loach companions

[kaz]

Hi

Can anyone out there tell me which loaches i could safely add to my tank of already 3 botia almorhae. I feel 3 is still too few but i only have a small 40 litre tank, and this may be full capacity already? Any suggestions welcomed.

Cheers, Kaz

[palaeodave]

I think you really need to get a bigger tank already. Yoyo's grow shockingly fast so in a few months the three you already have will need more space. I've got 5 in a 180litre tank and I get the feeling that I should get them in a bigger tank when they're all fully grown. Great fish to have though, give them some space and they fly about all over the place!

[kaz]

yea thanks, this has been a worry for me, having such a small tank for them. Two of them are about 4cm and the other almost 3cm. The bigger ones Iv had for a year. Have i been stunting their growth keeping them in too small a tank?

Kaz

[palaeodave]

They're tiny! I'm not really sure about the whole growth stunting thing, you'll have to wait for a reply from somebody who knows more about it than I do. At the size they're at I personally don't think they're being too hard done by, but they'll probably reach 2-3 inches in a matter of months. Then they'd definately appreciate some more space to play with.

[kaz]

They are indeed tiny Thanks for your advice...off to the local "fish shop" i go to peruse new larger tanks me thinks! (Damn, should have asked for a new tank for xmas, he he.)

Cheers,
Kaz

[palaeodave]

Check out tanks on ebay. Get as large a tank as possible for what you can afford (just to feed the addiction really)! Free Ads in your local paper too. With any luck you'll get something so much bigger than you'd be able to afford new.

[grizzlyone]

ww.craigslist.org is a great place for tanks. Sometimes you can get them for free if you are fast....also check out some of the fish clubs...alot of times they have either classifieds or swapmeets.


Kevin

[mikev]

Hi, Kaz,

You did not say how long you had them, but probably very short time. If you feed them, they would not stay at 1" for very long, 3" within 3-4 months is quite possible.

You need *at least* a 30g asap, and 55g would be better...so you would not have to move them again.

And you need 2 more yoyo's...

[brett_fishman]

you should do what im doing and get a 55g.
then you can have around 8 of these little buggers

-brett.

[poeticpyro]

8 of them yes, but then pretty much no other fish... however i love yo-yos and they're very active and sweet. two of mine eat out of my hand if i want them to. 55 gal is good, 75 gal is the same thing (length usually), just taller... thus giving you some room for plecos or a school of fish!

[brett_fishman]

i agree with you except this:
55s and 75s are the same height..

this is L x W x H:
the 55 is 48x13x20
the 75 is 48x18x20

the 75 is just 5" 'deeper' than the 55..meaning its longer from front to back.


-brett.

[kaz]

Thanks guys for all your advice...

I will have a look on ebay and prob search for a 30 or 55g depending on my funds and whether or not i can borrow some crinckly bits of paper from mummy's purse (with permission of course!!).

My loaches are a year old already and are approx 1.5/ 2 - 2.5inches (being the biggest). The shop I got them from said they would only grow to 2.75inches max!

I will look into getting 2 more loaches, but was wondering if a different type of loach would be able to share the tank happily with the yoyo's? I quite like the zebra loaches too. hhmm.

Brett, how big are your yoyo's (nothing rude meant in any way!)?

Kaz

[helen nightingale]

Kaz i have just put my groups of yoyos and striata (zebras) in a tank together, and after a couple of teritory battles they seem to be getting on well together. its a bit of a pro and con situatution really as to what you choose to get. striata will stay smaller than the yoyos, but it would really be ideal for you to have bigger groups of both species. maybe if you want yoyos and striata you could get the zebras for now (well, once you have upgraded) and then get a bigger tank when you have more wedge so as you can have 5 or 6 at least of both species?

[kaz]

Hi Helen. Yes, that is indeed helpful. Many thanks. I do prefer the smaller loaches. And to end up with say 5 of each sort would be great. Kaz

[brett_fishman]

kaz, my 2 yoyos are stunted...they havent grown in the last few months..
i have them in my 10g. with a platy and they're around 2.5" each...

im not sure which route to do:
put 6 new yoyos in a 55g. then add my 2 (my 2 smaller, stunted yoyos might get bullied)
or
put all 8 new yoyos in a 55g. and keep my 2 in the 10g.

im not sure if they'd grow if i put them in a 55...maybe?


-brett.