Helllp! A little advice for me and my weather loach?

[shazam26]

I've recently purchased a new and lively loach I've named Hoakey, and he's in a temporary five gallon. I've got a larger tank to put him in but here's the catch- no lid. He's yet to attempt a jump out of his temporary tank, but I'm concerned. What should I put over the tank- the larger one- until my lid gets here? What material would hold the loach in and what wouldn't? If there's nothing to hold him in with, I'll hold on giving him the big tank yet and wait for my proper lid. I currently have one I constructed out of wood fitted over the top.

Thank you!

[angelfish83]

Well, weather loaches like cooler water, preferably about the same temperature you'd have for a tank of shibunkin goldfish. They also like a reasonably strong current, and they like the company of others of their species, so you really should have atleast five of them.

They can jump and probably will at some point.

I'm sure you already know, but make sure your tanks are cycled before you put your fish in them. Loaches are very sensitive to uncycled tanks. If you don't understand what this means (bacterially, not in terms of just putting water in the tank and letting it run for awhile) you aren't ready to have fish, and you should return the loach and do some reasearch before getting any fish. I personally would have waited until you got the lid.

If the tanks are already cycled, then the solution is to get your hands on the lid, then add your current loach and four or five friends for it. If you need a temporary lid, depending on the size of your tank, the best thing would be a styrofoam piece about 1" thick cut to size, and scotch taped in place or otherwise safely secured (assuming you have big fish if you have something like tetras that weight one gram this is unecessary) since it will not affect your water if splashed like plywood might. Really the best thing is an actual aquarium top designed for an aquarium...
Look around on this website and check the "Loach Profiles" section to find out more about your loach and how to best care for it.

[shari2]

What size is the larger tank going to be?

[helen nightingale]

welcome to LOL. i hope you get a lid soon, and ejoy keeping waether loaches

[shazam26]

Thank you!
For a month I have to deal with a 10 gallon tank- res permits me no larger. -_- Horrible I know, but again- though it will be in use for much longer than the 5 gallon- it is a temporary tank. My mother is buying the 5 gallon and my sister the 10 gallon. Then during Christmas (where I can migrate out of res and into a Chalet, where there's no tank restriction) I will move him to a permanent home in a 30 or 50 gallon. Along with Hoakey I have a rainbow shark who appears to love him very much. I was very weary because I understand rainbows may be aggressive- especially if they've assumed a territory. But oddly, I put Hoakey in and my Rainbow Tanookie took to him greatly. Thanks so much for the styrofoam advice, Hoakey is now in his new home and I will be transferring Tanooki tomorrow (I don't like tranferring groups of fish at once, and seeing it's just the two of them I figured I'd give Hoakey dibs this time!) Tanookie seems to be missing Hoakey terribly! Quite often I'd find them napping together behind one of my plants- first time my Rainbow took a break on the bottom of the tank! I'm going to wait on getting new loaches until I get a bigger tank, seeing as a ten gallon is barely fair as is. Hoakey seems very happy to play hide and seek with Tanooki. They're so amusing to watch ^_^ The loach seems very watchful of him (Tanooki is a baby right now) And whenever he's doing the traditional loach thrashing, he always pauses to make a loop that Tanookie can swim under before he keeps going.
I'm excited about starting this off!
One of my friends has recently purchased some balas and a rainbow- slightly more room than me! But indeed, the sooner I get home for Christmas, the better.
Thanks again to all that offered their advice

[angelfish83]

Thank you!
For a month I have to deal with a 10 gallon tank- res permits me no larger. -_- Horrible I know, but again- though it will be in use for much longer than the 5 gallon- it is a temporary tank. My mother is buying the 5 gallon and my sister the 10 gallon. Then during Christmas (where I can migrate out of res and into a Chalet, where there's no tank restriction) I will move him to a permanent home in a 30 or 50 gallon. Along with Hoakey I have a rainbow shark who appears to love him very much. I was very weary because I understand rainbows may be aggressive- especially if they've assumed a territory. But oddly, I put Hoakey in and my Rainbow Tanookie took to him greatly. Thanks so much for the styrofoam advice, Hoakey is now in his new home and I will be transferring Tanooki tomorrow (I don't like tranferring groups of fish at once, and seeing it's just the two of them I figured I'd give Hoakey dibs this time!) Tanookie seems to be missing Hoakey terribly! Quite often I'd find them napping together behind one of my plants- first time my Rainbow took a break on the bottom of the tank! I'm going to wait on getting new loaches until I get a bigger tank, seeing as a ten gallon is barely fair as is. Hoakey seems very happy to play hide and seek with Tanooki. They're so amusing to watch ^_^ The loach seems very watchful of him (Tanooki is a baby right now) And whenever he's doing the traditional loach thrashing, he always pauses to make a loop that Tanookie can swim under before he keeps going.
I'm excited about starting this off!
One of my friends has recently purchased some balas and a rainbow- slightly more room than me! But indeed, the sooner I get home for Christmas, the better.
Thanks again to all that offered their advice

I hope your friend has 200 gallons or more. Balas can get to over 2 feet and several kilos

[shazam26]

Yeah so I've seen! These guys are slow growers when not put on a really high protein diet, which gives you enough time to space out your tank upgrades. But you definitely have to start LARGE. Very large.
In his case, he's willing to undergo the expensive but typical tank upgrades most bala owners go through when taking proper care of them. ^_^ For some reason I always find myself feeling bad for Bala sharks- a lot of people seem to buy them thatr eally can't afford to keep them and care for them correctly.
Of course we did our thorough share of research before our purchases, but I wasn't prepared for the odd and a bit nonsensical delivery of my tank SEPARATE of its lid... doesn't make much sense to me But oh well, I have to reap what I'm dealt I suppose. My loach is already curiously poking around areas that give off any hints of light- fat chance of finding a way out through THAT fortress, Hoakey
But I'll definitely invest in some more tank buddies once I get the larger tank!

[angelfish83]

Well, its good he's willing to go big. It'll need more than six feet though make sure he realizes he's probably looking at an eight or maybe even ten foot long tank. That's an absolute monster of a fish.

As per the diet, the fact that they grow slower on a low protein diet doesn't really make it a good idea. You can feed an Angelfish a low protein diet too, and it won't die, but it won't grow out very well and will be noticeably less healthy. I've had two Angels purchased at the same size. One refused to eat anything but low protein veggie flake, the other ate everything, including super high quality stuff like NLS pellet and Hikari Cichlid complete, and grew over four times faster and became a stunning fish while the other looked like a boot.

Balas also appreciate a fairly generous current, super high levels of dissolved oxygen and a pH that is about neutral although if you meet all their other needs and keep the water clean they adjust fairly easily in this respect. They like to be near other Balas and should really be in atleast a Trio- provided you can adequately house the trio. If water quality or just plain space is a concern, then keeping a pair more healthfully than a trio less helthfully is probably the way to go, though a worse choice overall for their psychological wellbeing.



Do tell him to feed it higher quality pelleted foods to grow it fast, because the bottom line is that you should grow every fish as fast as you can. All fish grow faster in the wild - therefore we must assume that their intended growthrate is higher than what most of us are providing at home. You can't grow a fish out 'too fast'- unless hormones or other cheats are involved which could actually damage the fish's health..

[shazam26]

Indeed! The pet store owner seemed to know a lot of information and really cared for the fish- he wouldn't sell my friend the Balas until it was confirmed that he had over a thirty gallong for the babies. He has two, and they're always playing together. I noticed their enjoyment of the strong current, they seem to like playing in it a lot and venturing around the front of the tank together when someone isn't eyeing the tank. Very shy fish, but very brave when they've got buddies. I originally planned on getting a large tank right away, and housing a bala singularly, but after a couple days I thought it would be better off to pair it in a nice large tank with a buddy. I'm much happier now with the balas interactions with Byrons (my friend) and they're constantly exploring and playing. A lot of people told me they aren't very active. I think that's such a false claim- they just aren't active when they're cramped up! I look at it this way- a person in a tiny box wouldn't be that active either, would it?
Anyway, we were directed to give our fish nutritional bottom feeder tablets that also get swept into the middle areas, because the balas spend a lot of time weaving and playing along the plants and decor around the bottom. They gobble the stuff up- we even find them tossing around the pellet so it'll break up faster! The pet store owner also advised us on shrimp brine and bloodworms to juice up their proteins- they've got a lovely look to them, they eat pretty much anything that comes their way- as does my red fin. Goodness his colors are really coming to life!
I hope that I'm giving them all adequate meal plans, I've only got them on the nutritional tablets right now. What is the best suggestion of treat foods for my variety of fish and of course the bala tank my friend owns?
Would they accept similar treats, or should we go separate?

[angelfish83]

There really aren't any fish treats. You just want to make sure you're giving the fish the protein, fiber and nutrients that species needs. Tablets might be ok, depends what brand- but most fish dont eat off the bottom many eat off the top and in the middle of the water column.

New life spectrum makes good all round food, and all their pellets are essentially the same formula. I'd feed your fish the very small pellet, the ballas too, and flake for anything thats too tiny to eat the pellets you may have.

I feat large NLS pellets to my loaches, as well as spirulina and vegetable wafers and bloodworm and brineshrimp. Im slowly expanding the menu

[shazam26]

Oooh! Good, I was planning on investing on the brine shrimp and bloodworms- yes, all of my fish prefer to eat off the bottom! Or around the middle. Ironically to its bottom feeder status, it's the loach that goes crazy for the flakes I put in the tank. Though, it goes so wild for it, it ends up knocking most of it down to my red fin! I've always wanted a loach and now I'm seeing why- what a personailty! I find all the fish I've got have personality. Spirulina? I've never heard of it! There isn't much to offer in terms of variety here, sadly. -_- Though I'm trying my best to find interesting things.

[angelfish83]

Oooh! Good, I was planning on investing on the brine shrimp and bloodworms- yes, all of my fish prefer to eat off the bottom! Or around the middle. Ironically to its bottom feeder status, it's the loach that goes crazy for the flakes I put in the tank. Though, it goes so wild for it, it ends up knocking most of it down to my red fin! I've always wanted a loach and now I'm seeing why- what a personailty! I find all the fish I've got have personality. Spirulina? I've never heard of it! There isn't much to offer in terms of variety here, sadly. -_- Though I'm trying my best to find interesting things.

you can't have 'a' loach...
You need a big bunch of em. Spirulina is a sort of microbial algae type thing that is very nutritious. You might not have anything good out there. Try to see if you can atleast find Hikari. They're good. Not New Life Spectrum good but that stuff is hard to find. Omega One is good too but their food isn't as well made as Hikaris.

[shazam26]

Should I buy all the same species of loach, or am I allowed to 'mix it up' as they say? I know loaches like being in groups, but I don't know if they mix friends. I know yoyo's are the most aggressive loach. I'm curious about clown loaches.
BTW, I do notice Byron's red fin chases the bala sharks a bit. But it has its own cave on the other side of the tank where the balas 'hang out', so it's not so bad. The red fin also occupies more of the bottom region whereas the balas are around the middle of the tank. I know red fins are territorial, but are they know to cause injuries? I haven't seen the red fin do anything that looked rough, just some mild chasing. Still, is there anything to look out for? If he becomes too rough, he'll be given his own tank.

[angelfish83]

Should I buy all the same species of loach, or am I allowed to 'mix it up' as they say? I know loaches like being in groups, but I don't know if they mix friends. I know yoyo's are the most aggressive loach. I'm curious about clown loaches.
BTW, I do notice Byron's red fin chases the bala sharks a bit. But it has its own cave on the other side of the tank where the balas 'hang out', so it's not so bad. The red fin also occupies more of the bottom region whereas the balas are around the middle of the tank. I know red fins are territorial, but are they know to cause injuries? I haven't seen the red fin do anything that looked rough, just some mild chasing. Still, is there anything to look out for? If he becomes too rough, he'll be given his own tank.

Oh ya the red fin can cause some injuries if it decides to. Some of them get quite maniacal in their old age.

Again, loaches like space... How big is this tank again? Polkadots and chains should have 3 feet or more and the bigger ones like histies should have 3 preferably 4 and then Yo Yos can get too big even for four feet. Clowns obviously get rediculously large and need as much space as possible.

You can mix loaches, but only in large groups. You must have atleast five of each species. I have five rostrata and six histrionica. They school together and sleep and eat together. But still, they generally stick to their own kind most of the time.

[shazam26]

For the moment, I've put the fish buying on hold due to the limited amount of space. -_- Ten gallons is a measley home, but it's a temporary one. I'm trying to get my paws on a 35-55 gallon now, when I move into a chalet. From there, I'll upgrade with size. I already have people who are willing to purchase my old tanks.

I'm very worried for the balas, in that case. He chases them frequently in the night, but hasn't ever done anything rough. He just hides by things and waits for them to come by. I'm not sure how much they appreciate it though! Funny thing is, sometimes they ignore him and then he wants to play with them in the bubbles. He's quite the odd fish but can sometimes go looking for trouble. More often than not though, he's cleaning plants and hanging out in his cave. The chases are always brief, and usually brought on by a trip next to the red fins cave. Also, my red fin used to chase my bala, but has never chased my loach. In fact, they're very good buddies. Why do you suppose that is? Is it the skiddish nature of the Balas that attracts the red fins to a chase? The close relation? I'm uncertain. But I've heard this red fin chasing bala sharks story quite often.
I'll tell Byron to keep an eye on that red fin, and if he seems to be going beyond protecting his territory, or a bit of play, he needs his own home I'm afraid. I wouldn't want harm coming to those balas!