Should I buy it?
Clown Loach
Chromobotia macracanthus
Also known as: clown, botia group
A schooling loach that grows to 30 cm. The 5 cm juveniles sold in shops become adult fish that need 400 L or more over several years.
Clown Loach tank mates · 300L tank size hub
peaceful · intermediate care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: not recommended
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Large community tanks 400L or more with a school of at least five adults. A 10-year-plus keeper commitment.
Avoid if: Your tank is under 200L, you can't plan for a long-term large fish, or you want something permanently nano-sized.
Common mistakeParking three juvenile clown loaches in a 100L is how keepers invent an unfixable adult problem years later. They grow slowly and look ‘fine’ until length and group needs outrun the glass with no obvious day to act. Plan 400L-class length and six or more from day one — or do not buy the cute juveniles.
Top things that go wrong
- Grows large or needs a very big footprint. Clown Loach is often sold at sizes that hide adult length (~30cm) and a published minimum near **400L**. Shop tanks are not adult housing.
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: juvenile clown loaches stay manageable in a community 100L if they grow up slowly with tank mates. Reality: adults need large footprint volume and a real group of six or more — cute juveniles are a schedule toward a 400L-class problem, not a finished stocking plan.
- 2.Large minimum volumes still need real footprint: length and width for turning matter as much as the litre number on a sticker.
- 3.Buying three or four to start. Clown Loach settles in a group of 6 or more. An understocked school sulks at the back of the tank and loses colour within a fortnight.
- 4.Buying for juvenile size in the shop tank. Budget for adult length and turning radius, not the inch-long fish in the bag.
- 5.Clown loaches grow slowly but eventually reach 30 cm and need a very large tank. Shops sell them at 5 cm as juveniles. Not a small-tank fish long-term.
- 6.Clown loaches grow large and need a very long tank and strong filtration.
About this species
Clown loaches are large social loaches from Indonesia with black and orange banding. Adults reach 25 to 30 cm and ten or more years.
- Yoyo Loach200L min · same fish family
- Dojo / weather loach150L min · same fish family
- Zebra Loach120L min · same fish family
- Hillstream Loach100L min · same fish family
- Kuhli Loach70L min · same fish family
- Bala / silver sharkalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Common Plecoalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Cuckoo / petricola catfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Denison's / red-line torpedo barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Giant danioalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Keyhole cichlidalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Yoyo Loach tank matesnames this fish as a conditional pairing — read the pair page conditions
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease26
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit72
- Small-tank fit52
- Hardiness54
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Prioritise 6+ of Clown Loach in 400L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Clown Loach
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Pearl Gourami. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Angelfish, Corydoras Catfish, Tiger Barb. Avoid (RISKY): Jack Dempsey, Oscar. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Clown Loach + Pearl Gourami
- Try Pearl Gourami — open the pair check.
Behaviour and temperament
Clown loaches are peaceful with other species when given space and a proper group, but they are not nano fish. They stay calmer in six or more with caves and length to patrol. Stress shows as hiding and lost colour when the tank is short, bright, and under-grouped.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly sized community fish; fry and dwarf shrimp are still fair game for most species.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- A group of six or more works wood, caves, and open sand in a long tank.
- Clicking and resting in piles are normal ownership, not instant disease.
- Chronic hiding in a short ‘community’ tank means footprint failed years before adult length.
- A thin trio with no caves is stocking stress before mystery parasites alone.
- Low malice toward similar community fish when space is honest.
- Crowded short tanks create territorial friction that looks like ‘mean loaches.’
- Do not buy juveniles unless the adult system already exists.
- Expand group and footprint before adding another centrepiece to ‘draw them out.’
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Clown loaches are large omnivore bottom foragers that take sinking wafers, frozen foods, and some snails once a group of six or more is settled. Surface flake alone leaves them thin while midwater fish look fine. Offer meaty sinking foods after lights soften, and confirm the group reaches food under wood and caves in a long footprint — not a tall nano.
Shrimp & snails
Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 24 to 30 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 6 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 400L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 24–30°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 400L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 1600L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 24–30°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Clown Loach does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 24–30°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Chromobotia macracanthus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Chromobotia macracanthus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Chromobotia macracanthus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Featured compatibility checks
Curated pair pages for Clown Loach. Each opens a full verdict — not just a list label.
Common questions about Clown Loach
- How big do Clown Loach get?
- Clown Loach adults reach about 30 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Clown Loach need?
- 400L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 488L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Clown Loach aggressive?
- Clown loaches are peaceful with other species when given space and a proper group, but they are not nano fish. They stay calmer in six or more with caves and length to patrol. Stress shows as hiding and lost colour when the tank is short, bright, and under-grouped.
- Do Clown Loach need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Clown Loach?
- Parking three juvenile clown loaches in a 100L is how keepers invent an unfixable adult problem years later. They grow slowly and look ‘fine’ until length and group needs outrun the glass with no obvious day to act. Plan 400L-class length and six or more from day one — or do not buy the cute juveniles.
- What fish can live with Clown Loach?
- The Clown Loach profile lists Pearl Gourami among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Angelfish, Corydoras Catfish, Tiger Barb are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid Jack Dempsey, Oscar (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.