General African Cichlid Discussion

by **LabLoVer1** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 2:54 am

The size is a 55g and i have quite a few A. Cichlids with lots of rocc work
the current list are about:

5 yellow Labs
2 Albino Zebras
2 Johannis

they are no bigger than 2in. I was just curious and wanted to know
from more experienced owners and dealers with A. Cichlids so
please let me any info and suggestions you guys have thanks in
advance...

by **lovemycichlids805** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:28 am

Well we had 2 clown loaches in with our african cichlids and at first they were fine. We developed ich (or so I thought) and ended up with dead clown loaches. I'm no expert by any means but I don't see why you couldn't. I know alot of ppl who have clown loaches in their A. cichlid tanks. Also the LFS has them in with their A.cichlids, and at my LFS they are pretty smart people.

by **QHgal** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 12:16 pm

Some have had luck with them and some haven't. Guess it depends on the attitudes of your fish.

Just a note on your stocking, tho. Your gonna need to up your numbers of Johanni and Albino Zebra. Cichlids are not pairing fish. With both of those species you want one male to 3 or 4 females.

by **lotsofish** » Thu Apr 24, 2008 6:12 pm

If you ask the experts on the loach forum they will say NO!

http://forums.loaches.com/index.php

by **stargirly1208** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 11:27 pm

The guy at my LFS has clowns in with his africans and I questioned him about this. He said as long as you put them in there when the fish are juvenile they should be fine. I have kept clowns for a loooooooong time and I find they are a very aggressive fish and should be labeled as so. They ate my angelfish

I think I am going to try and keep mine with my africans... I'll let you know how it goes come July when I set up my tank in the new apartment. :thumb:

by **eyezak** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:01 am

I have one with my Haps and Peacocks.No problem here.If anything he bothers the other tankmates,but no aggresion either way :thumb:

by **Fischfan13** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:13 am

The toughest part of adding Clown Loaches into an African tank with be acclimating them into the tank. The last colony I bought (eight, in all) were acclimated using the "drip method"...leaving the Clown's in the water that they came in (I used a bucket) and using an airline tube, knotted, and dripping water from the tank that they will be going into. This process took all day, and it is worth it.
My Clowns have been in with a Tropheus colony, Yellow Labs, Demasoni and Cyno Afras...and there has never been an incident.
Go for it.

by **BrianNFlint** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:59 pm

I've had clowns in my mbuna tank for 3+ years with no problems. I did not add them while my mbuna were juvie, but i would suggest.

On a side note.. Clowns are more than capable of dealing with an offensive mbuna.. I would suggest keeping them in groups of 3 or more.. Keep in mind that they WILL out grow a 55 gallon tank. They do not stay small and cute but are actually a very large fish when fully grown.

by **ME_AND_GREENTERROR** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:42 pm

just something would 4 clown loaches work with a pair of JD's in a 55?

by **QHgal** » Thu May 01, 2008 8:29 am

They do not stay small and cute but are actually a very large fish when fully grown.

Yes, they will outgrow your tank. But, they can take up to 10 years to reach full growth.

by **BrianNFlint** » Thu May 01, 2008 7:16 pm

QHgal wrote:
They do not stay small and cute but are actually a very large fish when fully grown.

Yes, they will outgrow your tank. But, they can take up to 10 years to reach full growth.

But it wont take 10 years to out grow a 55 gallon tank.

I am not trying to discourage him just letting him know that at some point he will either need a bigger tank or they will have to be removed.

by **eyezak** » Thu May 01, 2008 11:47 pm

BrianNFlint wrote:
QHgal wrote:
They do not stay small and cute but are actually a very large fish when fully grown.

Yes, they will outgrow your tank. But, they can take up to 10 years to reach full growth.

But it wont take 10 years to out grow a 55 gallon tank. I am not trying to discourage him just letting him know that at some point he will either need a bigger tank or they will have to be removed.

Yeah but not for a couple of years.Enjoy them :thumb:

by **LabLoVer1** » Fri May 02, 2008 2:54 am

I appreciate all the advice really, I was getting discouraged because a lot of people hear "Cichlids" and instantly sentence other kinds of fish death if ever put in the same tank. I also read that the Clown Loaches can maintain very well but everyone i had looked to advice to were very closed minded to it. So i appreciate the knowledge and opinions i really love the fish in my tank but I admit i have a thing for the Clown Loach...haha

by **stslimited84** » Fri May 02, 2008 8:01 am

I think the key word in your question is "survive". Clown loaches have developed to live in soft acidic water. Yes, they will survive in a cichlid tank, but that does not make it ideal for them. I admit I love loaches too, but it just doesnt seem right putting such a good looking fish in non-optimum water parameters.

Check out this link:

http://www.loaches.com/articles/why-loa ... i-cichlids

Its quite clear that Loaches should not be kept in a cichlid tank.

by **Oneeyedgeckz** » Fri May 02, 2008 12:06 pm

I'm notorious to mixing species that don't normally go together... people generally say don't mix the lakes the fish are from.. I say as long as they all grow up together there should be no problems. In my one tank I have african cichlids with oscars and a catfish and they get along famously.

If you are still concerned about putting them together you can always set up another, smaller tank maybe a 30 long, and build it around your clown loaches.

I agree that you need to up the number of Albino Zebras and the Johannis, and that in the future you will most likely need a larger tank.

General African Cichlid Discussion • Can Clown Loaches Survive in A. Cichlid Tank?

Can Clown Loaches Survive in A. Cichlid Tank?

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