Which Loaches For My Community Tank?

[Ben M]

hi, i'm thinking of getting some loaches for my 4ft community tank. it currently houses, 4 kribs, 5 sae, 3 otto catfish, 20 copper harlequins, and a few small tetras. i'm looking for some loaches with a max size of 2 inches, preferably smaller, lively and fun to watch, cheap to buy (£3 each max), and live in a group. also, i have sand as the substrate for half of the tank, incase they like to dig/burrow.
any suggestions?
cheers.

 

[Davo86]

B.Kubotai, B.Striata or B.Dario all fit the requirements,

Edit: except for the 2" part (didn't see that)

tbh you will be very hard pressed to find a loach that small for that cheap,
there are some available but they are much rarer and your looking at nearer £10 per fish

 

[onebto]

I would think your best of with some Kuhli Loaches (Pangio Kuhlii) given the restrictions just remember that like al Loaches Kuhli's like to be in a group of there own species infact they can be very reclusive in short numbers or with out enough hiding places the only problem is they can get up to 4 inches long but they are more snake like in there appearance

http/www.loaches.c...x/pangio-kuhlii

Of course if your tank can take the load zebra loach or (botia striata) maybe another option but again these can reach an adult size of 4 inches and need to be in a group of there own kind.

http/www.loaches.c...x/botia-striata

If the 2 inch restriction is a must this little guy maybe the option Dwarf Loach or (Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki) I know nothing about them I suggest you read the link:

http/www.loaches.com/species-index/yasuhikotakia-sidthimunki

as Davo86 said your going to be hard pressed to meat your requirements especially with your budget and some of these species are harder to find than others.

Regards onebto

 

[iffles]

agree with onebto ^^. not and expert, but some kuhliis might be nice in there . not sure about compatibility with kribs, cos cories sometimes are harrased, havent kept kribs so dont know much on that subject. from some reading up in books on fish (yes, im so sad ) most botia species (except clowns and afew others) are supposedly fin nippers or have fin nipping tendencies, so watch out for that, if the book was right .

 

[Ben M]

hi, i think the best ones are the kuhli's, do you think i could breed them in the right conditions?
also, i know it's the wrong place, but what do you think about cories with the fish i have?

 

[onebto]

hi, i think the best ones are the kuhli's, do you think i could breed them in the right conditions?
also, i know it's the wrong place, but what do you think about cories with the fish i have?

Breeding Kuhli's has been done interesting article:

http/www.fishchannel.com/freshwater-aquariums/fish-breeding/breeding-kuhli-loach.aspx

How they react to Corries? I do not know all I can say on that subject is that I have 8 Panda Cory and 8 Clown Loach they leave each other alone except when there doing the up and down the front of the tank dance then its one in all in and they have a blast

regards onebto

 

[Ben M]

i think i'll get up to 12 kuhli's depending on price. (any rough estimates?) should i go for the Acanthophthalmus kuhlii, or one of the variants. am i right in thinking that Acanthophthalmus kuhlii are the easiest to breed? and do you think that they will breed in my community aquarium?
i think i'll give the corries a miss.

BTW great article
cheers

 

[onebto]

i think i'll get up to 12 kuhli's depending on price. (any rough estimates?) should i go for the Acanthophthalmus kuhlii, or one of the variants. am i right in thinking that Acanthophthalmus kuhlii are the easiest to breed? and do you think that they will breed in my community aquarium?
i think i'll give the corries a miss.

BTW great article
cheers

Sore some last week going for £3.50 a go but they were really small.

Post some pictures when you get them settled in

 

[Ben M]

3.50, i think i might have to wait until christmas, or i could owe my parents a bit. well, they did say i can have some fish. i'll definitely add some pics when they are settled in.

 

[aly_starh]

£3.50 for Khuli Loaches, at my old LFs they were £1.99.

 

[onebto]

£3.50 for Khuli Loaches, at my old LFs they were £1.99.

Dont know what to tell you £3.50

I was giving it some thought to getting some myself I did not make the number up in my head I can ashore you.

I do not know if it comes down to how greedy the LFS is, the Availability of them from there suppliers or the location of the shop but that's what they were in Surrey. I can ashore you

Regards onebto

 

[Ben M]

i'll have a look on the weekend to see what price they are near me. are you sure that my kribs won't mistake them for worms and eat them?

 

[onebto]

Have not got a clue as to the Krib question never had them I am sure someone in the know will come by and respond

 

[onebto]

Yep £3.50 a go just brought 4

Got a bad tooth at the moment so got up about 2 AM to take some pain Killers

So I thought Id get the trusty Mag light with the red filament in used to spy on the tank in the Dark

Kuhli's crack me up absolute nutters swimming around like crazy things will try and get some day pictures when they have settled in more

 

[Ben M]

looking forward to pics!