Clown Loach Lovers

This is the 2 smaller clowns sharing a coconut hut, btw they are both about 10 cm long.

Here is the laziest fish I have ever owned or have ever seen.

 

Can't see your pics, would love to, please repost?


8 second video of my trio:

 

See if this works

 

That's better!
Funny how clown loaches hide away, but leave their tails sticking out.
In a malawi tank they always get bitten on their tails for doing that!

 

@ep2soma: If you are keeping clown loaches in a tank filled with malawi they wont last long. As both species require vastly different water conditions.

 

That was the point I was making: my loaches do VERY WELL in hard water!
I've kept clowns with malawis for years...

seven years ago:

 

three months ago:

 

@lep2soma: I am sure they will survive as fish are able to adapt to their environment, but they will definitely have shortened live spans and be susceptible to diseases. There is a reason why clown loaches and malawis don't share the same biotope. As they always say: "Happiness is happy Clowns. They deserve the best." If properly taken care of they get big very big 50cm + big.

​

 

@Swagasaurus:
All I'm doing is talking from my OWN PERSONAL experience...
How long have you been keeping clown loaches?

 

@lep2soma: Weather or not I have kept clown loaches is pretty irrelevant. We are talking about two different species of fish that are half a world apart, who's water conditions are about as far apart as were they are located. Not to mention the difference in temperament. I respect your own personal experience, but as a fish keeper I don't think what you are doing is right. As fish keepers we strive to keep our fish in the best conditions possible and try and mimic the environment they live in. I could easily keep a few Discus in my goldfish tank, and yes they would most likely survive, but would they be happy and thrive? Most likely no. I could throw some Kio fish into my tropical tank would my tropical fish tank be okay most likely yes would it be healthy for all animals involved? No.

http://www.loaches.com/articles/why-loaches-should-not-be-kept-with-malawi-cichlids

 

@Swagasaurus:

Dude, I don't want an argument on this thread; it's for clown loach keepers to share their experiences.
So, if you don't have loach stories / experiences / pictures OR videos to share...

 

@lep2soma: Neither do I, but if you care so much for the fish you love so much you would keep them in the best possible conditions possible. Like I stated earlier, I respect your own personal experience but I do not think what you are doing for the fish are right. So let's just leave it at that.

 

@hazelbag:
Remember I said that our loaches gray out when fighting?
I suspect that they do the same when mating.


I don't know anyone who has successfully bred clowns, but we can hope and keep trying.

 

Hmmmm, interesting comments. we as aquariasts take species that usually live in 1000's of litres of water and restrict them to on average a few 100! And then comment on the "right way" of keeping fish! Sheesh!

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Proof

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@HEIHACHI: looking good! Thanks for sharing.

You notice, when loaches are kept with cichlids, how outgoing they are? They are NOT afraid of cichlids, usually.
On the other hand, I found them very reclusive when kept with tetras, for example.

What are you feeding them?

 

@HEIHACHI: I think you have clearly missed the point I was trying to make, but you have highlighted the fact what we should not do as aquariasts. And that is put your pride and our needs before that of the fish we keep. While you think both you and lep2soma might be "smart" for keeping fish like these with Malawi Cichlids, you are doing your fish a great injustice and shortening their live spans considerably by keeping them in un-suitable conditions. You are also setting a bad example for newbies joining the forum, if you can mix clown loaches. Why should we not be able to mix gold fish and Discus? Or Koi fish and tropical fish? Where should we draw the line?

The fact that these two fish species require totally different water conditions alone should be already pretty evident:

Lake Malawi species: 7.4 - 8.6
Lake Tanganyika species: 7.8 - 9.0
Lake Victoria species: 7.2 - 8.6

Clown Loaches require soft water conditions with a pH 6.5 - 7.0, by this fact alone your common fish keeping senses should tell you that they aren't suitable for each other. Not to mentioned the temperament of these two species. Malawi species are highly aggressive fish while Clown Loaches are the exact opposite, not to mention they are basically half a world apart and have opposite biotopes. So answer me this: Don't you think if they were compatible we would see Malawi species in the Amazon and vice versa?

So I will post this again from Loaches Online - Community Edition Loaches Online

Via: http://www.loaches.com/articles

It really saddens me to see this level of ignorance on display here, because in the end you aren't paying for it your fish are, I doubt these poor Loaches will reach their average life span let alone 25 years....

 

From the guy who doesn't have any EXPERIENCE with clown loaches...

 

Hi both parties

I have been keeping an eye on this thread with much interest, and recently because of the interesting argument that often comes up about clown loaches and their husbandry in aquaria. On a multitude of forums that I've visited, the same thing always comes up. I was hoping to keep this thread/argument alive while keeping it from devolving into a typical internet feud. It would be of interest to clown loach lovers, keepers, and newer fishkeepers alike to learn from what can come about in this discussion.

Both parties do have fair points. @Swagasaurus has done his research, and indeed, clown loaches are physiologically adapted to thrive in warm, soft and acidic waters. This brings into question the wellbeing of the fish in question - how does this affect longevity? Growth? Disease resistance? Activity? Would they be comfortable enough under such chemical conditions to thrive, let alone breed?
On this point I do have to agree: with the research I have done, clown loaches do belong in such conditions. Barring the fact that they originate from these conditions, even the people that breed them (albeit with a little help with hormones) find the best results with a pH of 7 or just below that. Remember that pH affects nearly all physiological processes, and fish, being immersed in the watery medium, are definitely affected by the pH of the water. Furthermore the question of compatibility comes up - what of the cichlids? Lake Malawi is bustling with cichlids which can nearly constantly be bickering with each other (and other fish) to lay claim to their spot. What happens when they breed? What happens to the loaches that wander too close to a Malawi nest?

@lep2soma does have experience to speak from. He and at least one other member keep clown loaches in Rift Lake conditions (and a handful more on other forums). As presented, the fish are alive, and do not present any such signs of stress or distress, physical harm or other negative qualities.
I don't know any loach/Malawi keepers personally but I have come across a few online. Most have had the pair kept together from between a year or three, with no apparent harm to either party. It has been done, a multitude of times. From the record I have been keeping mentally, they tend to do a bit better than other benthic fishes - such as plecos and callichthyid catfishes, and their activity could be comparible to some of the Synodontis that share the lakes with the cichlids. If anything, they can hold their own.
Bear in mind that many aquarium species (the livebearers, tetras and plecos come to mind here) are rarely kept under natural conditions, and seem to do well.

So how do we determine which is best? One way would be to compare the lives of those loaches raised under the different conditions, as this is probably the only way to go about this on the forum. We could go about this quantitatively, and measure growth rates, frequency of disease, etc. but this would be difficult to do without bias or within a short scope of time.

Do you guys have anything more to bring to the table? I do not have an answer to this - in fact as far as I know nobody does - and it has been brought up time and again and it would be interesting to hear what the best conditions a clown loach lover could give to their fish.

Regards,