My 55g on a budget, lessons learned, & how to

[ImACoolguy]

Just a FYI inch per gallon is way past outdated. It's just something that won't go away.

The reason for the 125 is obviously for the school like you said. In a 55g they could stay in there for a while but 6 will eventually need all 125g of that. These loaches can live around 15 years and grow very slowly. Their full size is about 12-14 inches. There is very few fish we keep that do well in a 55g at that size and even then they are usually kept alone much less 3. Which isn't even a suitable school.

Just IMO to make sense of it all.


Caleb

 

[MINIMAL]

Luckily I have a 125 in the works. Thanks for the info!

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[sinibotia]

It is funny you mention the 125 not being cheap because I just got a 125g on a stand with a 75g underneath with canster and everything else for $275 on facebook. Which is where I am planning to rehome the clown, pleco, and bala. The reason I currently only have the one clown is he was the only one left. Out of the 5 places that sell fish around here, the clowns are always gone as soon as they hit the store. He has been doing great, so far. His colors were dull when I got him, but now the orange and blacks are very intense and has bright red tips on the fins which were not even visible before. He schooled up with the albino cory's that were in the same tank with him when I got him (they were the only 3 fish left in the tank at the LFS) so I just took all of them. He has stayed with them the entire time, so they will most likely go to the new tank as well. I am currently in the process of scaping the 125 so it will be a while until i get it cycled and ready to go. If he does show signs of stress I will take him to the neighbors house who has a 125 with 4 clowns and just take one of his snails or something.

As far as needing a 125g for a clown, i think that is a little overboard anyway. I have had clowns in a 29g before and they lived 3-5 years in it until I moved and gave them to the LFS because I was afraid they would not make the trip. I am just trying to figure out how you can say that 1 is not ok in a 55g but 6 would be ok in a 125g. (125 / 6) = 21. I completely get the schooling aspect, so I am not questioning that, but the fish per gallon does not make sense. So I did a little research on it and it appears that you are right on 6 in a 125, but most people are saying 3 will be fine in a 55g. I guess it just depends on who you talk to, or trial and error. If you go with the most common reccomendation of 1" of fish per gallon, your "South American" tank would be overloaded, since neons range from 1.3" to 2" as adults meaning you are looking at 22.1 to 34 gallons of space needed, but only have 20g. However it seems to working and the others are wrong.

Why a clown loach is not ok in a 55 but ok in a 125 is a really simple explanation- swimming space vs bioload space. There's a lot more room in a 125 gallon tank for a moderately active group of foot-long fish. A 125 gallon is the minimum size in terms of both footprint and actual amount of water to house these fish because they get large and messy.

My 20 gallon tank has more than enough swimming space for all of the fish and I keep up with water changes so that bioload isn't an issue. I don't follow any inch per gallon rule or any rule of thumb; I go on my fishkeeping experience as well as tracking nitrate levels to see how much is building up vs. how much I'm removing. I stock until my water changes are maintaining even nitrate below 10. This is the case in most of my fish tanks. I have sort of a rough mathematical formula for stocking that relates stocking density, bioload capacity, and space capacity.

You need a minimum of 6 clown loaches so yes, a 125 is the minimum tank size. I don't care what anyone else says, they are absolutely dead wrong if they think that any botiid loach can healthily be kept in smaller groups. As previously mentioned they are highly social animals.

Saying you kept a clown loach in a 29 for 5 years is all well and good, but they can have lifespans upwards of 40 years and are very slow growers.

I'm really glad that you have a proper tank and are going to get more friends for your clown loach. If I seem really harsh about these fish it's because loaches as a whole are my favorite aquarium fish; they are wonderful animals. Any regular here who recognizes me could tell you I'm prettymuch obsessed with them I wish I could see every last one of them in a good home but they are so often mistreated. I don't mean to come off so aggressively but I love these fish so much that frankly I wish that they'd never come to the aquarium trade for their own good.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Why a clown loach is not ok in a 55 but ok in a 125 is a really simple explanation- swimming space vs bioload space. There's a lot more room in a 125 gallon tank for a moderately active group of foot-long fish. A 125 gallon is the minimum size in terms of both footprint and actual amount of water to house these fish because they get large and messy.

My 20 gallon tank has more than enough swimming space for all of the fish and I keep up with water changes so that bioload isn't an issue. I don't follow any inch per gallon rule or any rule of thumb; I go on my fishkeeping experience as well as tracking nitrate levels to see how much is building up vs. how much I'm removing. I stock until my water changes are maintaining even nitrate below 10. This is the case in most of my fish tanks. I have sort of a rough mathematical formula for stocking that relates stocking density, bioload capacity, and space capacity.

You need a minimum of 6 clown loaches so yes, a 125 is the minimum tank size. I don't care what anyone else says, they are absolutely dead wrong if they think that any botiid loach can healthily be kept in smaller groups. As previously mentioned they are highly social animals.

Saying you kept a clown loach in a 29 for 5 years is all well and good, but they can have lifespans upwards of 40 years and are very slow growers.

I'm really glad that you have a proper tank and are going to get more friends for your clown loach. If I seem really harsh about these fish it's because loaches as a whole are my favorite aquarium fish; they are wonderful animals. Any regular here who recognizes me could tell you I'm prettymuch obsessed with them I wish I could see every last one of them in a good home but they are so often mistreated. I don't mean to come off so aggressively but I love these fish so much that frankly I wish that they'd never come to the aquarium trade for their own good.

The sad part is loaches are often overlooked. Clowns I would dare to say are head to head with Kuhli as the most popular loach out there. Indefinitely because of their color and kids call them sharks a lot. That being said very few reach a suitable home with an actual group.


Caleb

 

[MINIMAL]

I gave the clown to a friend to add to his group today. So everybody can drop the clown conversation lol.

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[bigsea]

HAHAHHAHAA.

Nice tank man. Props on resourcefulness and creativity !


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[Coursair]

My 55g on a budget, lessons learned, & how to

Watch the Kissing Gourami as well. As they mature and get breeding size, they can become jerks. Kissers get quite large, so he'll be another candidate for the 125g.

Best peaceful largish Gourami IMHO are Pearl Gouramis. They get about 4" and are great display fish.

As has been said, try to fill out your groups of small fish.

Corydoras are another very social fish. I currently have 4 Cory sterbai in my 55g. My goal is a group of 8-10. Their behaviors are much more interesting in larger groups. Plus I hope to breed them.

If you like Loaches look at sidthamunki
http://www.loaches.com/species-index/yasuhikotakia-sidthimunki

I just started a 55g myself. Mine was on an extreme budget. Basically all free except fish.
If you can find a local aquarium club you can find amazing deals. My club members set me up !

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[JoeBabes62]

the tank is beautiful

 

[MINIMAL]

I no longer have a 55. I now have a 120 gal.

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[Deltafishin]

I copied the notes this is great!!