I took in a around a 6 inch clown loach, and I had it alone in quarantine. The folks I picked him up from had him alone in a tank with a pleco. They told me they had other fish in the past, but that most of them died for reasons unknown. It wasn't all at once, and they said they had some of them for a number of years so they had assumed it was just old age. So they wanted to switch to goldfish once they got a home for the two of them left.

Anyway, after it was done quarantine, I had put it in a tank with two severums around the same size to see how it would do. I was hoping they'd just ignore each other really.

When I had first put him in everything was fine, a few hours later I noticed he was trying to do the normal clown loach chase around the tank thing, which the sevs were having none of, but I had figured they'd all figure it out after a day or two.

That was yesterday. Today, I went to check on them to see that both sevs now have some torn fins, and the clown loach was being fairly aggressive with the two of them. I watched it slam into the one sev pretty hard. I have a divider in place now, but long term I'd like to come up with a better solution.

I hate to have to isolate him, since I know they like to school, and was assuming his over aggressiveness was partially from being alone for such a long time, but I'm stumped as to what to do with him.

The only thing I can think of (outside of hunting down more large clown loaches) is to qt out a few feeder comets the same size as him and just let him pound on them some.

Target fish might be the trick....Maybe a School of dianos or a couple of Convicts. Something just as fast or faster for the loach to chase around but not do any damage too.

Weird! Clowns are not usually agressors as it sounds like here. I'm guessing it is due to the fact that they like to be in groups and don't have any buds to roll with. I understand it may be tough to find larger clowns for tankmates though. I'm wondering if it seems like an intentional attack or typical loach dancing and the sevs happen to get in the way at the wrong time.

I have never seen a clown act in agression in my life? I have kept them for almost 20 years. I must say the biggest thing with clowns is they are very social he may be trying to hang out with the other fish and they are stressing out. I recomend keeping at least 5 clowns at a time.(also recomended on loach sites) They need that interaction with there own to be happy. They wont kill smaller ones and most larger fish leave them alone so buying 4 small 2 inch fish should be fine and they will school around the tank. Clowns have great personalities and it might because of this that the other fish of your firends died. The clown was trying to be social and it stressed the other fish out. If you were closer i'd take him to add to my group

It's not a friend. I run a fish/reptile rescue.

I'm still not sure what counts as normal CL behavior vs. being aggressive. While I've had a few clowns here before, they were all much smaller and in groups, so they stuck to themselves for the most part. I do know they like to be kept in groups of their own kind, but I thought he'd prefer to be in with other fish, instead of being alone.

Anyway. I took out the divider for a hour or so and hung out near the tank and I'm leaning towards it being "common" CL behavior, but the Sevs definitely DO NOT WANT.

This particular clown, when I picked it up had a flowerpot it spent most of it's time in, and the lady who had him said she hardly ever saw him out of the pot except to eat. So, right now have a heater going in a empty feeder tub, to get the temp up. I put in a flowerpot, and two runs of pvc, and am planning on trying out moving him and a small handful of cons in at the same time.

Hopefully I'll be able to find someone fairly soon that can handle him, but if the cons don't work out and what you said is true, that smaller CL will get along with a big boy, then maybe I'll see what's left at the fish farm. They had a small handful of I want to say two or three inchers there last time I was up. I really don't want to go that route at all though, so hopefully it will work out with the cons.

That makes sense SF because the clowns do like their hiding places. I wonder if you put the pot in the sev tank if he will calm down a bit and leave the sevs alone. Just a thought.

Whoo! You were spot on. When I was reading up on them there was a ton about them needing to school, and I don't remember seeing a thing about hiding spots for clowns.

Anyway I put flower pots in at both ends of the tank and a big ratty sword plant that won't die in the center, and he's been perfectly behaved now. He scoots back and forth from one pot to the other, and sometimes hangs out in the plant. If the Sevs go down to his level, he still gets all excited but it's nowhere like it was when he first went in.

Cool!! Glad it's working out.

Sweet....the uses for clay pots in a fish tank......PRICELESS!