Help for my dad

[Sorrell]

Hi guys, I have been sent here by my father, he has a 30 gallon tank in his office. It has two red tail botias and is set up with extensive rock structures and underground caves really cool looking


He says that lately the loaches have quit getting along. One of them makes the other stay in one of the underground caves and won't even allow it out to eat. He says he hasn't seen either of them eat in a couple weeks because the one is so concerned about keeping the other in the cave.

I'm pretty dense on this type of fish so I told him I'd ask the experts on here

Thanks

 

[Dwarfs]

Loaches can become aggressive with one another if not kept in large enough numbers. The best thing that he can do IMO, is get a few more loaches to spread out aggression

 

[Sorrell]

Would more be ok in that tank size? It also has one other fish, an electric blue that has killed every tankmate it's ever had in many tank sizes and has now been banished to live with the loaches

 

[Dwarfs]

Seeing as the only other fish are the loaches and the african cichlid, adding more loaches should be a problem as long as the filter is adequate, there are many hiding places, and the tank is well maintained

 

[Sorrell]

Thanks Dwarfs, that cichlid's weird, he tried to chase the loaches all over for the longest time and he finally got fed up because they didn't care. As soon as he left them alone, they turned on each other