Loaches

[xrenegadex]

What are the advantages/disadvantages to having them in a community tank?

 

[FrAnK3333]

First of all how big is your tank? Loaches are very cool and interesting fish. I love mine. Most species love to eat snails. And plus they eat whats left on the bottom.

 

[jrd77]

I would say the size of your tank makes a difference in whether you have loaches as well...(like FrAnK333)...

I have 3 bengal loaches in a 45 US gallon tank and they have been a delight. They are beautiful and have been hearty...the only issue I had with my loaches is that they ate and dug up all my live plants which made that decaying organic matter really mess up my tank water quality. Once we moved to fake plants, the water quality has been great...With this being said, I'm sure there are plants out there that my loaches wouldn't have done this to but we don't know which ones so that's why we use fake.

 

[sylvia]

It depends entirely on which loach you are interested in - some get very big, some are small, others can be aggressive and others are mildly-tempered, some you never see during the day, others are quite out-going and even 'playful', some are social, others not so much, some like to bury or dig up plants, some don't - it all depends on the particular species but you'll find that there is a loach for almost any community tank.

 

[MAM]

as said, it all depends on teh type of loach you are interested in, and whether or not it is an appropriate size for your tank. i've owned two species of loach. i had some kuhlis, which i never saw. they like to burrow and hide. mine so much so that i never knew they had all died, because i just never saw them again. others have had much better luck with their though, that was just my personal experience. however, i do currently own three botia striata, and i adore them. if the lfs ever gets more in, i'm buying 3 more. they are so active, playful, and not too shy. they hang out with my cories and will even keep my plec company. and boy are they good at helping the cories keep the bottom free of leftover foods. and i have a thing for fish with stripes, so thats another plus in my book. botia striata have neat coloration in my opinion, so i just enjoy looking at them.

 

[xrenegadex]

i have a 20 g. with 3 kuhlis in it...i have a sand bottom, so they can't bury under it....they like to hide under one of the fake logs in the tank...but they are cool and very active and want to know if there are any more kinds that can go in a small tank

 

[LoachLover]

Loaches usually do good with cleaning up food on the bottom. They have a lot of personality, they are beautiful fish, and they are generally pretty hardy.

 

[xrenegadex]

are there any other species that can fit in a 20 gallon tank?