Loach i.d. needed

[Bettabuddies]

Very tiny silber with black bands

 

[NickAu]

Looks like a Yoyo loach - Wikipedia

Botia spp. are gregarious, form complex social hierarchies and should be maintained in groups of at least 5 or 6 specimens, preferably 10 or more.

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/botia-almorhae/

 

[Bettabuddies]

Thsts what i thought at first, but it doesnt look like the picture in the link. Mine has wide distinct bands, not complex at all. Then again, it is probably very young and will change. It definately is not shy. I put it in with my betta and it is all over the tank, especially the live plants.

 

[NickAu]

Thats a bad idea, all that activity will stress the Betta, If stressed too much your Betta will kill the loach, stressed fish are not healthy fish, quite often stressed Betta's bite their own fins.

All loaches need to be kept in groups of 6 or more or they stress, and this leads to all sorts of problems.

How big is the tank?

My suggestion is to return the loach to LFS.

 

[Byron]

The photo is not that clear, but I agree with Nick that this is probably Botia almorhae. There is much confusion over these fish and to make it even more confusing, individual fish within the same species can have body markings that vary quite considerably from fish to fish, and as the fish matures the pattern fills in to be more reticulated. There is also confusion over the species themselves; I'll summarize this just to show why "naming" a fish can be so tricky.

This commonly-available loach may be seen under several common names including Reticulated loach, Lohachata Botia, Pakistani Loach, Almorha Loach, but Yo Yo Loach is probably now the most common. This name was coined by Ken Childs of Dolphin International fish importers in Los Angeles, and comes from the pattern on the fish's side resembling a series of brown "Y" and white "O" markings which is more discernible in young fish. The name "Pakistani" loach may be the most inaccurate, since this species is not known to occur in Pakistan [see additional comments below].

The exact species name of this fish is still uncertain. Originally it was deemed to be Botia lohachata, the name assigned by B.L. Chaudhuri in 1912, and it is still widely seen under this name. The genus name Botia is derived from an Asian word for soldier or warrior--a clue to the fish's temperament. [As Nick mentioned, this fish must have a group, five minimum, in sufficient tank space, so it can function normally.] In the early 1990's it was suggested that this species epithet was a synonym for Botia almorhae, the true species, which had been described in 1831 by J.E. Gray. Dr. Maurice Kottelat (2004), an acknowledged authority on this family, assigned the name B. lohachata as a synonym of B. almorhae and not a distinct species in his major revision of the genus which he separated into seven genera.

Steven Grant (2007) has proposed that B. almorhae may in fact consist of five distinct but closely-related species:
Botia almorhae Gray, 1831
Botia birdi Chaudhuri, 1909
Botia lohachata Chaudhuri 1912
Botia sp. "Kosi", possibly a variant of B. almorhae
Botia sp. "Teesta", possibly a variant of B. almorhae

The striking similarity in pattern among these fish certainly makes this feasible; the California Academy of Sciences--Ichthyology has accepted the validity of the first three distinct species. The authors of Loaches Online accept B. almorhae as the species of the subject fish. The occurrence in Pakistan is restricted to the species B. birdi described by Chaudhuri in 1909.

With all these fish being so closely patterned, you can see why naming individuals is so difficult.

Byron.

 

[Bettabuddies]

Ok, I didnt realize loaches needed to be in a group. I have a clown loach in my 40 tall tank, and is probably going to outgrow that tank. I have 2 bettas in seperate 3 and 10 gallon tanks, planted. I was looking for an algae eater that wont destroy plant and substrate that stays small. Just bought 5 fire red shrimp in a seperate tank but was going to wait for those to have shrimplets before trying in the betta tanks.

 

[Bettabuddies]

Ok, so i have 2 angelfish, the clown loach, 4 glowfish tetras, 6 neon tetras, 2 dwarf gourami, and 4 fancy male guppies. They have all gotten along fine for about a year. I plan to make it a low tech planted tank rather than fake plants. So, wondering what is a good choice for conteolling algae once i update tge lighting and plants.

 

[Essjay]

Loaches are not algae eaters.

It is better to work out why you have algae and fix that rather than use fish to eat it. Algae is usually caused by an imbalance between lighting (wavelength and duration), fertiliser (from fish waste and fish food as well as added fertiliser) and CO2. Fix the balance and algae shouldn't be a problem. But having said that, most tanks do have some algae.

 

[Bettabuddies]

Ok, there is no algae problem, just thought it may be a good idea to be prepared for it while i experiment with planted tanks. I guess not. I really dont intend to get too technical and obsessed with doing everything perfectly, just enjoy watching the fish, planting, and water changes once a week. Ok, dont enjoy that part as much.

 

[Bettabuddies]

So, now i am confused. Apparently i did not do enough research before buying my second angel for my 40 gal. Tall tank. Had to seperate the smaller aggressive one, at least until i finish planting. I shouldnt have gotten the clown loach or the red fin shark. Any suggestions on what fish i should get, that can be viewed from seating that is 7 to 8 ft away? Bigger schools of the fish i already have, like additional dwarf guoramis?

 

[fluttermoth]

We need to know the dimensions of the tank/s (some fish need more swimming room than others, so dimensions are actually more important, in some ways, than volume) and the pH and hardness of your water before we can properly recommend species for you

 

[Byron]

I concur with fluttermoth. But I will also say that if you can return some of the "problem" fish, you should do so, as the tank at 40 gallons will never be large enough. The clown loach, the red tail shark, and thee angelfish (at least the second), they will never get along if one is already bullying no matter what you do.

 

[Bettabuddies]

I was going today to buy a 5 gallon for my betta currently in the 3 gallon. Perhaps put the angel in it until reintroducing into the big tank. I am going to go broke returning fish!

 

[Byron]

I was going today to buy a 5 gallon for my betta currently in the 3 gallon. Perhaps put the angel in it until reintroducing into the big tank. I am going to go broke returning fish!

Well, better lose money than have the fish dying, don't you think?

I don't follow the angel...if the second angelfish was being picked on, it is not going to change so it can never be reintroduced to a tank with the first angel in it.

 

[Bettabuddies]

Ok, just saw your post, i will return the clown, the shark and the angel, buy the 5 gal. For my betta and spend money on a test kit to find out water hardness. I have well water in western nc. I do have a large piece of wood in the tank, does that affect hardness of water?