Loaches Online Forum

Is there a sugested minium tank height requirement for a stream tank?

nope, you could have a river tank that is 5" deep if you want...of course it has to be suitable for the fish...but who would want a 5" tall tank?!

-brett.

12" is a practical minimum. Anything less severely limits your aquascaping possibilities.

Martin.

yes, but you dont have to have plants..?
you could just have rocks..like in nature..

wait..are we talking about river tanks or 'stream' tanks??
what fish would go in a stream tank?

-brett.

Any loach tank should be considered a river tank, Brett. Loaches live in rivers. A stream tank implies faster water flow, perhaps unidirectional flow as in the hillstream tank. While rounded rocks and pebbles are a must for these sorts of tanks, some plants do grow in riffles and your tank will be more attractive if you include plants.

Some of us believe that proper sucker-bodied hillstream loaches require a higher flow hillstream tank than the brook loaches - the Nemacheilline fish with the torpedo shaped bodies. I kept a large brook tank for some time that worked incredibly well for brook loaches, but not well at all for hillstream species.

So you're talking about rate of flow more than anything. Tanks with zero plants are unattractive, IMO, and they do not simulate the natural surroundings where these wild-caught fish are collected.

mark,
in my head, a 'river tank' is defined as a tank with the 'river tank manifold' design...whereas a tank with high-flow filters and a powerhead is not...

for example, the 75 gallon i am getting wouldnt be defined as a 'river tank' IMO, but it would have two high-flow filters and 1-2 powerheads...thus, providing quite a bit of flow..but no uni-directional flow..

if you catch my drift.. (lame pun intened )

-brett.

Then what did you mean by "stream tank"?

I think I know what you meant, and I don't mean to sound lecture-y. But it's worth thinking of even the smallest loach tank for even the smallest loaches as a river tank. It's helpful to differentiate between the needs of the different groups of loaches in a way that is consistent. Kuhlis and dojos, Botiine loaches, Nemacheilline loaches, and finally the proper sucker bodied Balitorids. Each group of fish requires different temperature, oxygen content and water flow, and in some cases food.

If you mean hillstream tank or hillstream loach, you should be saying "hillstream." Sorry to split hairs.

when i say 'river tank' i do indeed mean 'hillstream tank'..i will say that from now on...any tank that uses the high-flow river tank manifold..haha

i didnt know what they meant for stream tank...that why i asked about the fish, but that doesnt include the loaches, all loaches are stream fish...but i meant like..danios, barbs, what??

i dont know about flow in a stream tank, maybe a lower-flow river tank manifold?! that would be sweet...since yoyos, zebras and the like wouldnt be suitable for a full-speed river tank...i dont think..

and yes, i realize that all loaches NEED a good flow in their tank..


-brett.

Well i have some plexi kicking around and figure if I cut in half I could patch work it together making it longer, and if I already did one patch why not 2 or 3, just a thought that i had. Not exactly a good looking tank from the out side, unless I made the stand suport at the same spot and just made it come up in front of the patch. I get these wierd ideas somtimes that I like to see what every one else thinks.
On the plant front some of the Cryptocoryne, or Aponogeton could work depending on flow rate. Cryptocoryne wendtii comes to mind, I remeber seeing pictures of it in the wild with only its roots in the water.

If you planned that out and did a stand, tank, and hood I think you could make a very attractive, very long tank.

I like the idea of a very long unidirectional flow tank, once you you get the water moving it will keep going, and you could vary the water speed by adding more rocks in areas less in others.