Friends for Loach

[jemmyw]

I have 2 zebras, 1 yoyo and a chinese algea eater that currently share with my other fish. i'm in the process of gettng them a tank of ther own. who could i get for them to share with? they're still only a few months old, so i want to get fish they'll be ok with in the future.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yoyo and zebra loachs like to be in groups of at least 4 of their own kind so adding more of each will do them good, chinese alage eaters/CAE's on the other hand grow very terotorial and aggressive as they mature and do not like their own kind at all and can grow to 10inchs+, when you say you are getting them a tank of their own are you giving them individual tanks or just keeping them in a group separate from other community fish? How many gallons is the tank you are getting them?

 

[The-Wolf]

Sorry tokis I have to slightly disaggree here.
botias like to be in groups of four, but they don't
care wether it is botias of the same or different species.

2 yoyo's and 2 polkadots will group together (or any combination of botia).
I speak from personal experiance, not quoting from any loach site.

As for the CAE, yes they can be territorial and aggressive, but IME only if they are the largest fish in the tank. Having botias larger than the CAE is the best way of making them a good fish to keep.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You have more experience with botias and yoyos than me but i have had experience personally with CAE's and i have to say they will start to get aggressive once they reach 5inchs whatever fish you keep them with, when i first started out in fish keeping i had 2 CAEs and an oto(yes i know a bad combo but i didn't know anything about fish keeping back then) and they constantly picked on the oto chasing it everywhere despite being the same size. I had a golden CAE a year or so later and that went through many of my mollys and platys at the time from the start.
None the less you will have to get its own tank at some point, the older they get the less tolerant they become of other fish, they are very effective eaters and will eat almost anything and more than often out compete other fish for food at feeding times.

 

[jemmyw]

i haven't got them a tank of their own at all yet, i want to know who they can share with before i pick a size.

so i coud get another loach to go with them in a big enough tank? i like loach, especially the yoyo as he's so active, so i guess more oach would be nice. any particular ones i should avoid?

my algea eater (he's a golden one) is not at al aggressive - very much the opposite. he often hides under the log and is quite lazy really (at least compared to the loach) - is this normal? he can't be more than 4/5 months old, approx 2 inches. he's eating and growing fine, but now i'm worried he's unhappy!

 

[The-Wolf]

any particular ones i should avoid?

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Yes the skunk loach Botia morleti, formerly Botia horae
They are very, very, (I cannot say this enough) very aggressive and should only be kept in a tank of thier own.

my algea eater (he's a golden one) is not at al aggressive - very much the opposite. he often hides under the log and is quite lazy really (at least compared to the loach) - is this normal? he can't be more than 4/5 months old, approx 2 inches. he's eating and growing fine, but now i'm worried he's unhappy!

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sounds exactly like my golden CAE although mine is closer to 6"

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

He's probably about 3months old max, they grow an inch a month on average and they love algae wafers so plenty of those will be good for him. A 20gal+ tank would be good for loachs although the CAE will need a 30gal all his own eventually minimum, if you like loachs this site is good for info on many that are available ;

http/www.loaches.com/species_index.html

 

[jemmyw]

okay, so the bigger the tank the better and no skunk loaches. how many gallons (UK) per loach should i aim for?

how long do i have approximately until my CAE needs to be on his own? the fish place said i should have a fair while. i may have to rehome him as i live in a very small house and only really have space for 2 tanks max. i no longer have a dining table - it's just a big tank stand!

 

[The-Wolf]

Here is a list of the loaches I have
72 gall planted tank (4ft x18" x19.5")
6x Botia almorhae, 5x Botia striata, 4x Botia Angelicus, 4x Botia macracanthus, 3x Botia helodes, 2x Botia modesta 1x Botia hymenophysa, 3x Nemacheilus masyae, 2x Schistura mahnerti.

See my profile for the other fish that are with them, mainly large danios species for top activity.

EDIT
I forgot 1x Gyrinocheilus aymonieri (golden CAE)

 

[jemmyw]

i see. so i can mix just about anyone so long as the tank's big enough. in a 3' x 1' x 1' (for example) i could add maybe 2 more to the ones i have? i don't think i have space for a bigger tank.

 

[LoachLover]

so i coud get another loach to go with them in a big enough tank? i like loach, especially the yoyo as he's so active, so i guess more oach would be nice. any particular ones i should avoid?

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Skunk loaches are little pistols and pretty much should be in a species tank.