Butterfly/hillstream Loach?

[Nevergone815]

hi, i hope i am posting this in the right spot. i will also be posting it in tropical fish chit chat to see if i get any answers there also. i went into a local petco and saw what they were selling as "freshwater flounders". well i loked at it and saw that it reminded me of a hilltop loach. the only difference was that it was a dark brown/black in color. could any one help me out here? i want to get him for my tank and i go back upstate sunday for college. i saw they had 2 and one was gone (died or sold i don't know). they have it in a freshwater, tropical tank (i don't know if that helps... they probably have it in the wrong environment also).

here is a site i found of the hillstream loach (remember he looks like this but is dark brown/black in color)

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile91.html

looks exactly like this but dark brown/black

http/animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Hill...streamLoach.php

and here is a pic of a freshwater flounder (he looks nothing like this- but just putting to show difference in appearance and the horrible mislabeling)

http/www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/flounder.jpg

i know that it isn't a freshwater flounder, but could it be a coor variation of the hillstream loach? if not, then what is it? pics and/or info would help on what this fish is and needs to live in an aquarium.

thanks for your help!!!

 

[TammyLiz]

Have you checked out loaches.com? They have a forum there with people who know tons about the different types of hillstream loaches. Even breeding. It sounds like they can be tough to keep.

 

[Bloo]

Yep - freshwater flounders are entirely different, but roughly similar looking if you don't know what you're looking at. However Freshwater Flounders grow up to around 6" where as Hillstream Loach (Butterfly plec, Hong Kong plec etc.) only up to around 2.5". Their requirements are also entirely different.

However, Hillstream Loaches come in many different sizes / shapes and colours and the variations can be quite great. From really flat and drab to more rounded and light coloured with spots / or greeny, yellow colour etc. etc. and even dark brown / black in colour.

 

[Nevergone815]

update:

i got one of them... he was like the one in the pics... the other one is black in color and if he isn't sold than i will be getting that one also. turns out that the person that was talking about it misinformed people. they do have them labeled as butterfly loaches on the underneath of the lid. thje person doing the fish today was knoeledgable (i know a shocker!) but this just proves that not all employees are incompetent. he was $5.99 US. it seems like a decent price but i am not sure about this. can someone help me with this and tell me if that is a bit much to pay at a petco?

 

[mikev]

it seems like a decent price but i am not sure about this.

A considerably more important question is if you can provide the appropriate conditions for the loach (if it is a hillstream indeed). You cannot simply put it into a tropical tank; it will not live too long (probably a few months).

What you need is a colder tank, with lots of oxigen, and very strong current.

Martin Thoene's paper on hillstream loaches hosted on loaches.com explains how to construct a proper tank.

hth.

 

[Bloo]

It doesn't seem as though the Hillstreamd can go into any of your current tanks
The fast strong current they require means they can't be housed with any of the bettas. And your livebearer tank is tropical.

 

[Nevergone815]

i plan on working out a tank with more current and the female bettas don't mind the current. in fact it is like a right of passage for them. they swim through the current that the filter makes and lets the bubbles bring them all the way to the top, then they just do it again. they play in te current intentionally! i know that this sounds weird but they do.i plan on though setting uphalf of the tank to have a fast upward current to suffice until i get my other tank set up. he should make do in it for the meantime. it won't be that long.