Hillstream Loach?

[McCool]

So, after a while of looking for fish for my soon-to-be-set-up new 30 Gallon tank, i finally settled on this little guy,

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod ... catid=3003

But I have a few questions. I have read that they do best with fast moving water, but im not going to be able to put a powerhead on this tank. I will have a pretty big bubbler on it though, and was wondering if it would be enough.
Do they need to be in groups, or can I just have one?
Also, I plan on using sand. Do they require a gravel bottom, or will the sand be fine? I havent been able to find much information on them, but I would love to have one! Any advice would be helpful!

[bookpage]

Welcome to the forum. Glad that you found us. This may be of help to you: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/sewellia-lineolata

[McCool]

I actually read through that before I even joined! I saw that they like rocks, and while the bottom will be sand the tank will have a fair amount large rock pieces. I went back through and read it again, and the only thing I didnt find was if they liked to be in groups or if they are better alone? I was also thinking about getting a Blue Crayfish, but Im not too sure how they would blend. I would assume that the Loache would be too fast for the Crayfish's claws, but am still concerned. :/ Any ideas on how that would play out? Thank you for the link by the way! great page with lots of info!

[ClownLoachSharky]

you will deffinetely need a powerful flow of water from a wavemaker or powerhead as they can even die if thy dont get enough oxygen movement

[Jim Powers]

Welcome to the forum!!
I would suggest that instead of trying to make the fish fit the tank, you make the tank fit the fish. The fish will be much happier and live longer.
I would also not put a blue crayfish in with the Sewellia.
Is there any reason why you can't add a powerhead to increase the flow? What kind of filtration will you have?
I have heard of people keeping and actually breeding Sewellia in lower flow situations that had sufficient oxygenation. I always suggest higher flow levels, though, because you get to observe the fishes natural behavior . Also, it is better to keep Sewellia in groups of at least three fish.
If you haven't already, you might want to read these excellent articles by Martin Thoene.
http://www.loaches.com/articles/a-river-runs-through-it
http://www.loaches.com/articles/hillstr ... -fast-lane

[McCool]

Thank you! I'm actually putting a filter designed for a 60 gallon on it so the tank will
Have plenty of filtration. I could put a power head on it, but don't want to if I can avoid it. If i absolutely have to have one, I'll probably just go with a different fish. getting a small group of them would be no problem though. Thanks for the links! I will look into them!

[ClownLoachSharky]

do you have other fish that cand handle a powerhead? also what filtration do you have? eg a canister filters return will have enough flow for a small tank if you put it on the side. where as a hob filter will do no good with flow. a powerfilter is also good as they are a powerhead with filtration.