Horsefaced Loach (with Pics)

[fryeguy82]

i got a free horsefaced loach from a friend of mine. it was too big for her tank (10 USG) i had some room for a bottom dweller in my tank (55 USG). i read that they do best in sand but can also do well in small rounded gravel. my substrate falls into the latter. he seems to be able to sift out food and hide under the gravel (as you can see in the pics below). do you think he'll thrive in the gravel or will he have to be moved to sand?

here he is above the gravel

here he is poking his head up from the gravel next to a hoplo catfish

 

[nmonks]

Is he ok? Yes. Is he happy? No. Horseface loaches -- unambiguously -- prefer to burrow into sand. That's what they do in the wild. Keeping them in a tank with gravel is sort of like living in a house where the lights are on all the time. You can survive, sure, but it isn't very nice.

The problem is that he has to work harder to burrow, and in practice this often ends up scratching the skin of fishes that try, leaving them open to bacterial and fungal infections. Also, they can't feed properly: these fish naturally pump sand across the gill rakers and spew the sand out their gills, catching bits of food in the process. Your loach can't do this.

Keeping burrowing fish in tanks with sand is not only kinder but it is also more fun. You get to see them behaving naturally rather than merely surviving. Take the gravel out, and put in some nice sand instead. An inch depth will do, and both the loach and the hoplo will be thrilled! Most other fish love it, too. Dwarf cichlids will happily dig in the stuff, and even things like plecs suddenly become more active, ploughing through the sand like mini earthmovers.

Cheers, Neale

 

[loachman]

They are natural burrowers like Kuhli loaches. Gravel is difficult for them to burrow into.

If you don't want to replace all of the gravel, you can use some rocks as a wall to make one area of the tank have a sand bottom while leaving most of the tank in it's current form. It also means you could maintain the black bottom without spending $100. It gives him a nice area to dig in and you a break from the cost of redoing the entire substrate.

 

[mlawson]

They are natural burrowers like Kuhli loaches. Gravel is difficult for them to burrow into.

If you don't want to replace all of the gravel, you can use some rocks as a wall to make one area of the tank have a sand bottom while leaving most of the tank in it's current form. It also means you could maintain the black bottom without spending $100. It gives him a nice area to dig in and you a break from the cost of redoing the entire substrate.

Sand does not cost $100's, silica sand from a garden store would cost more like £3 for a pretty big bag.

 

[nmonks]

Silica sand from the garden centre here is about £3 for 25kg. But... it's very bright stuff, and not all fish appreciate that. Things like tetras and cichlids obviously "fade" their colours.

The dark grey or black sand costs quite a bit more. Largish bags of the grey/black river sand seem to be about £10-12, and these will cover about 30x30 cm to an adequate depth for an unplanted aquarium. If your aquarium is planted, you are better off using a laterite with plain gravel or sand mix at the bottom, then putting on a gravel tidy, and finally topping off with the expensive black sand. The gravel tidy will not only stop the loaches mixing up the sand, but it will also make sure the plants aren't accidentally uprooted either.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Fate2006]

Okay... Nmonks strikes again! Nothing more to say lol he's covered everything So basically I agree... Change over to sand...

 

[fryeguy82]

thanks guys, i appreciate it. any suggestions on how to accomplish this. (taking the gravel out and putting the sand in) do i just start scooping the gravel then dump the sand? will the sand settle properly? will it clog my filter? would you be able to give me some suggestions, i don't want to screw it up.

thanks again,
chris

 

[Birdie]

The-Wolf said it so much better than I ever could

sand in your aquarium

scroll down for instructions on how to do the change-over

I'm sure your loaches will be very happy