Loaches Online Forum

Since I started my loach tank, my father has rediscovered his love for fish. For the last few months I have been helping him set up his old 55G and get it ready to house his dream fish; discus. I've been helping him research the fish, buy plants, clean up the old tank and even found him the store that he hopes to buy his discus from. Well, he bought a batch of Cardinals about a month back to keep the tank lively while he gets the last things ready for the Discus. Sadly, one of them got sick over the last couple days. He didn't have a quarantine tank so I loaned him some of my spare supplies and rigged up a temporary tank to hold him over till we could get over to the lfs.

This morning, we went out to buy his supplies and I helped him pick out the stuff and spoke to the employee about the symptoms and treatment. Well, my dad decided that he wanted to have a quick look at the fish while we were there and I pointed out the hillstream loaches that I had been ogling since they came in about three weeks ago. Right off the bat, I counted four Gastromyzon ctenocephalus. His eyes aren't as good as mine, so I had to point them each out. He nodded and smiled so I though nothing of it. Well, as we were about to go, he pulled over the employee again and asked me if I wanted to get the loaches now, or later. O_o

To say I was shocked was an understatement. Still having the information sink in, I tell him, yeah I can have a place ready for them today so we go over and the employee starts bagging them. Turns out that there are six loaches. (All the shuffling of trying to catch the four brought the other two out of hiding!) So, now I'm sitting next to my quarantine tank watching six happy little Gastromyzon dance across its sides and play in the water stream.

They are all eating and very active so I have high hopes for them all being healthy and look forward to adding them to may main tank once the quarantine is over.

I stopped by the store today and happened to spy a loach tail sticking out from behind a decoration in the tank. I couldn't leave just one loach all alone so I had the lady bag her up and took her home to join my six. Got her (pretty sure its a girl) home and took a good look at her and noticed something odd that I hadn't seen in the store. She has no spots! The other six are all G. Ctenocephalus and maybe a few G. Scitulus so I figured that this one would be too. Not so, as this one is solid brown.
Either way, they are all delightfully active and way less shy than my Histrionica!

There are several species of gastros that show up mixed in with other species.
I got one that I thought was solid color but the more I looked at it the more I could see light brown stripes on a darker brown body.
I think its probably a G. zebrinus, but am not sure.
Have you checked out the species index?

I've gone over the species index several times now, but none of them look like this one.
Now that I see her in the light, she is more of a grey-taupe than a brown. On very close inspection, there is a very fain mottling of the color, but not enough to really resemble a pattern. She's a voracious eater though, and anything but reclusive.

If you could get some pics, that might help ID the fish.

My fiance loaned me his phone to take pictures with. It's not very clear, but still much better than my camera.





I couldn't get any shots of her underside. (She wasn't being very cooperative) She does have a larger mouth, similar to my Gastromyzon. There are no noticeable markings on any of her fins, and her belly is more of a white color.

I'm leaning towards thinking she is Gastromyzon Aeroides. http://www.aquariophil.org/html/gast_aeroides.html
She doesn't have the darker markings on her fins, but she might yet color up as she settles in. *crosses fingers*