Schistura info needed

[Gary Herring]

Hi everyone,

I'm thinking of adding a few (3) Schistura to my 30"x15"x12" river tank to live alongside my 2 (soon to be 5!) Sewellia Lineolata, partly in the hope that they may control some of the pest snail population in the tank. I don't know a great deal about them apart from that they live in Asian rivers and streams, are of the Balitorid sub-family Nemacheilus, and also that some species can be territorial. The species I am particularly interested in are;

S. Savona,
S. Nicholsi,
S. Beavani,
S. Mahnerti,
Aborichthys Elongatus

Hopefully some of you have kept any of the above and can help me to make a decesion on which, if any, species would be best for my set-up.
What I would like to know is, a) are any of them known to be particularly territorial or aggressive, b) are any of them known to eat snails?, c) are they ok with a pea-gravel substrate?, and d) Are there any other special requirements? (I already have plenty of hiding places in the tank).

Thanks in advance!

Gary

[Emma Turner]

Gary - your 'bank manager' will want to have words with you soon!

I don't have experience keeping your listed species (which are on my current stock list ) but I have spent time observing them in relatively small stock tanks at work. I find that the more aggressive Schisturas become 'problematic' in small tanks, constantly picking at each other to the point that they have to be separated or else the worst happens. A typical example of this would be Schistura corica.

Graeme recently bought some Schistura nichlosi from us (stunning red tails!) so he may be able to offer some advice on what he has observed with them so far. They seem peaceful towards each other in the stock tanks at work, which is always a good sign in my opinion. Because the S. savona are quite a small species, I wouldn't imagine that they were a good snail eater. The same goes for the S. beavani, which seem to enjoy spending a lot of time buried in the sand. Again, Graeme (and probably others) have experience in keeping S. mahnerti and may be able to comment further. And as for the Aborichthys, they are again a small sized fish, and I'm not convinced that they'd eat snails. Martin may be able to chip in on that one.

Emma

[Gary Herring]

Gary - your 'bank manager' will want to have words with you soon!

Tell me about it! It's ok though I'll just buy her a new pair of shoes or something - that should do the trick. ( I presume it was that bank manager you were refering to!)

Yeah, you guessed it, i did have an eye on your 'loach-list' when i listed those particular species - Well, it is a long journey so might as well make the most of it eh! I think i'll go for the S. Nichlosi - from the pictures in the species index i think they are probably the most attractive of the lot. That is unless Graeme has witnessed any bad scraps with his. But in any case i'm guessing that you probably can't alway's predict problems based solely on the species, there are probably many other circemstances that could build up and lead to aggressive behaivior. I've got loads of hiding places in my tank as it is, plus there will be three of them rather than just a pair so i reckon it'll be ok. If the worse does happen i can always seperate em into the mini R/T anyway. Fingers crossed they enjoy a bit of french style cuisene!

[Graeme Robson]

Hi Gary.

My Schistura nichlosi are indeed a fine looking loach. The red tail is stunning, however they are territorial like most loaches of this genus. I've noticed with mine is that they will tolerate each other and other similar species to a limit. I've witnessed a couple of encounters and these chaps always come out on top. As long as they have 'there' territory then all should be fine.

The Schistura mahnerti is a battler. Mine never seem happy in one location or territory. Personally, these loaches need a eye kept on them. I keep mine in with Schistura waltoni and the S. waltoni always backs down when a face-off appears.

I love my Schistura Savona. Small and peaceful. They love to "hang" around on plants, wood..etc.

The Schistura beavani are peaceful little loaches like the Schistura Savona. These two are a great combination for you to consider. Pity they don't eat snails. A group of 5 of each would look very nice, with added activity on the substrate. But this is not my tank........Man! I need more space!

With my short time with the Aborichthys Elongatus, i've noticed that these little chaps seem to be accepted by everyone. No problems to report. They seem to have freedom of the tank. I wish i purchased more!

I don't have any snails in my tank Gary, so I'll have to past on that one. When you visit Emma's store. Have a look in the "mixture" tank. I saw a lovely large brown Schistura sp.. Wish i took him home also.

[Graeme Robson]

Schistura nicholsi

[Graeme Robson]

[Martin Thoene]

I would concur with others Schistura comments. Behaviour is somewhat generic, but certain species can be overly naughty.

I've kept Aborichtys elongatus for quite a while now and I would recommend them to anyone but with certain caveats.

Behaviour to other fish....no problem. Males will fight with one another, yet another day share a burrow. Oh yeah....burrowing......I think fine gravel or sand is best for these guys. They live in pits they dig under rocks. Small fish, big excavator bucket. They're very industrious diggers and depending where they decide to dig they can spoil the aesthetics of your tank.....big pile of gravel right where you don't want it sometimes.
Biggest potential problem is undermining a rock pile and causing an avalanche.

Super easy to feed, i.e. voracious and they'll eat from your hands.

I love 'em. I think they're really cute and great characters. Good entertainment and therefore good VFM. Buy lots they're small

(my commission claim will be in the post Emma)







Martin.

[Emma Turner]

Tell me about it! It's ok though I'll just buy her a new pair of shoes or something - that should do the trick. ( I presume it was that bank manager you were refering to!)

That's the one! Maybe one day she will come round to the idea that fish are more interesting than shoes!

Graeme - the Schistura nicholsi are looking good! I think we actually managed to correctly pick out at least one of those 'darker' ones then! Love the lateral line detail in that pic.

(my commission claim will be in the post Emma)

Does Harold ever get Aborichthys in? Three weeks ago I ordered Schistura mahnerti from Sunbeam (our mutual supplier) and they sent us Aborichthys elongatus. That's a tip if he wants a loachy lucky dip!

Anyway, I guess what Gary needs to know now is whether anyone has observed any aggression between Schistura species and the 'sucker type' hillstream loaches? My Schistura balteata totally ignore my Sewellias, and I've never noticed any Schisturas going for any Sewellia/Beaufortia/Gastromyzons etc at the shop. What have others observed?

Emma

[Martin Thoene]

Never knew that Gary was married to Imelda Marcos

I've got that oddball Schistura in my main River Tank and it never does anything to sucker-type hillies. It will however be protective of food to the Aborichthys or the Sinobotia in the same tank. No damage though.

I think they're worse with their own kind.

Martin.

[Gary Herring]

Tell me about it! It's ok though I'll just buy her a new pair of shoes or something - that should do the trick. ( I presume it was that bank manager you were refering to!)

That's the one! Maybe one day she will come round to the idea that fish are more interesting than shoes!

I'm working on it. The irony is, that when we first moved in together a couple of years ago it was her who wanted fish and I did'nt! She kept on about it for ages so eventually i gave in (shock!) and we got this little 25litre tank and kept some goldfish - most of em promptly died (another shock!), so i did some reserch, found out about cycling and all that, and came to the conclusion a tank that small was inhumane and we needed a bigger one. We got a 150 liter, and then got sold a 'stone - sucker' who i was told by the bloke in the shop would clean all the algae from the glass of the tank and was a type of Pleco. Did some more research (found LOL - yay! ), and realised the bloke in the shop was a buffoon and the 'Pleco' was actually a Beaufortia. I then, after reading all the articles, came to the conclusion keeping him (Eric!) in a goldfish tank was inhumane (oxygen + feeding issues etc) and he needed a nice river - tank. From that moment on, i was assimilated! and the rest is history - 1 tank has became 4 and Lashira wishes she'd "never said a word about bloody fish"!

You're lucky in having a partner who's just as into your hobby as you are - must make life so much easier!

Graeme,

Thanks for the input.
Your S. Nicholsi are certainly beautiful fish - i love the dark colouration that contrasts to those gorgeous red tails. I think i'm gonna go for 3 of those. Unless i change my mind when i'm there that is! How many do you keep by the way? Do you think 3 is a good number or is it the case of 'the more the better' to spread any aggression? One other question too: How big are they / do they get?

Martin,

Thanks. That was the main concern to be honest - how they might react to the sucker-belly type hillies, ie. my Sewellia.

Oh yeah, one other thing;

Who the hell is Imelda Marcos???!!!

[Graeme Robson]

Gary, With Schistura's, I always only purchase 2 or 3. So that they can have their little territory's and they become more active for us to watch, and of course healthier for them with swimming space within the aquarium. I've often wanted a large group of 10 plus, but space and enough shelters may pose a problem. Personally, i don't know if a large group would keep the aggression down. I haven't tried it. (too chicken to). Size wise? I would say they are 7cm TL. And will probably stay that size.

Cheers Emma. I would say we did. Great 'Netting' work

[Martin Thoene]

Gary......meet Imelda Marcos:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1173911.stm

Martin.

[mikev]

On large groups/aggression: Depends on the species a lot, I'd think....I have six of these guys:




(assumed to be S. Poculi) since last September without any *real* aggression and really minimal territorial arguments. While there are other loaches in the tank (and possibly suppress Schisturas into good behavior), these Schisturas were actually the first in and were not particularly aggressive even at that time. (And yeah, I've seen S.Maherti too...those are aggressive.., but prettier...mine have very little red in their tails.)
The only real territorial sign is that I cannot ever get two of them in the same picture -- they would not rest next to each other. Next to a botia as seen above -- no problem. The only aggression ever noticed was the first two weeks, when they tried chasing giant danios....did not work....

[gulogulo]

I have 6 Schistura ( I think similis and sexcauda with possibly a third species) in a 50gal tank with 2 Gastros. So far the Schisturas pick on each other much more than the gastros. They occasionally chase the gastros off a rock but I have observed no nipping or other overly aggressive behavior. The boisterous attitude of the Schisturas is more troublesome for the gastros than any aggression.
They have been together for about a month now. The schisturas have a few nicks from scraps with each other but the gastros are fine.
I would recommend giving them a try.
Good Luck!

[Graeme Robson]

So which loaches did you purchase, Gary?