# does anyone keep clown loaches



## mines bigger (Sep 2, 2007)

i was wondering if anyone on here kept clown loaches, and if you do is there anything they like to eat?? at the moment they are eating bloodworms and ropical flake and i was wondring if there is something different i can give them for some variety.


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## Nikki. (Sep 2, 2007)

My dad keeps them, they like to eat blood worms and we feed them these fish flakes and occationally (soz spelling ) give them sea monkeys


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## Lozza (Sep 2, 2007)

clown loaches are my favourite 
mine love to eat TetraMin Tropical Tablets 
=sinking algae




they also like these:


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## Bourbs (Sep 2, 2007)

Their natural diet is actually snails and stuff like that... Try getting some of those little aquarium/swamp snails.. The ones you sometimes end up infested with after buying water plants from silly aquarium shops who don't clean their plants properly before selling them  So anyone out there with a water snail infestation, get yourself some clown loaches.


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## mines bigger (Sep 2, 2007)

yeah i only hav onee at the moment but i am going to get more.. they are so cute, thanks for your help, when i go to the pet shop to get more i will have a look for the foods mentioned
oh and bourbs thats the main reason i bought him, well that and they look really good


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## Bourbs (Sep 2, 2007)

Would be interesting to see what a full size clown loach would do to a garden snail


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## mines bigger (Sep 2, 2007)

yes that would be interesting i doubt the snail would have a chance


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

bump
do they like to eat fruit or vegies anything really??
other than flake and frozen worms and the like


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## fuegan13 (Sep 3, 2007)

i used to have a fair few clown loaches, mine used to eat bloodworms, brineshrimp, flake, and sinking algae pellets


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## mblissett (Sep 3, 2007)

frozen peas are great - take the skin off them 1st....

the love them


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## lizard_lover (Sep 3, 2007)

i had 1 of those but then it got sucked up into the filter


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## gillsy (Sep 3, 2007)

Should be kept in a school of at least 5 but more the better, they'll become more active and playful.

They'll eat anything, and most will become tame enough to eat out of your hands or at least from the surface. 

They are awesome looking things, and are just the best. But make sure you water doesn't drop below 26/7 as they are very proan to white spot and lower temps but hard as when the temps are kept up.


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## Brettix (Sep 3, 2007)

I only buy them to clean up tanks when they get snail infested,
bourbs is right freshwater snails is their favorite.But eat anything


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

sweet as i will have to try the frozen peas, yeah gillsy i know about the schooling thing.. but there are more on the way soon, and i cant imaging this loach being more active he is very exciting to watch


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## jay76 (Sep 3, 2007)

I had some they ate anything


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## B-Rock (Sep 3, 2007)

Fish are so boring, all they do is sit there and judge you.


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## GEARJAMMER (Sep 3, 2007)

i've never owned any but i know there not easy to keep in a big community tank


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

B-Rock said:


> Fish are so boring, all they do is sit there and judge you.


 
mate this is so not true, do a google search for some pics of a clown loach, aswell as being very attractive and colourful they just about never stop swimming unless they are playing dead, and they are rather easy too keep, other than making sure they get the right amount of food


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## Bourbs (Sep 3, 2007)

As a general rule bottom feeders will eat anything.. If their mouth points downwards, they are clean up crew and are opportunistic feeders  
Salmontail catfish are the worst fish ever for that - slightly sluggish fish sitting near the bottom of the tank? NOT FOR LONG! *chomp* *chomp* *chomp*


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## Bourbs (Sep 3, 2007)

and fish are awesome.. you obviously haven't ever had interesting fish B-Rock  Try getting yourself a couple oscars (an albino with orange specks and a pure orange)and/or a red scat.. Thats what I have and they are great. My red scat sits at the end of the fish tank looking at my bed waiting for me to wake up in the mornings and gets all excited when he sees movement as I wake up, and my orange oscar likes to have gravel trickled over him because it tickles


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## gillsy (Sep 3, 2007)

GEARJAMMER said:


> i've never owned any but i know there not easy to keep in a big community tank


 

I think the complete opp gear, I have kept them with everything. And they will not go lightly even for aggressive african cichlids.

They are the best to have in all sorts of tanks, I cannot think of one habitat tank where they wouldn't fit in.

They are in the wild caught on pig dung and eaten. They can grow to a foot but take an extensive long time.

Still to my knowledge hormone bred.


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

gillsy said:


> I cannot think of one habitat tank where they wouldn't fit in. quote]
> maybe a marine tank... lol


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## gillsy (Sep 3, 2007)

funny mines


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## jay76 (Sep 3, 2007)

B-Rock said:


> Fish are so boring, all they do is sit there and judge you.



try keeping a 2 foot saratoga or a large mangrove jack and see how boring they are


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## mcloughlin2 (Sep 3, 2007)

They love all types of food.

I'd recommend feeding tetra colourbits. The name has changed slightly i think but any LFS that stocks tetra would know about it. Feed them sparingly with spirulina flake or pellets and provide some frozen brine shrimp every few days or so. They eat snails but do not need them. Over 95% of people who have them don't provide any snails as a meal.

They won't eat well if one is kept by themselves. I recommend at least 3 as otherwise they hide and don't do very well. With the prices these guys are going for these days anyone could quite easily afford a decent sized group.

Sam


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

yeah i understand, everyone i talk too tells me i should have three or more i am getting there(the pet shop has none left) but this guy is really active and he is swimming around with my spangled perch and having a really good time in the current( caused by two powerheads) and is an absoloute guts when it comes to bloodworms


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## gillsy (Sep 3, 2007)

Yeah, I would have at least 5. i would be careful of any colour enhancing foods to make sure it doesn't contain hormones.


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## Jules (Sep 3, 2007)

I only have one in my small 2 foot tank and he does really well. Eats anything especially the algae wafers. Cleaned up all the snails. Be careful getting too many they can grow really big.


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

yeah i think about 4-5 i will be getting... umm yeah i nned to get some decent food he isnt too interested in the flake..


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## gillsy (Sep 3, 2007)

yeah they grow big, but they grow very slowly.


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## mcloughlin2 (Sep 3, 2007)

Tetra Colour bits doesn't contain any artificial colour enchances. Its all natural.

They grow at a decent rate until they hit about 8-12cm then they slow right down. I've heard of 30 year old clowns that are around 20-25cm.


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

yeah its all good i have big tanks.. atm they are in the four foot tank with 4 spangled perch and a turtle but they will be moved into the eight foot when they get bigger


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## gillsy (Sep 3, 2007)

not to sure on turtles, but i'd be worried it disturbing the turtle at night constantly


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## mines bigger (Sep 3, 2007)

the turtle insists on sleeping up on his stick out of the water, so it isnt a problem for the moment and when the perch and loach go into the 8 foot the turtle will have the 4 foot all to himself


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## Moreliaman (Sep 6, 2007)

I always find frozen foods the best, they adore bloodworm, feed a block at night when the lights are out as this will give any bottom feeders a better chance of getting grub.
Snails can carry diseases so i try not to put too many in.
Also like a few have already mentioned, clown loach prefer to be in groups. They are usually very nervous when alone & take longer than other species to settle down in a tank, usually they are the first fish in a tank to catch white spot but you dont get much trouble once they settle in.
The biggest ive ever seen were over 12" long & at that size the razor sharp spike under each eye is pretty impressive !!!:shock: (they like getting stuck in nets when you catch them!)
1 more thing, be careful what treatments you add from now on, clown loach dont have scales like most other fish & some treatments could kill them, look on the packet & check its safe, if it says its safe for rays & eels etc then you should be ok.


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## mines bigger (Sep 6, 2007)

thanks for your help morelia man


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