Sold at two inches, and nobody agrees where it stops
A clown loach in a shop is two or three inches long and costs a few dollars. Our sources put the adult at anywhere from six inches to sixteen, which is the difference between a fish that fits a 55 gallon and a fish that needs a hundred and fifty.
The split is not sloppiness. It is two different questions being answered as one. Wikipedia separates them: specimens in the wild will reach 40 to 50 cm, while in the aquaria it is uncommon for C. macracanthus to attain more than 15 to 20 cm fork length, 5.9 to 7.9 in. aqua-fish says the same, 15 to 20 cm in a tank and up to 30 cm in the native habitat.
The two American care sheets report bigger fish. Aquarium Co-Op writes from its own tanks, describing fish that reached lengths of 12 to 13 inches, 30 to 33 cm, with a beefy body of 5 to 6 inches, 13 to 15 cm, tall. Aquarium Source says around 12 inches. And Seriously Fish gives the maximum for the species at 400 mm standard length, about 16 in.
Two of the five say a tank fish stops around eight inches, which is a large fish in a community tank and a small one against the other three figures. Two say twelve or thirteen. One gives the ceiling for the species. None of them is describing a fish that belongs in the tank it is sold from. Aquarium Co-Op is the only source that puts a date on the problem: a 55 gallon may last you until they are about 3 years old or 6 inches long.
The height figure is the one that gets forgotten. Five to six inches of body depth is why our angelfish record asks for 55 gallons on a four inch fish: the length of a fish is a poor guide to the water it displaces or the turning space it needs.
Why this record was written now
- The gap
- Twelve thousand searches a month, five sources that disagree about the adult size by a factor of two, and no page here.
- What it changes
- It is the largest minimum tank on this site at 120 gallons, a lifespan reaching thirty years, which ties the goldfish record, and the fifth record here with no blank in its nine fields.
- What it costs
- Three refusals and two cautions against records we already hold, more than any other record here.
The water, and a band one figure wide
| Source | Temperature | pH | Hardness | Tank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seriously Fish | 75 to 86 °F | 5.0 to 7.0 | 1 to 12 dGH | A base of 180 by 60 cm for a group |
| Aquarium Co-Op | 82 to 86 °F | not stated | not stated | 55 gal minimum, to about 6 in |
| Aquarium Source | 72 to 86 °F | 6.0 to 7.5 | 8 to 12 KH | 75 gal juveniles, 150+ adults |
| Wikipedia | 75 to 82 °F | 6.0 to 7.2 | 4 to 12 dGH | 450 liters, 120 gal |
| aqua-fish | 75 to 86 °F | 6.0 to 7.5 | 4 to 18 dGH | not stated |
Why the temperature row prints one number
Every other record on this site prints a temperature band. This one cannot. Aquarium Co-Op will not go below 82 °F and Wikipedia will not take an aquarium above 28 C, which is 82.4. The two meet at one figure and there is nothing else the five ranges share, so the row prints 82 °F and says why.
Then both sources that name a preferred setting name one outside that figure. Aquarium Source gives 72 to 86 and calls 78 to 79 the sweet spot, three degrees under Aquarium Co-Op’s floor. aqua-fish gives 75.2 to 86 and says they thrive around 28 C, 82.5 °F, which is above Wikipedia’s aquarium ceiling. Wikipedia itself publishes two ranges, 25 to 30 C for the wild habitat and 24 to 28 C for the aquarium, and the wild figure is the warmer of the two.
This is the narrowest overlap this site holds. Our discus record was the previous record holder at a single degree, 85 to 86 °F, and it is the reason our water and health page takes four records out before it can state a band at all.
The hardness row, and a unit that is not the same unit
Three sources publish general hardness and they overlap from 4 to 12 dGH, which is 71 to 214 ppm. Aquarium Source publishes 8 to 12 KH, and that is carbonate hardness rather than general hardness: it measures the water’s buffering capacity, not its mineral content. The row prints the dGH overlap and leaves the KH figure attributed to the source that gave it, because converting between them is not arithmetic.
Clown loach tank size, and the number that changes with the fish
Four sources publish a tank figure and they are separated by a factor of three, because each one is answering for a different age of fish. Read them as a sequence rather than as a disagreement.
- 55 gallons is Aquarium Co-Op’s minimum, and it comes with an expiry date: that tank may last you until they are about 3 years old or 6 inches long.
- 75 gallons is Aquarium Source’s minimum for juveniles, with 100 gallons or more as what it actually recommends.
- 120 gallons, 450 liters, is Wikipedia’s figure, and it is the smallest number any source states for the group of six every source asks for. It is what this record prints.
- 150 gallons or more is Aquarium Source’s figure for adults, and it shows its working: about 30 gallons of space each.
- A base of 180 by 60 cm, 72 by 24 in, is what Seriously Fish asks for instead of a volume, which is a six foot tank.
The two figures that actually conflict are 55 and 150, and the fish decides which one is right by growing. Aquarium Source’s 30 gallons each, multiplied by the five fish it asks for, is 150 gallons; multiplied by the ten Seriously Fish prefers, it is 300.
120 gallons is the largest minimum on this site. Our oscar and discus records both carry 75, and the fish in this one grows longer than either. Our stocking calculator will not put a clown loach in anything under that figure, and our stocking page explains why we do not use the one inch per gallon rule that would allow a twelve inch fish in twelve gallons.
The full record
| Field | Recorded | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum tank | 120 gal | Four sources publish a figure and they are separated by a factor of three, because they answer for different ages. Wikipedia states 450 liters, 120 gallons, and it is the smallest figure any source gives for the group every source asks for. Aquarium Source is the most detailed: a 75-gallon tank is the minimum for juveniles, 100 gallons or more is what it recommends, adults need 150 gallons of water or more, and it puts the arithmetic behind that at about 30 gallons of space each. Aquarium Co-Op starts smaller and says why: the minimum size we recommend is a 55-gallon aquarium, and that tank may last you until they are about 3 years old or 6 inches long. Seriously Fish gives no volume at all and asks for a base of 180 by 60 cm, 72 by 24 in, for a group. aqua-fish publishes no tank size. The row prints 120 gallons, and it is the largest minimum on this site: the oscar and the discus records both ask for 75. |
| Temperature | 82 °F | This is the tightest overlap on the site and it is not a band. Seriously Fish: 24 to 30 C, 75 to 86 °F. Aquarium Co-Op: 82 to 86 °F, 28 to 30 C. aqua-fish: 24 to 30 C, 75.2 to 86 °F, adding that they thrive in temperatures around 28 C, 82.5 °F. Aquarium Source: 72 °F to 86 °F, with around 78 °F to 79 °F given as the sweet spot. Wikipedia publishes two, 25 to 30 C for the wild habitat and 24 to 28 C for the aquarium. Take the aquarium figures and the floor is Aquarium Co-Op at 82 while the ceiling is Wikipedia at 28 C, which is 82.4 °F. Every published range contains 82 °F and no range contains anything else in common, so the row prints one figure. Note what that does to the two sweet spots: Aquarium Source recommends 78 to 79, three degrees below the floor Aquarium Co-Op sets, and aqua-fish recommends 82.5, which is above Wikipedia's aquarium ceiling. |
| pH | 6.0 to 7.0 | Four bands, and 6.0 to 7.0 is the span all four contain. Seriously Fish is the most acid at 5.0 to 7.0. Wikipedia gives 6.0 to 7.2 for the aquarium and 5.0 to 8.0 for the wild. Aquarium Source and aqua-fish both give 6.0 to 7.5. Aquarium Co-Op publishes no keeping figure and gives two for breeding instead: a higher pH of 7.5 to condition the fish and a lower pH of 6.2 to spawn them, which is the same shape our chili rasbora and honey gourami records found, where the breeding advice sits below the keeping range. |
| Hardness | 71 to 214 ppm | Three sources publish a figure in dGH and they overlap from 4 to 12 dGH, which is 71 to 214 ppm. Seriously Fish: 1 to 12 dGH. Wikipedia: 4 to 12 for the aquarium and 5 to 12 for the wild. aqua-fish: 4 to 18 dGH, which it converts itself to 71.43 to 321.43 ppm. Aquarium Source gives 8 to 12 KH, and that is not the same measurement: KH is carbonate hardness, the water’s buffering capacity, while dGH is general hardness. The row prints the dGH overlap and leaves the KH figure where its source put it. |
| Adult size | 6 to 13 in in a tank (16 in recorded) | The widest disagreement on this site about adult size, and it comes down to how big a captive fish really gets. The widest on any row is the tank on our common pleco record, at nearly seventeen times. Seriously Fish gives the maximum: 400 mm SL, about 16 in of standard length. Wikipedia separates the two lives plainly: specimens in the wild will reach 40 to 50 cm, while in the aquaria it is uncommon for C. macracanthus to attain more than 15 to 20 cm fork length, that is 5.9 to 7.9 in, and it notes some estimates ranging up to 20 to 30 cm. aqua-fish agrees with the aquarium figure, 15 to 20 cm, and gives up to 30 cm in the native habitat. Against those two, Aquarium Co-Op reports keeping them to 12 to 13 inches, 30 to 33 cm, with a beefy body of 5 to 6 inches, 13 to 15 cm, tall, and Aquarium Source says around 12 inches. So two sources say a tank fish stops around 8 inches and two say it reaches 12 or 13, which is the difference between a 55 gallon and a 150. The row carries the whole span, and the height figure matters as much as the length: this is not a slim fish. |
| Diet | Omnivore, and a snail eater | The label splits and the food list does not. Seriously Fish calls it primarily carnivorous and then asks for quality dried products, live or frozen bloodworm, Tubifex, Artemia, plus fresh fruit and vegetables such as cucumber, melon, blanched spinach or courgette, which is not a carnivore’s list. Aquarium Source calls it an omnivore and asks for sinking pellets and algae wafers with earthworms, bloodworms and brine shrimp as treats. Aquarium Co-Op asks for a protein-heavy diet of mollusks, bloodworms, tubifex worms and sinking pellets, and adds that they like munching on blanched zucchini slices and Repashy gel food. Wikipedia gives the wild diet as worms, crustaceans and plant matter. aqua-fish asks for quality sinking pellets, algae wafers, and live or frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. Four of the five name snails, which station 06 takes on its own. |
| Water column | Bottom | Every source describes a bottom fish and two of them state what the bottom has to be made of. aqua-fish: sensitive barbels require a sandy or fine-gravel substrate for protection. Seriously Fish adds the equipment note that follows from the same anatomy, that this species possesses sharp subocular spines which can entangle in nets or puncture skin when the fish is stressed, so a container rather than a net is the safer way to move one. Wikipedia adds that a fish kept singly or with few other specimens will associate with other benthic species in the aquaria, which is a statement about the floor of the tank rather than about the fish. |
| Lifespan | 10 to 30 years | Three figures, and the highest carries a warning from the source that publishes it. Seriously Fish: if properly cared for typical life span is in excess of twenty years. Wikipedia: they are a very long-lived species, living up to 30 years, and the article marks that claim as disputed on its own page. Aquarium Source separates the two lives again, at least 10 years in captivity and reportedly up to 25 years in the wild. Aquarium Co-Op and aqua-fish publish no lifespan. Thirty years is the highest ceiling on this site and it is not unique: our goldfish record carries 5 to 30 from a source describing fish kept for 21 and 23 years. Below those two, the axolotl and the oscar carry 10 to 20 and the corydoras over 20 years in captivity. |
| Growth rate | Slow. About 6 in at three years | One source publishes a rate with a number attached and another contradicts the adjective. Aquarium Co-Op calls them slow growers and prices it: a 55-gallon aquarium may last you until they are about 3 years old or 6 inches, 15 cm, long. Aquarium Source calls it a moderate but steady growth rate and gives no figure, adding that the fish in stores are usually no more than two or three inches long. Nobody else publishes anything. Six other records here carry a growth rate, and two of them give a size with an age: the goldfish at six inches in three to five months and the axolotl at legs by 2 to 3 in. This is the first to state a rate as the working life of a specific tank. |
The same nine fields for every animal on this site are in the A to Z index.
Where our sources disagree
Every record here names a disagreement. This one decides how you are allowed to treat a sick fish, which makes it the most consequential dispute on the site.
Wikipedia
As clown loaches have small or no scales, they are often not treated with full doses of medications.
Aquarium Source
Clown Loaches do have scales and can be treated with copper-based medicines.
What we record: we print both and take neither, and we note that the second source does not fully back its own claim. In the same passage Aquarium Source says the species is sensitive to a wide variety of medications and that most owners will provide half of the dosage to avoid problems.
So one source says the fish has no scales and should not get a full dose, and the other says it has scales and can take copper, and then recommends half a dose anyway. The two agree on the action and disagree on the anatomy.
Both sources also agree that this fish is particularly susceptible to ich: Wikipedia calls it particularly susceptible to Ichthyophthirius, Aquarium Co-Op says they are prone to ich and names Ich-X or salt, and Aquarium Source says a clown loach is usually the first to show symptoms in a community tank. Nothing here is veterinary advice, and a dose is not a figure we will invent.
Six of them, and what one alone does
Four sources give a number and one gives a scale, and the reasoning is identical across all five: this is a fish that behaves like a different animal on its own.
Seriously Fish is the most insistent source on the record. It asks for groups of at least 5 or 6 specimens, preferably 10 or more, and it names two failure modes. When kept singly, they can become withdrawn or aggressive towards similarly-shaped fishes. And if only a pair or trio are purchased, the dominant individual may stress the others to the extent that they stop feeding.
Wikipedia asks for at least groups of 6 and adds the same observation from the other side: a fish kept singly or with few other specimens will associate with other benthic species in the aquaria. Aquarium Source asks for at least five fish together. aqua-fish is the low outlier at three to five individuals, and it is the one source that states the tank mate rule as a temperament instead of a list: keep peaceful fish species and avoid aggressive tank mates.
The scale nobody else publishes
Aquarium Co-Op gives no minimum and gives something more useful instead, a visibility scale: three may hide a lot, six may hide sometimes, and thirty will be out often. That reframes the group figure as the difference between owning the fish and seeing it.
Six adults at Aquarium Source’s 30 gallons each is 180 gallons of water for one species, which is the sentence that should be read before the shop tank, not after it. Our stocking page collects the same problem from four other records: the group figure and the tank figure are published by different people and almost never multiplied together.
Clown loach tank mates, as our five sources name them
Seriously Fish allows most other botiid loaches, some cobitid and nemacheilid loaches, and members of Epalzeorhynchos, Crossocheilus and Garra plus many catfishes. Aquarium Co-Op names rainbowfish, Congo tetras and tiger barbs. Aquarium Source names eight, and three of them are records here: the bristlenose pleco, the kuhli loach and the angelfish, alongside the neon tetra, cherry barb, tiger barb, Bolivian ram and black skirt tetra. It refuses cichlids as a group, especially with bottom-dwellers, which is a caution our own oscar and discus records both restate in their own words.
One of those three needs the temperature checked before the list is trusted. Our kuhli loach record carries 74 to 79 °F and this record prints 82. A source can name a pairing our own rows will not support, which is exactly what the grid on our tank mates page is for.
The wild fish, the clicking, and ten million a year
Where it comes from, and what the water is like
Seriously Fish describes a fish with two addresses. It mostly inhabits main river channels but migrates upstream into smaller tributaries to spawn during the wet season, when some areas become temporarily flooded. Juveniles stay in the floodplain breeding grounds for months while the adults return to the main rivers.
The natural conditions are worth reading against a bare tank. The native rivers carry, in the source’s own spelling, soft, tea-coloured water
flowing through rainforest, and the floodplain swamp forest it breeds in has thick marginal vegetation under a forest canopy, a substrate of detritus and leaf litter with submerged tree roots, trunks and patches of previously emerse vegetation, and water that is nearly still.
The seasonal detail is the one no care sheet repeats: in the wet season the flow, the depth and the pH all rise while the temperature drops. A tank held at one figure, which is what station 02 says our sources allow, is not a copy of anything this fish experiences in a year.
A genus of its own, since 2004
The name on the label used to be different, and the older books are not wrong so much as out of date. Seriously Fish records that Chromobotia was erected in 2004 by Kottelat specifically for macracanthus, which had until then sat in the genus Botia. The features that separated it include unique colour pattern and adult size
plus developed mental lobe barbels and a large elliptical fontanelle.
So a shop tank labeled Botia macracanthus holds the same freshwater fish as one labeled Chromobotia macracanthus, and our record prints the current name with both of the old ones beside it.
Behavior our sources describe and no tank guide expects
- It clicks. Seriously Fish: audible clicking sounds, these increasing in volume when the fish are excited, generated by grinding of the pharyngeal, that is throat, teeth or the subocular spines.
- It dances. The same source names the loachy dance, restless swimming around tank sides, usually utilizing full length and height, set off by food, fresh water or new conspecifics.
- It lies down at odd angles. Botiids often settle at peculiar angles, wedged vertically or sideways between items of decor, or even lying flat on the substrate.
This is no cause for alarm and appears to be a natural resting behaviour.
That third one is the reason to read this station before panicking. A large loach flat on its side looks like a dying fish and, per the source, usually is not. It is the same conditions problem as the clicking: a peaceful fish doing something alarming that no care sheet warned about.
Where the fish in the shop came from
Seriously Fish puts a number on the trade that no other source we hold mentions: from the Batang Hari river alone, approximately 10,000,000 specimens are raised and shipped from the area each year. It adds that it is now illegal to collect large specimens in Indonesia, which has pushed collectors toward taking pelagic larvae instead.
Read that beside Aquarium Source, which says the pet trade is dominated by wild-caught fish, and Wikipedia, which lists the species as Least Concern and says captive reproduction happens only after hormonal induction. The available data describes a fish that is farmed from wild larvae rather than bred, and no source we hold lets a buyer tell which tank in a shop holds which.
Do clown loaches eat snails? Four of our five say yes
This is the most searched question about the species after its care, and it is one of the few things our sources agree on.
- Aquarium Co-Op: yes, they are more than happy to help with your snail infestation problem.
- Aquarium Source: Clown Loaches also love to eat snails, and they will eat any freshwater snail they can get ahold of.
- Seriously Fish: records that it preys on aquatic snails.
- Wikipedia: calls it one of the few fishes that will eat bladder snails, Physella acuta.
- aqua-fish: agrees they eat snails, and it is the only source that qualifies the claim: their impact is limited compared to other methods.
So four sources sell it as a snail solution and the fifth says it is a weak one. Nothing on the record says a hard shell is protection, which is why the refusal below is a refusal rather than a caution.
What that costs, on this site
Our nerite snail record carries a 0.5 to 1.5 inch animal, and it is now refused twice: once by our pea puffer record, where Seriously Fish asks for small snails with the shell on regularly, and once here.
A snail eater is not a snail filter. Our snails silo is the only silo on this site where the animals are eaten by the fish in another silo, and this record is the second fish to do it.
The rest of the diet
Seriously Fish calls the species primarily carnivorous and then asks for cucumber, melon, blanched spinach or courgette, which no carnivore would take. Aquarium Source calls it an omnivore. Aquarium Co-Op asks for a protein-heavy diet of mollusks, bloodworms, tubifex worms and sinking pellets, plus blanched zucchini and Repashy gel food. Wikipedia gives the wild diet as worms, crustaceans and plant matter, and lists banana among the foods captive fish take.
The record prints omnivore, because that is what all five food lists describe regardless of the label attached to them.
Will clown loaches eat shrimp? No source we hold says either way
The honest answer first: not one of our five sources mentions shrimp as tank mates on this species at all. Two of them state rules that would exclude them, and a rule is not the same as a named pairing, so this section is our reading and is marked as ours.
- Aquarium Co-Op’s rule: no small fish or invertebrates small enough to fit in their mouths.
- Seriously Fish’s rule: not suitable with small species, or with slow-moving, long-finned fish, and it names bettas and guppies.
Read against a twelve inch mouth, that first rule takes out half of what this site holds.
| Record | Adult size | What our sources say about this pairing |
|---|---|---|
| Ember tetra | 0.6 to 0.8 in | Nothing. Inside the mouth rule |
| Chili rasbora | 0.7 to 0.8 in | Nothing. Marked a caution on this record |
| Pea puffer | 1 in | Nothing. Inside the mouth rule |
| Nerite snail | 0.5 to 1.5 in | Four sources name snails as food. Refused |
| Ghost shrimp | 1 to 1.5 in | Nothing about shrimp on either record |
| Cherry shrimp | 1.2 to 1.6 in | Nothing. Marked a caution on this record |
| Amano shrimp | 1 to 2 in | Nothing about shrimp on either record |
| Otocinclus | 1.4 to 2 in | Nothing. Inside the mouth rule |
| Honey gourami | 1.6 to 2.2 in | Nothing. Inside the mouth rule |
| Guppy | 2 to 2.5 in | Named by Seriously Fish. Refused |
Ten of our twenty animal records are in that table and only two of the ten are refused by a source that names them. The other eight are excluded by a rule and by nothing more, which is why two of them carry a caution and the rest carry the computed band with this paragraph behind it.
The betta is the odd one out and it is worth saying why. At 2.4 to 2.8 inches it is bigger than most of the table, and Seriously Fish refuses it anyway, for its fins and its speed rather than its size. Our tank mates grid prints both refusals with the reason attached, because a refusal without a reason is a rule you cannot check.
Clown loach male or female, and three answers
Three sources address it, and they do not describe the same difference.
- Seriously Fish, on the body: adult females are normally fuller-bodied and larger than comparably-aged males.
- Wikipedia, on the tail: females being slightly plumper than males, and in addition the tips of the tail on the male curve inwards slightly, whereas the females have straight tips.
- Aquarium Co-Op, on the color: males have bright red on their dorsal fins, golden-yellow bodies and slender frames, while females have darker fins, broader bodies and duller colors.
The two encyclopedias agree that the female is the heavier fish and disagree about everything else. Aquarium Source publishes no method, and aqua-fish publishes none either.
The color claim is the one to read carefully, because it is the only difference visible in a shop tank, and the fish in a shop tank is usually two or three inches long, per Aquarium Source. None of the three sources says at what size any of these differences appear.
There is a reason this matters less than it does on other records: nobody breeds this fish at home. Wikipedia states that they reproduce in captivity only after hormonal stimulation of final oocyte maturation and ovulation. Seriously Fish records no documented successful aquarium breeding by hobbyists, and in nature it describes migratory spawning, typically in late September or early October. Aquarium Source calls breeding very difficult in captivity and says the pet trade is dominated by wild-caught fish. So a sexed pair leads nowhere, and the fish in the shop was probably taken from a river.
Clown loach diseases, and the dispute that decides the dose
What every source agrees on
This fish gets ich first. Wikipedia calls it particularly susceptible to Ichthyophthirius, or white spot disease. Aquarium Co-Op says they are prone to ich and names Ich-X medication or salt. Aquarium Source gives the version an aquarist actually notices: a clown loach is usually the first to show symptoms in a community tank.
Seriously Fish names a second problem nobody else does, skinny disease, caused by flagellate parasites, and says it is treatable with Levamisole or Fenbendazole. It also names the mechanical hazard: sharp subocular spines that can entangle in nets or puncture skin when the fish is stressed, which is why the gear list on this record asks for a container instead of a net.
What they do not agree on
Station 04 prints it in full. Wikipedia says the fish has small or no scales, so it is often not treated with full doses of medications. Aquarium Source says it does have scales and can be treated with copper-based medicines.
And then Aquarium Source half agrees with Wikipedia. In the same passage it calls the species sensitive to a wide variety of medications and says most owners will provide half of the dosage to avoid problems. The two sources reach the same practical instruction from opposite anatomical claims.
This record will not print a dose. Not a fraction, not a product, not a duration. What it will print is that the two most detailed sources we hold cannot agree on whether this fish has scales, and that both of them end up recommending less medication than the bottle says. Anything past that belongs to a vet, and our water and health page says the same about every treatment question on this site.
How long do clown loaches live? Ten years, twenty, or thirty
Three sources publish a figure and the highest is flagged by the source that published it.
- Aquarium Source: at least 10 years in captivity, and reportedly up to 25 years in the wild.
- Seriously Fish: if properly cared for typical life span is in excess of twenty years.
- Wikipedia: they are a very long-lived species, living up to 30 years, and the article marks that claim as disputed on its own page.
Aquarium Co-Op and aqua-fish publish nothing. The row prints 10 to 30 years because that is the span the three figures cover, and because the honest version of this answer includes the range rather than the headline.
Thirty years is the highest ceiling this site holds, and this record shares it. Our goldfish record carries 5 to 30 years from a source that describes fish kept for 21 and 23 years in an unfiltered tank. The axolotl and the oscar records both carry 10 to 20, and our corydoras record carries over 20 years in captivity. Put next to the tank figure, that is the sentence this record exists to print: a hundred and twenty gallons, for six fish, for two or three decades.
The growth rate row makes the same point from the other end. Aquarium Co-Op calls them slow growers and gives the only number anybody publishes, about 6 inches at three years, while Aquarium Source calls it a moderate but steady growth rate. Either way the fish that outgrows the tank does it slowly enough that the tank looks fine for years.
What this record will not answer
Whether it has scales
Our two most detailed sources take opposite positions and both end up recommending a reduced dose. We print both and prescribe nothing.
A dose, for anything
Aquarium Co-Op names Ich-X or salt, Seriously Fish names Levamisole or Fenbendazole, Aquarium Source says half the dosage. Not one of them gives a figure we could check, so this record gives none.
How big it will actually get
Six inches, eight, twelve, thirteen or sixteen, depending on which of five sources you read and whether the fish is in a river. The row carries the whole span, which is honest and not useful.
Whether it will eat your shrimp
No source we hold names shrimp on this species. Station 07 shows the two rules that would exclude them and marks the conclusion as ours.
At what size the sexes can be told apart
Three sources give three different differences and none of them says when they appear, on a fish sold at two or three inches.
How to breed it
Two sources say it is not done at home without hormonal induction. We are not going to write a method around that.
Where yours came from
Aquarium Source says the trade is dominated by wild-caught fish. Nothing we read lets us tell you whether the one in the shop was bred or netted, and that is a question worth asking the shop.
Clown loach questions, answered from the record
What size tank does a clown loach need?
120 gallons is what this record carries, because it is the smallest figure any source states for the group of six they all ask for. Aquarium Co-Op will start juveniles in 55 gallons and says that tank lasts until they are about 3 years old or 6 inches long. Aquarium Source asks for 75 for juveniles, 100 or more by preference, and 150 or more for adults at about 30 gallons of space each. Seriously Fish asks for a base of 180 by 60 cm, a six foot tank.
How many clown loaches should be kept together?
Five or six at a minimum and ten or more by preference, per Seriously Fish, which also says what happens otherwise: a single fish can become withdrawn or aggressive towards similarly-shaped fishes, and in a pair or trio the dominant individual may stress the others until they stop feeding. Wikipedia asks for at least six, Aquarium Source for at least five, aqua-fish for three to five. Aquarium Co-Op gives a visibility scale instead: three may hide a lot, six may hide sometimes, thirty will be out often.
How big do clown loaches get?
Between six and thirteen inches in a tank, depending which source you read, and 400 mm standard length is the maximum Seriously Fish records for the species. Wikipedia and aqua-fish both say a captive fish rarely passes 15 to 20 cm, 5.9 to 7.9 in. Aquarium Co-Op reports 12 to 13 inches with a body 5 to 6 inches tall, and Aquarium Source says around 12. Shops sell them at two or three inches.
What temperature do clown loaches need?
82 °F is the only figure all five sources allow, which is why this record prints one number instead of a band. Aquarium Co-Op gives 82 to 86 and Wikipedia gives 24 to 28 C for an aquarium, so the floor of one is the ceiling of the other. Seriously Fish and aqua-fish both give 75 to 86 and Aquarium Source gives 72 to 86 with 78 to 79 as its preferred setting, which is below Aquarium Co-Op’s floor.
Do clown loaches eat snails?
Four of our five sources say yes. Aquarium Co-Op: they are more than happy to help with your snail infestation problem. Aquarium Source: they will eat any freshwater snail they can get ahold of. Seriously Fish records that it preys on aquatic snails, and Wikipedia calls it one of the few fishes that will eat bladder snails. aqua-fish agrees and adds the only qualification anybody offers, that their impact is limited compared to other methods. It is why our nerite snail record is refused against this one.
Will clown loaches eat shrimp?
No source we hold says either way, and this record will not pretend otherwise. What our sources do state is a rule: Aquarium Co-Op keeps out any small fish or invertebrates small enough to fit in their mouths, and Seriously Fish says the species is not suitable with small species. Against a twelve inch fish, a 30 to 40 mm cherry shrimp is inside both rules, so our grid marks that pairing a caution with the reasoning printed rather than a refusal we cannot source.
How long do clown loaches live?
Ten to thirty years, and the three published figures are that far apart. Aquarium Source says at least 10 years in captivity and up to 25 in the wild. Seriously Fish says in excess of twenty years if properly cared for. Wikipedia says up to 30 years and flags the claim as disputed itself. Only our goldfish record reaches as far, at 5 to 30 years.
How can you tell a male clown loach from a female?
Three sources, three answers. Seriously Fish: adult females are normally fuller-bodied and larger than comparably-aged males. Wikipedia: females are slightly plumper, and the tips of the tail on the male curve inwards slightly while the female’s are straight. Aquarium Co-Op: males have bright red on their dorsal fins, golden-yellow bodies and slender frames, females darker fins, broader bodies and duller colors. None of the three says at what size any of it becomes visible.
Why do clown loaches get ich so easily?
Every source that discusses health says they do, and none of them explains the mechanism. Wikipedia calls the species particularly susceptible to Ichthyophthirius. Aquarium Co-Op says they are prone to it and names Ich-X or salt. Aquarium Source says a clown loach is usually the first in a community tank to show symptoms. The treatment question runs into the scales dispute in station 09, and this record prints no dose.
Do clown loaches have scales?
Our sources contradict each other, and it is the sharpest disagreement on this record because it decides how the fish can be medicated. Wikipedia: as clown loaches have small or no scales, they are often not treated with full doses of medications. Aquarium Source: Clown Loaches do have scales and can be treated with copper-based medicines. The same page then says the species is sensitive to a wide variety of medications and that most owners provide half the dosage, which is the instruction Wikipedia gives from the opposite premise.
What can live with a clown loach?
Seriously Fish allows most other botiid loaches, some cobitid and nemacheilid loaches, and Epalzeorhynchos, Crossocheilus and Garra species plus many catfishes. Aquarium Co-Op names rainbowfish, Congo tetras and tiger barbs. Aquarium Source names eight including the bristlenose pleco, the kuhli loach and the angelfish, and refuses cichlids as a group. Check the temperature before trusting any list: our kuhli loach record stops at 79 °F and this record prints 82.
Are clown loaches aggressive?
Not to anything its own size. Aquarium Co-Op titles its guide The Pack of Underwater Puppies, aqua-fish asks for peaceful fish species around it, and Seriously Fish describes a playful set of behaviors in the loachy dance and the clicking. The exception is in the group figure. Seriously Fish says a single fish can become aggressive towards similarly-shaped fishes, which makes the aggression a symptom of being kept alone rather than a trait. What it will do regardless of numbers is eat anything small enough, which is a diet rather than a temperament.
How fast do clown loaches grow?
Slowly, and one source puts a figure on it. Aquarium Co-Op calls them slow growers and says a 55 gallon may last until they are about 3 years old or 6 inches long. Aquarium Source calls it a moderate but steady growth rate and gives no number. Seven records here carry a growth rate and two others give a size with an age, but this is the only one that states the rate as the working life of a specific tank.
Can clown loaches be bred at home?
Our sources say no. Wikipedia states they reproduce in captivity only after hormonal stimulation of final oocyte maturation and ovulation. Seriously Fish records no documented successful aquarium breeding by hobbyists and describes migratory spawning in nature, typically in late September or early October. Aquarium Source calls it very difficult and says the trade is dominated by wild-caught fish.
What a clown loach needs that a small loach does not
Three things our sources ask for, and the first is not equipment at all.
- Five more of them, and space for six adultsone fish alone turns on similarly-shaped fish
- Sand or fine gravelthe barbels are named as sensitive by one source
- A container instead of a netthe subocular spines entangle in mesh
Every item our records ask for is gathered on the tank setup topic.
Nothing here is a paid link. It is the shortfall between what this record asks for and what a boxed kit contains.
How this record was compiled
- By
- Verified
- Sources
Seriously Fish, Chromobotia macracanthus, Aquarium Co-Op, clown loach care guide, Aquarium Source, Wikipedia, Clown loach and aqua-fish
- Conflicts
Printed above: one source says this fish has small or no scales and should not take a full dose of medication, another says it has scales and can be treated with copper
- Not recorded
Nothing on the nine field table, which four other records here also manage. What is missing sits outside the table: a dose for the ich all five sources say this fish gets first, and any statement at all about shrimp