Clown Cars For Aquariums

There is a very underutilized fish in the hobby, that most of you have seen before, but maybe haven't owned, and this is a great shame. We would like to (re)introduce to you, the Clown Loach (Chromobotia macracanthus). They are originally from Borneo and Sumatra and all specimens were wild caught for many years. Today, we primarily offer sustainably wild caught specimens though aquacultured specimens are becoming more available from fish farms in Asia, including some hybrids.

First things first, this amazing fish is seen in just about every aquarium store around the country but is often ignored because of its potentially large size and this is somewhat of a shame. Clown Loaches do get big, but there are a couple caveats to this. Their record wild size is just shy of 12 inches long, and this jives with what we've seen here. There are rumors of this fish getting 16+ inches long, but we don't have any good data to support this. A much more common adult size is around six to eight inches long. They are fairly quick growers when young, however this growth rate tapers off dramatically when they hit sexual maturity around five or six inches long. This size combined with the fact that they should be kept in groups, ends up in requiring a fairly large aquarium at grow out. We recommend a minimum of a six foot long, 120-gallon aquarium and more would be better. These fish generally stay near the bottom but have been known to bolt quickly when surprised and so we also recommend that the aquarium have a snug fitting lid to prevent them from getting out.

Aquarium décor should be interesting, these fish love caves and cover and swim throughs, so giving them plenty of each will keep them engaged. Well-rounded stones and driftwood over a small grain sand or rounded gravel would work well. They don't require a substrate, though most people will prefer the look. When they rest, and when they attempt to spawn, Chromobotia macracanthus will literally pack themselves into a cave together like a tin of sardines. It's a crazy looking behavior and we wonder a bit if the “clown” part of their name was related not just to their coloration, but to this clown-car style activity. Long story short, give them some bigger caves, and make sure there aren't any sharp edges in there. For those of you who would like to keep them with live plants, we suggest picking very hardy species like Java Moss / Fern, Floating plants like Duckweed and perhaps Anubias, there is some risk to this (see below).

One of the neatest aspects of keeping Clown Loaches, outside of their amazing coloration, is their activity level during daylight hours (when many loaches would be sleeping) and their very cool social structure. You can keep a single Clown, but they are much more entertaining in groups of at least seven, and as many as you can fit is even better. We do not suggest keeping small groups as they tend to get territorial when this happens and aggression between them can become unmanageable; avoid groups of two, three, and four. Chromobotia macracanthus is a peaceful fish, but very playful and may become a nuisance to some fish or scare very peaceful fish into hiding. You should also avoid fish that are plodding swimmers and / or have long flowing fins that could get picked on (like guppies). Clown Loaches are good tankmates for a variety of fish, like freshwater sharks, catfish, barbs, garras etc. We're looking for peaceful fish that have high activity levels, or just aren't bothered by much.

Feeding Clown Loaches is very easy, and they generally accept pelletized foods very quickly. Their wild diet is mostly compromised of invertebrates, though they do also ingest quite a bit of plant matter (and will eat soft leaved plants in your aquarium). They are a great fish for the Nutramar Color Boost and Algae Blend Shots, which can be stuck to décor or glass in an aquarium and the Loaches can graze on it over time. This food gives them a good balance of algae matter and protein. We also feed them some thawed foods like bloodworm and tubifex and mysis. We suggest giving them these items as treats and supplying them with a regular regimen of pellets and shots. They will greedily accept live worms and tubifex as well. You can also feed them blanched vegetables like zucchini and greens, though you should be careful to remove any uneaten food quickly. Chromobotia macracanthus are quite adaptable to a variety of pH (6-8) and hardness levels (from soft to very hard). This being said, they're requirements in regard to temperature, oxygenation and nutrient load are more specific than some other fish. This is a truly tropical fish and should ideally be kept in aquariums that stay over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, between 78 and 84. One of the challenges of very warm water aquariums is that warm water does not hold oxygen well. For this reason, we suggest that aquarist take steps to ensure that the aquarium has plenty of flow (which aids in gas exchange) and some forced air as well.

Further compounding this oxygen situation is fish waste. Very simply put, the term “Biological Oxygen Demand” is a measurement of all the material that is decomposing in the water, and how much oxygen that process is taking up (yes, decomposition uses up available oxygen). So, for fish that live in a warm water environment, and require elevated oxygen levels, having any residual fish waste in the aquarium is counterproductive. So really, the only tricky thing about keeping Clown Loaches is making sure their aquarium has enough oxygen; as a result, they will do best in very established aquariums, in which large and frequent water changes are happening.

The Clown Loach is a fish geek's kind of fish. They are cooler than anyone thinks and pretty misunderstood both in how to keep them, and how easy they are to keep. While we wouldn't recommend them to the complete novice with a new ten-gallon tank, they are within the grasp of any of you who have a big enough display and have been keeping fish for a while. These are gorgeous, active fish that have a super interesting social behavior unmatched by much on the freshwater side of this hobby. Keep their tanks clean, keep them in as large a group as possible and these fish will reward you with years of high-spirited antics! Ask your Local Fish Store about getting you a bunch of them from Aquatropic today!