so i picked up 3 baby clown loaches a few weeks ago. they are currently in a 35 gallon tank and are less then an inch in length. 35 gallons is obviously to small for a permanent home but i have other larger tanks for them and setting up another. my question is how fast will these guys grow as babies. ive had clown loaches b4, and i know that they grow extremely, extremely slow, but i would take a guess, as for other fish that as babies they would grow much faster.

Yep, you've got one thing correct, clown loach are one of the slowest growing fish I've ever come across. So yours are less than an inch? I reckon it will take them a year, maybe a little longer to double in size. I bought two small juveniles that where probably about the inch in may 2006 and I suppose they are about 3 inches now. clown Loach make fantastic tankmates for Oscars, but only if you put in ones that aren't going to get eaten. You've got to be very careful because not many people know that clown Loach have got some serious spikes on their gill plates. They are more than likely some kind of defensive weaponry that the loach has developed. If an Oscar attempts to eat a Clown Loach, these spikes Lodge in the mouth of the Oscar and it can be very difficult to get the loach out, in fact you would have to probably remove the Oscar and do it manually.

thanks for the info. i thought they'd grow a tad faster the first year. maybe 2.'' didnt think that inch a year would apply to these guys especially that right now all they do is eat like beasts, but that is more then fine. the 75 gallon will be set up shortly and im gonna make it a community tank. i wont add in the clown loaches for awhile because i think they are just flat out to small for the tank. even in a 35 its hard to find them when they are right in front of ya.

one day im hoping to add these guys in with os in a larger tank. ill have them grown and add small os so at least they get that head start. i saw the post a couple days ago with the clown loaches projecting their fins into the os mouth. so ill be sure not to put them in with larger os