He is in a 29 gallon tank, he was in a 100 gallon community tank before. I've had others of his species and they seem to like to munch baby fish which is why he is by himself, he was in with about 14 Buenos Aires Tetras in my darkened 55, and he always hid in the corner, he seems to be a lot more comfortable away from them. he can't go back to the 100, it has african cichlids now. I would not feel comfortable with 5 large loaches in a 29, I think that would not be a large enough tank for them, he's a fast swimmer if you have a net in your hand. He is probably 6 years old, not sure, but in that range.