Loaches Online Forum

Hi

I am working on a planted Asian 33G tank.

I have my mind made up on a few species
-SAE
-Dwarf Loach
-Panda Garra (if i can find any)
-Hillstream Loach (maybe)

i have always loved Harelquin Rasbora and want to add a large school of them. However, do you think that there would be a better choice of schooling fish to add to the list of fishes mentioned above?
or, would the Harlequins fit nicely?

thanks for any suggestions.

I reckon you'd be better off with a fish that enjoys similar conditions to the species you mentioned already. Harlequins are not hill stream fish and are not generally found in areas with a lot of flow. Maybe a Danio or Devario sp. would be better?

SAEdude wrote:Hi

I have my mind made up on a few species
-SAE

I would personally not keep a SAE in a 33 gallon. Mainly because of their size. Plus they like to be kept in a group. So I would suggest 2-3. But that would be in a tank much larger around 200lt, 50g.

-Dwarf Loach

Nice chose of fish. I myself find them very entertaining to watch. That is why I shall be getting around 10 of them for my 30g planted tank.

i have always loved Harelquin Rasbora and want to add a large school of them. However, do you think that there would be a better choice of schooling fish to add to the list of fishes mentioned above?
or, would the Harlequins fit nicely?

I have 9 Harlequins and they are wonderful fish. I find them to be great hardy active fish to keep. So I would defiantly get them.

thanks for any suggestions.[/quote]


Now I was wondering if you are going to have your tank planted?

mack

I have 330ltr planted tank with 50 SAE & Botia Locahata size 1" & 1 Botia Macrachanta size 3" as an algae eater. They live in peace & no dwelling the substrate.

Matt wrote:I reckon you'd be better off with a fish that enjoys similar conditions to the species you mentioned already. Harlequins are not hill stream fish and are not generally found in areas with a lot of flow. Maybe a Danio or Devario sp. would be better?

thanks for the replies....

any suggestions for a few specific species of schooling fish that prefer a river biotope? preferable with nice colors.

thanks

After doing some research, it seems that the White Cloud Mountain Minnow would be a good fit with Dwarf Loaches, Hillstream Loaches, Panda Garra and SAE since they all prefer tanks with cooler water and strong currents.

What do you think?

SAEdude

A really fast river will not have fish swimming in the mid-stream areas. They would get washed away. Fish in such a location are built to hide among the rocks and cling to the rocks. Hillstream Loaches, Gobies, Darter Tetras and similar fish.
Even species from families that often are schooling are not really schooling fish when they are found in hillstreams. Look into Darter or Hummingbird Tetras for example. Just about every fish in the Tetra family is schooling. Not these guys!

For somewhat slower water movement (but still faster than most community tanks) have a look at Glass Catfish. Mine spend almost all their time head first into the water from the filter, hovering in place.

Many Rainbow fish also come from rivers, but I don't think the water movement is fast enough for Hillstream loaches. Also, they get bit too big for a tank under about 4' long. VERY active fish.

Many Danios come from faster moving water, and are schooling. Not all, but a little research might dig up some species worth looking for. Do not get the long finned version of the Zebra Danio, if you decide that Zebras are OK. The long fins are not great for the faster moving water.

thanks for the reply...

for me, a nice large school of fish is more of a priority than the Hillstream Loach. I know that SAE, Dwarf Loach and Panda Garra come from streams and prefer a tank with water movement. I understand that Hillstream Loaches need even more flow than that so maybe they should not be included in my plans.

thanks for the help.

if you dont go for the hillstream tank, harlequin rasboras will be fine. they live in a variety of stream conditions, from relatively still to flowing water. mine are fine in my loach tank. they also like slightly acidic, soft water, which loaches tend to like too.

quite a few of the other rasboras will be fine in a tank with moderate but not high flow. dont choose the dwarf species though.

if a nice shoal is important to you, i would suggest getting 10+ as i have found people often say you must have at least 3 or 5, and you never see the shoaling properly. get as many as you have space for.

WCM are a good choice, too. Yes, cooler, and flowing water set up for them.

I also have a school of 10 Harlequin rasboras in the tank with my B. straita and YoYo loaches. Great fish, always schooling around the tank, in and out of the plants.