Syncrossus helodes full of eggs?

[Tiger Botia]

Hi!
I have a Syncrossus helodes and it is swelled just behind the pectorals. It is about 3 inches long. It is also in a 55 gallon. Is this abnormal or is it full of eggs? It is being fed flakes. Thanks!

Tiger Botia

[Emma Turner]

Hi Tiger and welcome to Loaches Online.

Your Syncrossus helodes is still fairly small at the size you quote. This species can grow quite large (30cm) and as such, I'm inclined to think that yours is just a well-fed immature specimen (Tiger Botia can be quite piggy!). Here's a link to our profile on this species: http://www.loaches.com/species-index/syncrossus-helodes
I take it that you are feeding your loaches more than just flakes? Loaches require a good amount of sinking foods.

Emma

[Tiger Botia]

Hi!
I am going to get another batch of Brine Shrimp soon. My other fish love them too. Thanks for the link. It provided alot of useful information. 30 cm is larger than I thought. I wish I could get a picture of it, but it is way too fast. Is there any way to tell when it is mature? Thanks again!

Tiger Botia

[Emma Turner]

Hi Tiger,

I've just seen the fish list that you've added to your signature:

55 gallon

1 Albino Channel Catfish
1 Albino Rainbow Shark
1 Hoplosternum Littorale
1 Syncrossus helodes
1 Blue Gourami
1 Spotted Pictus Catfish
2 Hypostomus Plecostomus
2 Botia Striata
12 Zebra Danios

I have to say that this is really a far from ideal mix and some of these fish are going to outgrow the aquarium quite quickly. Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) are a temperate species (i.e. they prefer much cooler temperatures) and can grow to a whopping 130cm or more. Once it gets big enough, it will take the smaller fish from your tank, and I'm not just referring to the zebra danios here. The common plecos frequently attain over 40cm and are a messy fish, so require masses of filtration and a tank at least 6ft long. Botia striata are a shy, peaceful species that need to be kept in shoals of at least 5 fish, with other peaceful species. I fear that they are suffering a pretty stressed out life at the moment. The Syncrossus helodes is another species that must be maintained in groups, and keeping it on it's own is not fair and will be suppressing it's natural behaviour.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but some of these fish need moving to other quarters, and preferably much bigger ones.

Unfortunately, brineshrimp is not all that nutritious. You'd be better off sourcing other frozen foods such as mosquito larvae and Mysis shrimp, and getting your fish some good quality sinking catfish pellets.

Good luck,

Emma

[Tiger Botia]

Hi!

I have been fishing for channels and seen HUGE ones. Once mine gets about 4-5 inches, I will put him in a 150 gallon pond. Once he gets about 30cm, I'll put him in our pond which is HUGE. I was at the LFS yesterday and they had no Syncrossus helodes left. They also had only two Botia Striata. I will get to the LFS soon and get maybe a couple more of each. I may end up setting up a couple more tanks as I have plenty of extra tanks. Now that I have more fish I will be vacuuming the tank's substrate more often than once a month.

Do you know of any good brand names of sinking catfish pellets? Thank you SO much for all your help!

Tiger Botia

[Emma Turner]

Do you know of any good brand names of sinking catfish pellets?

Hi Tiger,

Hopefully some of the Americans will chime in on this thread, as we have many different brands of catfish pellets over here which may not be available over there. I think you can probably get hold of Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets though, those are always a good bet where loaches are concerned. I'm sure the others will also be able to recommend some.

Emma

[Tiger Botia]

Hi!

I will look for Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets. I have bought other stuff from Hikari before.

The size of my Botia Striata are about 2-3cm long. I was wondering if for the time being, would it be safe to put them in a 30 gallon tank with a couple more of them? I might be setting one up. Thanks again!

Tiger Botia

[Emma Turner]

I think they'd appreciate that very much. They are a very peaceful species and it won't matter what size the new B. striata additions are - they will get along just fine. Be sure to set the tank up using media and water from their existing tank, so that you can move them straight away. Otherwise you'll have to wait for the tank to cycle, plus a bit longer, before adding them. As they grow, you might find that you'll need to upgrade slightly from a 30, so that they have room to really stretch their fins, but for now, it'll do nicely.

Emma

[Barracuda518]

You can try Hikari sinking wafers, which are a little different. You could also try Tetramin tropical tablets.

But like Emma said, I would be more concerned about the stocking right now. Several of the fish you have listed need to be in groups other then the loaches. The Hoplosternum littorale and the Pictus cat both like to be in groups.

Good Luck

[Tiger Botia]

Hi!

I will be going to the LFS tommorow. Can my tank withstand more fish (small) in the tank? I will do vacuums and water changes more frequently if needed.

I'm glad to hear that my B. Striata would get along with any others that are larger than them. Right now they play tag with each other and are very active.

I can get more Pictus Cats, but not more H. Littorale. I found mine buried in the mud of our medium sized pond. I will keep my eyes peeled for them. We had ours in our 150 gallon pond; if I saw some at the LFS, I'd put them in as a group.

I got some of those Carnivorous Sinking pellets and my fish LOVE them. I also got some Gammarus Pulex. Will this work? I am still keeping my eyes peeled for some Mysis Shrimp. Thanks for all your help!

Tiger Botia