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How Much Do Clown Loaches Cost to Own?

How Much Do Clown Loaches Cost to Own?

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This post is written to the author's best knowledge and is not intended to be used in place of veterinary advice. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Are you thinking of purchasing some clown loaches for your home sometime soon? These fish are very popular and it makes sense that you would want some.

However, it’s a good idea to take a step back to consider whether you can afford to buy clown loaches right now. Knowing how much these fish cost to own will help you to make a good decision for your household.

Read on to learn about the cost of owning clown loaches. You’ll learn about how much the fish cost on average, what types of equipment you’ll need to buy, and much more.

Once you’ve gained all of the necessary information, it’ll be easy to see if fitting clown loaches into your budget will be plausible. Doing the research ahead of time keeps you from being caught off-guard.

How Much Do Clown Loaches Cost?

First, you’re going to want to know how much the fish cost. If you’re buying clown loaches, you’ll likely be able to get a better deal on smaller and younger fish.

Many popular websites that sell clown loaches offer both small and medium-sized fish. The medium-sized fish are a bit older and have grown substantially.

If you want to keep your costs as low as possible, then buying a smaller clown loach will save you cash. It’ll be possible to get such fish for around $16.00 depending on where you go to purchase the fish.

A medium-sized clown loach will be more likely to cost $35.00 or so. You’ll be paying more than double the price when you buy a larger and more mature fish.

It’s also important to keep in mind that these fish aren’t meant to be kept alone. They aren’t even meant to be kept in pairs.

Clown loaches are best kept in small groups of five to nine. This means that you’ll be spending a minimum of $78.00 or so on fish.

You could easily spend hundreds of dollars on these fish if you’re buying larger ones. It can get fairly costly.

How Much Will the Fish Tank Cost?

You’re also going to have to spend a fair bit of cash on the fish tank for these fish. Clown loaches grow to be fairly large.

At maturity, it’s normal for these fish to grow to be 10 inches long. They’re going to need plenty of space to be able to thrive.

Also, you learned earlier that these fish are meant to be kept in small groups. Since you’re going to need to buy at least five clown loaches, you’re going to need a large fish tank to accommodate all of them.

The minimum fish tank size that is recommended for clown loaches will be 75 gallons. You might be better off buying a 100-gallon fish tank depending on the situation.

A good 75-gallon fish tank can cost around $270.00. You might be able to find one for slightly more or slightly less money depending on where you shop.

How Much Will the Accessories Cost?

You’re going to need many accessories for the fish tank. Of course, the fish tank will require a heater, pump, and filter to be able to care for the fish properly.

It’s also recommended to buy aquatic plants for the fish tank. Clown loaches really like live plants because they use them as hiding places.

You’ll need to buy sand to use as a substrate for the tank, too. Most people add rocks or gravel to the substrate to make things look more aesthetically pleasing.

Overall, you should expect to spend a few hundred dollars on accessories and plants for the fish tank. You could spend more than this depending on what you buy.

Some powerful filters will be more expensive, but you can buy an average filter and have a good experience. Certain live plants will be more costly than others, but you can find good plants that are $20 or less.

You’ll just likely need lots of plants due to having a big fish tank. Expecting to spend at least a few hundred dollars on equipment and accessories makes sense.

How Much Will the Food Cost?

The food costs won’t be too outrageous when caring for these fish. Clown loaches are omnivores and they aren’t picky eaters.

Since they hang out at the bottom of the tank, they’re going to need things such as sinking food pellets. They also really like algae wafers.

You might want to feed them live food each week as a treat. They enjoy eating earthworms and bloodworms.

Some people choose to feed them snails since they love chasing them. Clown loaches are very adept when it comes to forcing snails out of their shells and turning them into meals.

You should be able to buy the pellets that you need for under $10. It’ll also be possible to get algae wafers for around $10 or a bit less.

Live food might get more expensive, but you don’t necessarily have to give clown loaches live food often. For budget purposes, expect to spend $50 per month on food, but note that this is a high estimation that assumes you’ll be buying live food for the fish.

Maintenance Costs

Most enthusiasts agree that a 75-gallon fish tank will cost around $30 to maintain each month. This won’t be too bad overall, but you do need to budget properly to ensure that you don’t go over your spending limit.

The actual maintenance cost can differ depending on various factors. For example, you might have slightly more expensive or less expensive rates on electricity in your area.

Final Thoughts

Overall, you’re going to need to spend hundreds of dollars to get things set up to care for clown loaches. The fish themselves will be at least $16.00 per fish, and you’ll need five of them or more.

You’ll have to purchase a 75-gallon aquarium as well as accessories such as a heater, pump, and filter. Then you’ll need to buy live plants for the tank and everything that you need for the substrate.

Add in the cost of food and maintenance to get a better picture of how much cash you’ll truly be spending. You could wind up spending $500 or more depending on what you choose to purchase.

Giving you an exact number isn’t possible since it depends on what you choose to buy. You might find a slightly less expensive fish tank or a filter that doesn’t cost much money.

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