Loaches Online Forum

Howdy,

I'm paranoid and dealing with my first loaches. Any insight would be welcome.


3 weeks ago I purchased 3 Botia kubotai http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-kubotai an put them in a 10 gallon QT tank. They only stayed there for a week, 5 days to be exact, and I went ahead and put them in my 46 gallon tank. Yea, way to short a QT but ...

While they were in QT I noticed 2 liked to hang around each other while one always liked to hide in my cave.

Fast forward to today.

They are living in a 6 month old 46 gallon bowfront with Corys, Neon Rainbows, a female ram, a Betta, and some rasbora. The tank is moderately planted, borderline heavy. My nitrates typically drop to 0. I try to do weekly 50% water changes and get there most weeks. Ammonia and nitrites are 0, checked weekly now.

Nightly, and in the morning, I see 2 of my loaches playing around, eating what's left of the snails, and doing the up and down dance on the glass. I haven't seen the third loach in days.

They live in a plastic stump with a hole halfway up. A nice hiding place without any sharp edges to get hurt on.

Should I assume the worst, or are some loaches so shy they only come out late at night? If he's dead in there what should I expect to have happen? A rise in water pollution? Right now it's crystal clear.

I'll end this with a photo of the tank. The loach motel is the stump thingy on the left.

well ive had a kubotai or two cozy up in a stump then die. after not seeing him even during feeding time after a week i lifted his stump and he came pouring out dead if you havent seen him it may be a good idea to check.

I'd definately take the stump out & have a look. If he's alive, great & that will serve him right for hiding for so long. I hate that, when you get a new fish & he never lets you see him. I always give 'em a prod for the first few days.

I would go ahead and check the stump.
Your tank is very nice by the way.

I've had times where a loach will disappear for several weeks only to reappear looking just fine. I know others on the forum have had the same experience. I think it's probably fine but if you're feeling anxious about it, go ahead and take a look.

Think of it as an oppurtunity for maintenance

Gorgeous looking tank btw

palaeodave wrote:Gorgeous looking tank btw

Agreed !! Simply stunning !!

I had posted on here in a panic myself because I couldn't find all six of my recently-de-quarantined Sidthimunkis. They eventually all reappeared, and now I can count six almost every day. I think maybe it just takes some fish longer to feel safe enough to come out. But if you are pretty sure you know where they're hiding, I'd definitely check it out to be sure. I can't stand the thought of dead bodies in my tank.

and yeah, your tank is gorgeous! I love all the different colors and textures you've got in your plants.

Lovely tank!
Dittoe everyone else, yes, Loaches hide, yours may very well be just fine, but better safe than sorry, lift that stump. Good excuse to vacuum the poop out from under it, anyway.

Dead fish in the stump will rather quickly make the tank smell like a dead fish. Ammonia can rise quite a bit as it decomposes, but the plants might be able to utilize the ammonia as fast as it is produced.

Thanks for the replies and compliments.

I gave the stump a little shaking when I did my last plant trim and nothing emerged, though I know the 2 live ones were inside. I'll be a little more vigorous next water change and see if anything dead or alive comes out the bottom.

Just moving the stump stirred up a lot of gunk the gravel vacs don't get too, though the tank cleared quickly. I'll start checking Ammonia levels every day just in case.

Oh, and the water does not smell so hopefully everything is ok.

I would lift the stump. Anytime I've shaken or nudged an ornament a loahc was in, it would only further stay inside and not come out, or hide in an even more tight spot in the ornament. It knows your out to get him, lol. I would life the stump and see, also... maybe check the filter? It could have jumped into there... it's happened to me before

Oh BTW, nice tank. Bow fronts are soo cool. If those are real vals in the front (which they look like they are to me) they might grow and then block some of your cool scenary in the future =\

Good news, I caught all 3 of them out this morning, just for a few seconds. I had to blink and re-count. Then #3, once he realized someone was watching, vanished. All look healthy, thank goodness.

The tall stuff in front is supposed to be Pygmie Chain Sword or some other kind of micro sword.

Great news !!

He he

We have 5 S. Wui in our river tank. Not that you'd know. The are very secretive and love hiding. We see them occasionally or a tail sticking out whenever there is a P. Cheni scuffle under the stones!

We also have 3 Amano shrimps, the tank has been set up and the shrimps have been in there since the end of April. We thought 1 or more of them had died or been eaten but yesterday we saw all 3. Hurrah!