Loaches Online Forum

how long would you expect to take for severe agression to take place? the reason I ask is I just lost 3 and 2 look well beat up. I only got them in on Thursday, I figured that they would be ok for awhile being in a quriateen tank pluss since they are still young. Tank was small, but had a good amount of current round gravel and a couple of big rocks to break up the current. Just want an opion or did they die from somthin they came in with then get beat up either from the 2 that are left or from the current. I can not tell what the water conditions are, but part of the reason for the small tank was so that all of the water in it was from a tank that has been runnig for 4-5 yrs.

You need to test the water to rule out poor water quality, but my guess would be aggression.

This was my worry with this species suddenly becoming so widely available, and shops selling them for standard community type set-ups. I'm not saying that you were going to put yours in an unsuitable set up, because clearly you are catering for their high flow requirements, but I am sure many people will.

We don't tend to have problems with them at the shop, because although the stock tanks are fairly small, we stock them quite highly. The number you have placed into a small quarantine tank could result in the serious aggression I've seen previously in this species. When we start to sell through of this species, I'll be separating the remainder into individual tanks so that they can't pick on each other in the confines of a small tank.

With this species, aggression doesn't tend to wait to develop. Even immediately after import they start squabbling.

Emma

Thanks for the info. I figure that water should have been good because there was no lack in eating, pluss with being aged water. Being an tankbuster keeper for the most part, and some others. Caused my lack of judgement I guess that the nicest way I can put. Keep finding out the hard way that for some reason Loaches have there own rules. I think I need a new rule book.

Even if you used aged water it probably wasn't enough if you didn't also use mature filter media in the tank as well, since most of the nitrification bacteria lives in the filter and other surfaces in the tank, not the water.

It would be prudent to test for the sake of the fish you still have left.

Over filter the buggers

Remember no filter is bigger than a river!

aged floss, pluss about a gallon water change from the big tank dailly just incase. The 2 that are left were moved into the big tank not eaxctly happy about the idea but it was out of my hands my wife thought the same that it was water quality, and moved them into the big tank guess it is eaiser to treat a disease if one should arise, than dead.

Let us know how they get on, Jeremy. You should find that in a larger tank with plenty of visual barriers, these remaining two will get on ok.

Emma

My Q-tank has 4 in and they all look in pristine condition. There is some rushing at one another, but no biting. The tank is a 20 gallon long with loads of bogwood with some Microsoreum pterops (Windelov) growing on it, so there's loads of cover.



For filtration and water-movement there are an Aquaclear 150 HOB, 2 Rena 225 internal filters, a cor with carbon in it, but powered by a small powerhead and a little 404 mini powerhead. LOTS of water-movement.



Martin.

Yeah, I basically just didn't unnderstand what I was dealling with, to me a Q-tank is pretty much empty I thought i was actually puting to much in it, that was unfortunally very wrong. And I thought my monster SA's had alot of agression to each other at least with them you got a little while and some noticble agression before it gets out of hand. Well at least I know now.

I saw them at a lfs today, perhaps 30 in a tank. A bloodbath: some dead, many wounded, and the fighting was still going on. (Interesting: the ones Frank has were peaceful, these were nuts, possibly the reason is that these were somewhat larger, 1.5"-2").

Very beautiful, of course.....

I suggested spreading them over other tanks which they did.... hopefully they will not exterminate other fish....

I figure I should give every one an update. The 2 I have left are doing great in the bigger tank. A interesting thing is that now the seem to actually hang out together at times.

Now, $1M question:

Many loaches are unusually aggressive in a new environment, until they feel confident. My schisturas started with attacking each other and dither as well, but rather quickly became pussycats, smaller hillstreams easily chase them away.

Is it possible that Balteata is like this too? -- in other words, if one can keep them from killing each other during the first month (how?), one can safely keep several of them?

Hmmmm. My eight were together for some time before they started picking each other off, leaving just the two. I think it was as they matured, the aggression heightened.

Emma