Loaches Online Forum

I'm setting up a planted 4ft 40g long tank for my pangios, vaillantella maassi & some tiny lepidocephalichthys? I'm thinking hard about adding some rosy loaches. Any thoughts on this combo?

Before you ask, the tiny loaches are these
http://www.invertzfactory.com/images_or ... ura_sp.jpg from this thread http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... halichthys

They are mostly very mellow with occasional bouts of very hyperactivity. I've had them for about 6 months. mine look paler than the pic on light colored sand. They are only 3/4 inch maybe 1 inch TL.

The only fish I'm really concerned about may be the V. maassi, not quite as mellow as pangios they're in with.

Hi Nancy,
Any idea where those mystery loaches originated from? Could they be juvenile Lepidocephalichthys furcatus? http://www.loaches.com/species-index/le ... s-furcatus
Behaviour wise, I don't think your proposed list of fish would be a problem, however, Rosy loaches tend to do better in harder, more alkaline water, compared to Vaillantella maassi who like it a bit softer.
Hope this helps,
Emma

Thanks Emma. Pedro said the lepidocephalichthys are from Myanmar but nothing more specific. In my tank they look more similar to L. furcatus than in his pic. Fishbase also listed a couple lepidocephalichthys that are tiny but no pics. Mine have a darker lateral line & more distinct spots above than the fine peppering in the species profile. They do have the dorsal base spot & caudal peduncle line, could just be individual variations.

They are in a low tank & very hard to see. I have 8 but 3 at most are visible, that's partly why I want to move them.

I'll have to check my water hardness, it's usually 3-4dGH, KH is low so I add crushed coral to the filters. Ironically the lepidocephalichthys were sent with much harder water than mine & I've been gradually reducing it. I haven't checked lately I'll need to ask what the rosies are being kept at.

Nice group of fishes

Thanks piggy4. I think I'll plan on keeping the rosies with cherry shrimp, I can't find my darn KH & GH test

Another possibility is the Lepidocephalichthys micropogon.

http://www.siamensis.org/images/webboar ... 109980.jpg

When moving them I got a better look. 1 looks exactly like L. furcatus with the fine speckles. I assume they're all the same species...

I tried to get some pics but I don't know how to use my point & shoot camera at all well yet. Now in the new tank a couple hung out with pangios trying to "dance" without getting clobbered. 1 half inch guy almost got left behind, guess I can't count.

I also noticed 1 of my v.maassi looks to be carrying eggs, possibly another too, very robust. The third is much thinner with a nipped up tail I'll have to try for more pics after they adjust to the tank.