Dwarf Loach/sidithimunki

[connorsbala]

Hi there,ive had my dwarf loach for a while in my 10 litre tank and recently moved him up to my 70 litre. He was quiet a puzzling lil character in the 10 litre but in the 70 litre hes very strange. He seems to be the leader of the tank,and yet hes the smallest So anyway,with the lights on,he chases all the fish,twice his size. But with the lights off,he just rests on the gravel!
Do you think it could be that hes lonely? Im going to get 2 more soon

 

[connorsbala]

Waht do you think could be the cause of his behaviour?

 

[Anita]

Hi
Yes you should get a couple more, most loaches enjoy the company of there own kind. They enjoy chasing each other around the tank and then having a little rest together Your little guy is lonely that's why he's chasing the other fish

Anita

 

[connorsbala]

Ok,ill definetly get 2 more! Would they be ok with a few corys?

 

[Anita]

Fine

(providing your not over stocking your tank)

Anita

 

[Mad Duff]

Personally I wouldnt reccomend Y. Sidthimunki for tanks less than 100 Litres and idealy they shouldnt be kept in groups smaller than 5 idealy more, they can be quite a feisty fish for their size and the activity you are describing is normal for a lone fish, the bigger the group you have the less attention is shown to other tank mates. I currently have a group of 20 and this is when they are at their best, the more you have the more you will see what sociable fish they are.

 

[connorsbala]

Would they get on woth corys,who are also bottom dwellersx...

 

[Mad Duff]

Would they get on woth corys,who are also bottom dwellersx...

Not really, they can do quite a bit of damage to the dorsal fins on cories. I had a shoal of C. Sterbai and C. Axelrodi in with my Sid's for a few weeks while my Cory tank was getting set up and the Sid's did some damage to the dorsal fin of every cory. Mine are fine with Kuhli Loaches, Puntius Gelius and Honey Gourami's.

 

[connorsbala]

Hmmm,ill get the corys first,see what happens.If the loach has a go at the corys ill move him!

 

[Mad Duff]

Hmmm,ill get the corys first,see what happens.If the loach has a go at the corys ill move him!

There is about a 90% chance that the Loach will have a go at the cories and continue to chase the other fish and this will continue until you either let the Loach go or get more Loaches, The signs if aggression that you have reported are purely because you are keeping a very sociable fish on its own.

 

[connorsbala]

Ok,ill probarbly take him back to the LFS when i go next,which will probarbly be next saturday