Clown loach tank mates

Good matches

40 of 98

The safest picks for clown loaches are angelfish, oscars and tiger barbs. Each match shares clown loaches' temperature and pH and leaves them alone.

Grows big and lives for decades. Keep five or more; eats snails.

Temperature

77–86°F

pH

6–7.5

Temperament

Peaceful

Minimum tank

75 gal

With care

38

Avoid

20

Good tank mates

• Angelfish77–84°F
• Oscar77–81°F
• Tiger barb77–81°F
• Kuhli loach77–86°F
• Yoyo loach77–86°F
• Severum77–84°F
• Pearl gourami77–82°F
• Discus82–86°F
• Kissing gourami77–82°F
• Congo tetra77–82°F
• Blue gourami77–82°F
• Firemouth cichlid77–86°F
• Common pleco77–86°F
• Bala shark77–82°F
• Blood parrot77–80°F
• Silver dollar77–82°F
• Zebra pleco79–86°F
• Electric blue acara77–82°F
• Elephant nose fish77–82°F
• Black ghost knife77–82°F
• Paradise fish77–79°F
• German blue ram80–86°F
• Dwarf neon rainbowfish77–82°F
• Apistogramma77–84°F
• Bichir77–82°F
• Corydoras77–79°F
• Odessa barb77–79°F
• Glass catfish77–80°F
• Tinfoil barb77–80°F
• Bristlenose pleco77–81°F
• Chinese algae eater77–80°F
• Boesemani rainbowfish77–82°F
• Pictus catfish77–79°F
• Kribensis77–80°F
• Bolivian ram77–79°F
• Clown pleco77–82°F
• Upside down catfish77–79°F
• Swordtail77–79°F
• Zebra loach77–79°F
• Siamese algae eater77–79°F

Possible, with care

• Betta Clown loaches grow to 8 inches and need 75 gallons, far more than a tank set up for bettas.
• Guppy A grown clown loach may treat small guppies as food, especially at night.
• Pea puffer At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small pea puffer. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Honey gourami A grown clown loach may treat small honey gouramis as food, especially at night.
• Sparkling gourami At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small sparkling gourami. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Rummy nose tetra A grown clown loach may treat small rummy nose tetras as food, especially at night.
• Cardinal tetra A grown clown loach may treat small cardinal tetras as food, especially at night.
• Ember tetra At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small ember tetra. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Cherry barb A grown clown loach may treat small cherry barbs as food, especially at night.
• Dwarf gourami Clown loaches grow to 8 inches and need 75 gallons, far more than a tank set up for dwarf gouramis.
• Lemon tetra A grown clown loach may treat small lemon tetras as food, especially at night.
• Pencilfish A grown clown loach may treat small pencilfish as food, especially at night.
• Hatchetfish At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small hatchetfish. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Black skirt tetra Clown loaches grow to 8 inches and need 75 gallons, far more than a tank set up for black skirt tetras.
• Black neon tetra At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small black neon tetra. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Neon tetra At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small neon tetra. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Chili rasbora At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small chili rasbora. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Harlequin rasbora A grown clown loach may treat small harlequin rasboras as food, especially at night.
• GloFish tetra Clown loaches grow to 8 inches and need 75 gallons, far more than a tank set up for glofish.
• Glowlight tetra At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small glowlight tetra. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Serpae tetra A grown clown loach may treat small serpae tetras as food, especially at night.
• Pygmy cory At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small pygmy cory. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Rainbow shark Rainbow sharks chase other bottom fish out of their patch.
• Peacock cichlid Different water: clown loaches want pH 6–7.5, peacock cichlids want pH 7.8–8.6.
• Celestial pearl danio At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small celestial pearl danio. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Rosy barb They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Molly Water chemistry is a squeeze. The only pH that suits both is around 7.5.
• Endler's livebearer At 8 inches a clown loach can swallow a small endler's livebearer. Fast, alert fish usually stay out of reach.
• Platy Clown loaches grow to 8 inches and need 75 gallons, far more than a tank set up for platies.
• Otocinclus A grown clown loach may treat small otocinclus as food, especially at night.
• African dwarf frog African dwarf frogs eat slowly and nearly blind. Fast clown loaches will take the food first, so target-feed them.
• Red tail shark Red tail sharks chase other bottom fish out of their patch.
• Electric yellow cichlid Different water: clown loaches want pH 6–7.5, yellow labs want pH 7.8–8.6.
• Zebra danio They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Killifish They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Panda cory They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Crayfish They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.
• Dojo loach They only share 77°F. Keep the heater set there and steady.

Avoid

• Goldfish Goldfish are coldwater animals (60–74°F); clown loaches need 77–86°F. No temperature suits both.
• African cichlid African cichlids are aggressive and will bully peaceful clown loaches.
• Axolotl Axolotls are coldwater animals (60–66°F); clown loaches need 77–86°F. No temperature suits both.
• Jack Dempsey Jack dempseys are aggressive and will bully peaceful clown loaches.
• Silver arowana An adult silver arowana eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 8 inches clown loaches do.
• Flowerhorn Flowerhorns are aggressive and will bully peaceful clown loaches.
• Convict cichlid Convict cichlids are aggressive and will bully peaceful clown loaches.
• Cherry shrimp A clown loach is big enough to swallow adult cherry shrimp.
• White cloud minnow White cloud minnows are coldwater animals (60–72°F); clown loaches need 77–86°F. No temperature suits both.
• Mystery snail Clown loaches hunt snails, so mystery snails will be eaten.
• Gold barb No shared temperature. Clown loaches need 77–86°F, gold barbs need 64–75°F.
• Koi Koi are coldwater animals (59–77°F); clown loaches need 77–86°F. They meet only at 77°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Bamboo shrimp A clown loach is big enough to swallow adult bamboo shrimp.
• Amano shrimp A clown loach is big enough to swallow adult amano shrimp.
• Ghost shrimp A clown loach is big enough to swallow adult ghost shrimp.
• Fancy goldfish Fancy goldfish are coldwater animals (65–74°F); clown loaches need 77–86°F. No temperature suits both.
• Hillstream loach No shared temperature. Hillstream loaches need 68–75°F, clown loaches need 77–86°F.
• Assassin snail Clown loaches hunt snails, so assassin snails will be eaten.
• Ramshorn snail Clown loaches hunt snails, so ramshorn snails will be eaten.
• Nerite snail Clown loaches hunt snails, so nerite snails will be eaten.

Planning a mixed tank? The tank mate checker tests every pair at once. Or read the clown loach care sheet.