Mismatched Loaches?

[Irf]

Hi all,

This post is connected to a reply I made elsewhere in here.

I have 1 yo-yo, 1 polka, 5 kuhlis and 3 clowns. The polka did have a friend, but we lost it a couple of weeks ago.

My question is : should I have more of any one type? The polka is always on his own at the moment, usually lying somewhere quiet. The yo-yo has been a loner from day one. The kuhlis appear to be fine apart from the sick one. The clowns are still a little shy.

I was wondering if any of these numbers should be boosted for the general happiness of the fish?

Thanks,

Irf.

 

[mikev]

I was wondering if any of these numbers should be boosted for the general happiness of the fish?

Yes. The minimal number for any non-aggressive Botia species is really three, and for clowns one should aim at 5+. Your fish will be happier this way and you will see more interesting behavior.

For example, my clowns formed a visibly better functioning "family" when I went from 4 to 6. (I keep also 5 yoyo's and 8 kubotais, not all loaches are in the same tank, of course).

Also: a lower-number mix of yoyo's and kubotais may work somewhat too, and given the size of your tank, you cannot have sufficient numbers for all three. Moving yoyo to another tank and adding 2-3 kubotais -- who are smaller --- would be an option.

The good news are that you are ok on kuhlis.....but you will see less of them if you add more botias.

hth

PS. What is wrong with your kuhli (very ill?) May it is something that can be helped.

 

[Irf]

Thanks mikev,

At present I don't hav another tank,though I'm working on it with the missus.

Atleast now I know what I have to do in the future. I think my tank is at capacity now, but later perhaps I should add 3 more clowns and perhaps three more kubotai,and move the yo-yo to a new tank as you say.

At the moment the yo-yo appears to be the most at ease with his single status, so I'll continue to look for a new tank (probably smaller than this one).

Regards,

Irf.