If you've never had Clown Loaches before, you're in for an interesting treat. They are the only fish that I know of with sense of humor! They love to buzz around the tank almost frantically at times. They have a cute little moustache. If you could get a little black top hat to stay on them, it would be perfect! Don't be alarmed if your little orange and black friend lays on his side. This used to freak me out as I always thought he was dead...but no, off he would go, as if he was laughing at me! So, if you want to spice up your tank a bit, go for a Clown loach
Kym
I made some comments earlier about the Clown Loach...but I do need to add something else. I have 2 clown loaches. One is about 2 and 1/2 inches and is out and about most of the time. The other is about 3 and 1/2 inches and is pretty shy. He likes to hide in this rock pile in the corner of my tank. Anyway, I got up the other morning, still half asleep and saw the "shy" loach swimming up and down very quickly in one small area of the tank.making a figure 8 movements up and down, up and down. I thought what the heck is he doing? Well, it turns out he was swimming though this bubble wall in the back of the tank...I guess that's where they got their name. I have kept many different fish in the last 12 years, but never have any amused me so much as the Clown Loach!
Kym
Something Kym left out is that clown loaches, like most other loaches like to be kept in groups, they tend to lie around bored all day if they\'re alone, they do all of that funny and interesting stuff when they have company to entertain, and unfortunately we humans don't satisfy them socially .
Bob
I agree with the the previous comments and Bob was spot on about them liking it better in groups. I have a group of seven,with my largest being a good 20cm. As far as I know no-one has bred them in captivity. I believe they bring colour and movement to our tanks. They live with our cichlids and do fine. The clown loaches are cheeky and fun to have in your aquarium.
Aileen
I added three clown loaches to my 55G tank a few days ago. They made friends with my seven tiger barbs instantly. The tiger barbs love to follow them and play hide and seek with them, they are so much fun!
Alice
I have had my clown loach for years. They are really cute fish that's like to be in a group, if it is kept alone don't wish that it will be active as in a group. I kept them in my malawi cichlid tank and they make friends with those cichlid. And they really love eating worms. But beware if your tank has no lid it will jump cause i've experienced it. I recomend this fish to any fish hobbyist out there.
Tripp
i have a clown loach that loves to hang around my red tail black shark. when i first got these fish the shark chased everything in the tank around exept this clown they have now lived hapily together for three years. I love clown loaches colouring and the fact that they keep the snails at bay
Tom aka mad about fish
Everybody always says clown loaches eat snails, but so far the 3 I recently purchased to help with my snail infestation have done nothing but clean the outer shells of a few snails. The loaches are each about 2 inches long, and I have dozens of snails of varying sizes. I haven't seen them eat a single snail!
John
I just bought two clown loaches, I love them because they livened up my tank as soon as I put them in. I'm hoping they will do well with my African butterfly though. happy fish keeping!
Abra N. Mach
I love these fish. Beautiful, and generally peaceful, but I have noticed that at larger sizes (6"+) they have a fondness for munching on cardinal and neon tetras. Still one of my favorites, but oh so dangerous to my lovely cardinals.
The Scoop Kid
If you want them to eat snails cut down on the food for a week or so. They will be just fine and they will take care of the snails.
Chad
Since no one mentioned it, I will. Clown Loaches are among the few fish that don't have scales. Thus, it increases the chance of White Spot, or Ich/Ick. Treat them slowly to evade the chances and slowly acclimate them just after you have purchased them to relieve stress.
John
Clown loaches need hiding places to feel safe and sleep in. I have some 1.5 inch to 3 inch loaches. Just bought the 3 inch ones now named dave and buster. they join ying and yang and they instantly followed the small clown to the hideout and they just love tight spaces. They look like they are stuck, but they love tight spaces just a little bit bigger than them. They love to explore so keep that in mind while designing your tank. You will catch the fever with one, but buy 3 if you can hold them. Really examine them in the store tank, see if they have ick, seem slow and sluggish, thin or plain not acting right clowns, do not buy them. they are not nurse back to health normally, not always. 55g or really a 120 or above for their final size.
Buddha Red
i bought a clown loach because my tank was overrun with snails and he or she has cleaned them all up. i was soo happy to be rid of them. i still have my clown loach and i got to thinking afterward that he might starve since there were no more snails. thankfully, i found out they are omnivores,and at feeding time, i see him going for all the falling flakes of food. he also loves rooting in they gravel and hiding "bored" in his turtle log i have for him, though he somtimes gets booted out because of my pleco.i'm soo glad he's not going to starve!my 'lil guy!
lori
im read that you can feed clown loaches bananas is this true becaues i tried it today an the didant eat it they just sota looked at it then ignored it... help
jesse
I love this fish. I bought him to play with my tiger barbs. He schools with them most of the time, and hides in some driftwood for the rest. The only problem i've found is that he nips at my large snails and disrupts their cleaning routine.
the_noobinator
I am using this nice fish to control snails in my tank. In the beginning they didn't show interest in Malaysian snails, particularly. But after a couple of months I began to see empty Malaysian snail shells scattered around the bottom of the tank.
Mohammad
I initially got my clown loach to get my snail population under control... I didn't think that it would do it in less than a day! Easily my most interesting fish. Gets on quite well with the others, even the Red-Tail Black Shark which bullies everyone else, including the Pleco who's twice his size.
Ian
