spare yourself some heartache further down the line.

Ultimately, it's possible for these fishes to reach 16 inches. They rarely attain such juggernaut dimensions in the aquarium (principally because they are rarely housed in an aquarium colossal enough to allow them to grow that big - we're talking several thousand gallons of public aquarium setup here) but it's still possible for home aquarists to grow them to 12 inches with careful planning and a LOT of expenditure on the aquarium. Remember that in their native habitat, they're large enough to be considered as food fishes for humans!

However, you DO have time on your side. As I said, the growth rate is modest (they're not going to explode into tankbusters in the space of a few weeks, like Red Tailed Catfishes can with ease), and thus you have time to make long term plans without committing yourself to anything definite for a good while. Take that time, make those plans, and enjoy your Clown Loaches!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

HECK yes!


okay.... so my tank is moderately planted, i wanted to add some more stuff eventually, so i guess, NOW would be the time to do that, specially before i get the cories. THEN i can invest in some new fishies.... the last thing i want to do is get new fish, then kick up a bunch of debris in the tank and cause my parameters to go hay-wire.


Sounds like a plan guys.. thanks for the advice!


*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...