Do Clown Loaches & Oscars make good tankmates?

[Jacky12]

Wilco. Thanks for the informative post. See, I was right. You do know everything. I picked up some interesting CL stories in the FB groups & will share later. Kinda complex. Some people are making creative use of light & their CLs are prettier than mine.
Also came across a hilarious post where a guy had a very pink goldfish with striking red markings. He denied using colored lights, but told me where he got the fish. I emailed this online vendor who specializes in goldfish. He said he never heard of such a dark pink fish with red markings & asked me to send him the FB photo. He said it was a white fish with blue markings & the photographer clearly used tinted lights. He added he could get 3 to me for $300 plus shipping. They were hardly all that and my $15 blue calico fantails are prettier under natural light.

 

[Andy Sager]

Wilco. Thanks for the informative post. See, I was right. You do know everything. I picked up some interesting CL stories in the FB groups & will share later. Kinda complex. Some people are making creative use of light & their CLs are prettier than mine.
Also came across a hilarious post where a guy had a very pink goldfish with striking red markings. He denied using colored lights, but told me where he got the fish. I emailed this online vendor who specializes in goldfish. He said he never heard of such a dark pink fish with red markings & asked me to send him the FB photo. He said it was a white fish with blue markings & the photographer clearly used tinted lights. He added he could get 3 to me for $300 plus shipping. They were hardly all that and my $15 blue calico fantails are prettier under natural light.

Nah, I just know a lot through experience.
After my recent incident with getting scammed, I don't trust too much from anything online without proof. The computer has been both a blessing and a curse. Too many people think they can pull the wool over people's eyes. BS runs rampant online. I feel sorry for those just starting out these days, depending on online information for their source of information. Too much bad and wrong information there. Time to go back to reading books. The information might be old or some missing but at least the info is trying to educate with no underlying BS.

 

[Jacky12]

I have every confidence Imperial will not ship fish in fragile health. They are the best. I have purchased from them more times than I can remember, mostly African Cichlids and syno cats. These are fish simply not to be found locally, be it in a small or large shop. I just received a reply from them asking if I could pay extra for at least 4” Clowns in that group being sold as 3-4.” I offered to pay extra and they said they’ll grab the biggest fish for me without additional costs. How rare is that? A merchant turning down greenback dollar bills?

 

[Andy Sager]

I have every confidence Imperial will not ship fish in fragile health. They are the best. I have purchased from them more times than I can remember, mostly African Cichlids and syno cats. These are fish simply not to be found locally, be it in a small or large shop. I just received a reply from them asking if I could pay extra for at least 4” Clowns in that group being sold as 3-4.” I offered to pay extra and they said they’ll grab the biggest fish for me without additional costs. How rare is that? A merchant turning down greenback dollar bills?

That's all well and good but African Cichlids and Syno cats are a lot hardier than Clown loaches. Just sayin. One of the breeders there was/is a member of the PRA group so I know he knows some stuff. The big difference with fish like Clown Loaches is that the diseases don't always show up right after the stress. Take that for what it's worth. Good places don't knowingly send out bad fish but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. This is why you take preventative measures.

 

[Jacky12]

There’s been some fascinating posts in one of the FB Clown groups. Two guys were discussing how old their fish were. One has a 29 yr old & is hoping she sees 30. He says she’s losing weight, but looked like a porker to me. The other guy had a 26 yr old. Neither said how big the tanks were or the fish sizes. I’ll have to go back & ask.

What I found most interesting were their tank maintenance systems. Both guys kept the tanks sterile enough to perform underwater lobotomies on Homo sapiens. They had UV sterilizers, removed all tank decor weekly & scrubbed thoroughly after soaking in H2O2. A lot more I couldn’t follow & some standard. Highly specific lighting & heating. But in the absence of controls, given my scientific background, I am unable to draw a definitive link between their hyper-hygiene & fish longevity. They certainly did their fish no harm, that’s certain.

 

[Andy Sager]

You may not see any connection but I do. The UV sterilizer helps keep any floating pathogen from getting a foot hold in the tank. The weekly decor dips might be a bit much but if it works, why change it?
Best lighting is subdued lighting which is not what most aquarists like since it makes it harder to see the fish. But these fish like it better. Same with temperature. Warmer is better but warmer than most fish like.
Bottom line tho is this: Water quality, stability and diet is what it takes to keep fish healthy and growing for a long time. A stress free environment helps tremendously as well. For these fish, a big "tank" also helps.

Next time you go to a public aquarium, try and get a " back stage" or " behind the scenes" tour and take note of all the equipment they use to keep their animals healthy. THAT is what it takes at home as well, only with smaller pieces of equipment. Most won't do it which is why most don't have fish that live out a long term life.

 

[Jacky12]

You like UV filters? I read in my early fishkeeping days they were overhyped and generally useless & can indeed be harmful. But it was close to 2 years ago and I can’t recall details. I’d have to reinvestigate.

I did not say there’s no connection. What I said, or tried to say, was: Would these fish had done just as well under less stringent conditions? But kudos to these old men & their dedication to the Clowns. We need more people like that in the hobby. I am aghast by some of the tanks I’m seeing. Many post video clips because it’s easy. I’m seeing 90 or 125 G tanks with more big fish than I have in a 110, three 125s and two 90’s combined.

 

[Andy Sager]

You like UV filters? I read in my early fishkeeping days they were overhyped and generally useless & can indeed be harmful. But it was close to 2 years ago and I can’t recall details. I’d have to reinvestigate.

I did not say there’s no connection. What I said, or tried to say, was: Would these fish had done just as well under less stringent conditions? But kudos to these old men & their dedication to the Clowns. We need more people like that in the hobby. I am aghast by some of the tanks I’m seeing. Many post video clips because it’s easy. I’m seeing 90 or 125 G tanks with more big fish than I have in a 110, three 125s and two 90’s combined.

UV's? Sure do. The only downside to them is they can be costly and the bulbs do not have a long life so need replacing almost annually to ensure they are still killing. More than 1/2 of the ick problems people have would be solved or never happened if they were using UV. Every marine wholesaler I worked for or owned had them because they are extremely effective. In fact, for a more practical reason, they are even better than ozonizers. There was a wholesaler in Miami who went the ozone way ( like in hospitals) and his fish looked beautiful in the warehouse but would break down once we put them in our less than sterile systems. He didn't last long in the industry.


As for the other comment, I understood what you meant. I'm 100% positive that the results would not be the same in a less stringent environment. Clown Loaches are not a "sh*t" fish, meaning they won't stand for a lot of the laziness of most aquarists have while other fish will. They will keep you on your toes.

 

[Jacky12]

The guy with the 29 yr old CL says he doesn’t use UV, but has 2 power heads. Most of the UV units I found on Amazon are rated for 250 gallons or 500, or small tanks. I’m not seeing anything for a 125. But I did find an “Aquashine JUP Submersible UV Sterilizer for 13W aquarium powerhead with built in water and Air Pump —— Extra UV Bulb included ——-Green Algae Killing Machine.” It’s rated for 30-80 gallon tanks. So I’m thinking of one at each end of the tank. Does that sound ok?

PS. There are no $h*t fish. Only $h*t owners. (Take off on tagline from a famous British dog trainer).

 

[Andy Sager]

The guy with the 29 yr old CL says he doesn’t use UV, but has 2 power heads. Most of the UV units I found on Amazon are rated for 250 gallons or 500, or small tanks. I’m not seeing anything for a 125. But I did find an “Aquashine JUP Submersible UV Sterilizer for 13W aquarium powerhead with built in water and Air Pump —— Extra UV Bulb included ——-Green Algae Killing Machine.” It’s rated for 30-80 gallon tanks. So I’m thinking of one at each end of the tank. Does that sound ok?

PS. There are no $h*t fish. Only $h*t owners. (Take off on tagline from a famous British dog trainer).

Time to get OFF of Amazon and onto the internet for information. Before you decide, I suggest you read this: https://aquariumstoredepot.com/blogs/news/best-aquarium-uv-sterilizer

 

[Jacky12]

Yep, been there & doing that. Now under the fins of three experienced Clown Loach hobbyists, so I guess this thread has come to an end unless Colin or mgGomez have anything to add.

 

[Andy Sager]

Yep, been there & doing that. Now under the fins of three experienced Clown Loach hobbyists, so I guess this thread has come to an end unless Colin or mgGomez have anything to add.

Just remember, UV sterilizers are about the flow rate through them. The best model is useless if the flow rate through them is too fast.

 

[Colin_T]

don't waste your money on a UV steriliser

 

[Andy Sager]

don't waste your money on a UV steriliser

Why do you say this? They are extremely effective against many parasitic diseases and algae spores.