I want to provide a good home for some clown loaches and cant afford to buy another tank so I was wondering if it would be OK to put in 5 clown loaches into the following Tank set-up and IÂm also open to any feed back or tips to better set up my tank with clown loaches in mind.

SIZE:

The tank is a Large 4 foot, that is to say 48 by 18 by 18

(Wider than a standard 12inch width)

Filtration:

Its currently got an Internal Bio Filter running via a Power Head a long rectangular tube that runs parallel to the back wall with a foam filter at opposite end to the pump. The system seems to run well and provides lots of current. There is a slight tinge of red from the bio rock inside the tubing. The stain is no real problem as it blends into the stain from the drift- wood (wood still only a few months old)

To combat the staining problem (more so from the driftwood) which I believed triggered the Bristlenose to breed (just my observation-may not of been that way) I hung some aquarium charcoal in a stocking situated in the side of the tank that has the current and after a couple of days the stain was completely removed. I still get a slight tinge if I donÂt keep replacing the charcoal but I like the effect, as it looks more natural with all the wood and plants I have.

SubstrateÂAverage sized rounded gravel, which I darkened with heaps of black.

Aeration consists of an air disc plus an air tube run by a strong pump, which provides plenty of bubbles. Decor consists of 5 large pieces of driftwood (Mid section of tank), 4 bristle nose logs, 3 Rock Caves, & an assortment of imitation plastic/clay Aquarium hiding places to suit the natural look & provide several more hide outs.

Plenty of True Aquatic plants such as anoobis and Java fern and several other potted varieties. Temperature - 27.Degrees Celsius.

Current Population:

12 Neon Tetras

12 Glowlight Tetras

5 Albino Cory catfishÂ, which are very healthy and active; as are all the fish!

6 Bristlenose catfish

And toooooo many bloody snailsssssssssss!

I have a stack of baby BristlenoseÂThey wont stop populating. At this stage there seems to be three separate broods from 2cm  1cm  1/3  ½cm. IÂve enjoyed watching all the breeding going on and the results, as I did initially set the tank up for them to breed, but now they seem to be breeding like guppies. IÂm hopping the intro of the clown loaches will offset their breeding habits at least to some degree.

So, with the above set-up and current population, do you think I can get away with 5 clown loaches? I made sure the lay out, has left plenty of lapping room (END to END) at the font and back of the tank. And IÂll make more low level hiding places too. I just canÂt afford to make many major changes as the whole set-up has cost me a small fortune over time! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thankyou.