Intro and my first question...

[Burtess]

Hey there,
I would like to introduce myself. I am in my mid 30's and have kept freshwater aquariums since I was single digits old. I presently keep a bunch of tanks from 90gal down to 29gal with mostly CA/SA cichlids and of course some loaches in the calmer tanks as well. I am looking forward to learning more about my loaches here and will contribute when I can as well.

Now on to my first question:

I have a 75gal with the following inhabitants: 1 X 4" Gold Saum, 4 X 1-2" sajica/convict fry, 3 X 4" silver dollars (going soon), 4 X 4-5" yoyo's, and 2 X blue botia, one approx. 5", one 3.5".

Everything was fine until I added the second blue botia. I aquired the original one when I got the yoyo's off a guy, and took the blue since it was the only loach he had left. He has been very docile, hiding mostly in a pile of driftwood in the middle of the tank. I went to a SuperPet that is closing to pick up 3 more blues that they had but someone has taken two of them and left the other (he has only one eye). I picked him up anyway since I figured it would be better for him and my other one to be with their own kind.

My original larger blue botia is now on a rampage. He is out and chasing not only the smaller one-eyed blue botia but also most of the other fish. He has become a real hell raiser!

Will he calm down as it is or would it be better to add another 2-3 blues to spread out the aggression?

Thanks,
Burt

[shari2]

Hi Burt and welcome to LOL.

Yep, now you have intro'd a new blue into a one blue territory and he's going to make sure he's still the boss. A few more may not be a bad idea if there's room. Modestas are on the aggressive side. They will get into it with yoyos, too. Best of luck.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Burt, welcome to Loaches Online.

Yes, I would definitely add more Blues (Y. modesta) so that the group is at least 5 strong. When you add these, it would also be a good idea to rearrange some of the decor slightly (doesn't have to be too major a change around) so that the Boss Y. modesta's established territories have been broken up somewhat. This will help to divert attention away from the newcomers a little, whilst everyone gets used to the layout of their new home. This species is fairly feisty and these measures should help to spread the aggression.

Emma

[newshound]

mods get large...
mine don't really bug my yoyyos too much...
however they do mix it up with the eos

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Welcome to LOL Burtess,

I only got one modesta here alongside with lots of other loaches. Mine is agressive indeed but only at feed time. At the very moment she gets her food she goes away to her cave and will show up again only in a couple days.
As other friends said, having a group will sread their agressive among the group itself.

Good luck!

[newshound]

I think it is really hard to say if a loach is acting "nicely" if all one does is view the fish during lights on. The real question is what happens in the dark.

[Marcos Mataratzis]

I think it is really hard to say if a loach is acting "nicely" if all one does is view the fish during lights on. The real question is what happens in the dark.

Well, I can talk about mine even at night as I use an 1 Watt lamp to simulate the Moon on my tank.



After main lights go out all Clown loaches go to their caves and I can´t see them until sunrise. The only fishes that keeps awaken during all night long are the YoYos and the Albino Corydora. Even when I come to turn the "Moon" off (Yes, I try to simulate exactly the moon phase at my tank, turning it ON and OFF at same time as it really do in the sky ) they are the only active fish on tank.

[Burtess]

Thanks for all your responses.
I am in the process of locating and aquiring 3 or 4 more modesta's.

What is the maximum stocking density of a 48" X 18" tank? Is 5 yoyo and 5 modesta OK?? I assume it works on base dimensions for territories....

Burt

[Marcos Mataratzis]

Hi Burtess,

I´m afraid your tank is not that big for 5 modesta as they can go up to 8 or 10" each.