Loaches Online Forum

I went canoeing in a fast flowing sandy bottom creek over the Easter holiday and caught some shiners for a friend who keeps native fish. After I brought them home and put them in a 10 gallon to hold them over the rest of the holiday, I started to really enjoy them and realize that they wouldn't be suited for her tank that has low water flow and lots of plants and fish that come from that type of habitat so I decided to keep them for myself.

I have been wanting to set up a river tank for hillstream loaches for a while now. I used to keep a couple Schistura beavani in a regular tank and really enjoyed them. I sold them when I moved and down-sized my tanks. I'd like to get more of them and some of the more specialized species that really NEED a river tank. I was thinking of using a 40 gallon breeder and do 3 or 4 power heads with pipes under the gravel and also a HOB filter with chiller in it (so I don't have to drill the tank). I let my place get up to 80 degrees in the summer to save on A/C costs so I think a chiller would be appreciated by the fish.

Anyways I was thinking of doing the undergravel pipe thing on a 20 gallon for the shiners as kind of a practice run before I decide to go for the full set up for the loaches. At first I was thinking no way, I won't mix the shiners with the loaches. I'll just keep them in their 20 gallon and keep the loaches in the 40 and get some WCMM to go in with the loaches. But then I thought, it doesn't hurt to ask. Especially as I'm starting to ID the species of shiners I caught and realizing they'll need some growing room.

What is everyone's thoughts on mixing natives with store-bought fish? Even if I quarantine the natives for months before I get any loaches, is there a chance they could be carrying some disease that could be spread to the loaches? Another plus if I was able to put these guys in the 40 gallon, is the 20 gallon would make a nice quarantine for any new loaches with the extra water flow.

If the natives are healthy and they come from similar conditions, such as high flow, I see no reason to not try it. I know a fish breeder who kept rainbow shiners and sewellia together with no problem. The main thing I would worry about is the aggressiveness of the natives. You don't want anything, store bought or native, to out compete the hillstreams for food.
If I were you, I would try to ID or photograph the species and then put some pics up on this thread for input. I have a book on keeping native fish that has a few species profiles. Maybe one of these profiles is of the species you have. If not, you can check out some sites online, such as the North American Native Fish Assoc. site to find out info on keeping the species.
http://www.nanfa.org/

I borrowed a book on Freshwater Fish of Louisiana and have been able to identify 3 of the 4 species as Bluntface shiner (Cyprinella camura), Blacktail shiner (Cyprinella venustus), and Longnose shiner (Notropis longirostris). I think the 4th is either a Weed shiner (Notropis texanus) or a Rough shiner (Notropis baileyi).

One of the Bluntface shiners is much larger than most of all the other shiners. He mostly stays by himself. He'll go for the tails of the other fish if they get too close to him but he doesn't chase after them. The other Bluntface schools with the Blackspots which are more his size. I have also seen the Weed/Rough shiner do the same "personal space" thing occasionally but other times he is fine with the other fish. He is the 2nd largest shiner and the only of his species that I caught. I don't know if this behavior is because they are larger/older or because they don't really have a "school" (like a lone tiger barb).

The Longnose shiners remind me of Schisturas. They have similar shaped heads but their eyes aren't as high on top. They also sit on the bottom a lot. Although not as much as Schisturas and I doubt they burrow under gravel/sand.

Sorry, my book does not have profiles on any of these species.

It would be nice to see some pics of the Shiners ,as they are a rarity over here UK