Loaches?

[mattwhite]

Hi all,

i would like to add some loaches to my community aquarium. I have a juwel rekord 80 tank with general community fish.

I really like clown loaches but i know they can grow too big for my size tank. what other options is there?

Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated, and pictures would be nice too as I know very little about loaches.

 

[mark7616]

kuhuli loaches are good i have just got 4 for my community tank.

 

[The-Wolf]

Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki 5.5 cm / 2.17 " Dwarf or Chain loach*
Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata 8 cm / 3.15 " Backline loach*
Yasuhikotakia caudipunctata 9 cm / 3.54 " Speckletail loach
Yasuhikotakia morleti 10 cm / 3.94 " Skunk loach
Yasuhikotakia splendida 10 cm / 3.94 " Splendid loach
(note; all formerly Botia)
Botia striata 10 cm / 3.94 " Zebra loach

 

[creamo098765]

Clown loaches do grow very big, but over a very long period, also they like to be in groups i think a min is around 3 - 4, there great at destroying snails if you have a problem but 80l tank just is not big enough even if they were alone in there, i have a 180l rio and ill have to rehome them in a few years

 

[jayjay]

my clown loaches got to 8 inches in a think around 5-6 years and they were in a group of 5.

how about yoyo loaches?

 

[clareriley]

Botia are nice

 

[creamo098765]

my clown loaches got to 8 inches in a think around 5-6 years and they were in a group of 5.

how about yoyo loaches?

Good for me then cause mine are only about 2 inces so i have a little time till they have to be rehomed.
I like them there a kinda lazy fish they like to lay about, first i thought they were ill but they do just lay about some times, one is alway in his cave

 

[The-Wolf]

how about yoyo loaches?

depending on which "yoyo" you get
they reach 8+"

your best "botias" are the ones I've suggested.

 

[jayjay]

depending on which "yoyo" you get
they reach 8+"

your best "botias" are the ones I've suggested.

sorry i duno their latin name.

 

[clareriley]

depending on which "yoyo" you get
they reach 8+"

your best "botias" are the ones I've suggested.

sorry i duno their latin name.

There are loads of Botias in my lfs, some really nice markings on them aswell. dunno what they were called though coz if I looked at them more I would end up getting them and not having the room then getting another tank then getting rid of a piece of furniture so I didnt look too closely.

 

[The-Wolf]

I deduced a while back that what are sold as yoyo loaches are in fact two seperate fish (Botia almorhae & Botia lohachata)
this would seem to be confirmed now by scientists.

the point is that currently both species young have the same, or very similar, markings and you won't know which is which untill they reach at least 4". the safe thing to do is assume you have/are buying the one that reaches 8"

 

[clareriley]

I deduced a while back that what are sold as yoyo loaches are in fact two seperate fish (Botia almorhae & Botia lohachata)
this would seem to be confirmed now by scientists.

the point is that currently both species young have the same, or very similar, markings and you won't know which is which untill they reach at least 4". the safe thing to do is assume you have/are buying the one that reaches 8"

this is like the same with the clown loaches i have been told. there are 2 types, one is huge and one is big but you cant tell the difference untill one gets huge or stays big

 

[The-Wolf]

there are currently three variations of clown loach
the borneo (most common) the sumatran (hard to find) and
the short bodied (rare). AFSIK the short bodied will reach 10+"

 

[dgwebster]

I just purchased a Zebra Loach (Botia striata) and a Leopard Loach (Batik Loach or Neomacheilus triangularis by another name, not another name for a Khuli Loach as they are often called Leopard Loaches in America.)

Both grow to somewhere about 3.5" to 5" long and are great characters and eat just about everything. The Zebra loach is a great snail eater too. Within an hour of being introduced to the tank, he stopped being shy and went all out getting them for me.