Hello from Prince George, BC, Canada
Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:29 am
I'm new to LOL, and hope an intro post is OK here. I'm a fairly recent loach fanatic, even though I have kept tropical fish off and on for around 50 years. Right now I have a modest 33 gal community tank, that includes 5 clown loaches (one 3" and four 1" - oh how I regret not getting a group from the start) and 4 B. kubotai (what a delightful fish). In addition I have four Cory's, two Synodontis eupterus, one Ancistrus sp (3) bushynose pleco, and a small school of black neon and silvertip tetras. I had four kuhli loaches, but they mysteriously vanished - I am suspicious of the largest Syno having something to do with that. Both the Syno's and the CL will force me to get a bigger tank, although I am thinking of replacing the Synos with a small school of S. nigriventis. The CL will probably give me a year or two since they seem to grow slowly - the bigger one I have is about 4-5 years old (or is that because I keep it in a tank that's too small?) As stated on LOL, it is a shame that LFSs don't keep B. striata or other mild-mannered smallish loaches rather than CL, but the flip argument is that the CL is one of the more strikingly colored freshwater fish, and the name is very well chosen. My bigger one is a constant source of entertainment. He (or is it a she?) tries to break up skirmishes among the B. kubotai, he has figured out that he can pick up pieces of algae disks and take them to a secluded spot where he can eat in peace for a few minutes until he gets discovered by the kubotai or one of the Synos. In the latter case he'll try to muscle the catfish out of the way. Usually that fails, so he picks up the disk and goes somewhere else. Back and forth he goes until all the disks are consumed. He has made my heart skip a beat when sleeping on his side, but of course he rights himself as soon as you approach the tank. If there ever was a fish with personality - the CL has to be it! I have started taking pictures with some success, so I will post eventually. Anyway, if there are other loach fanatics in northern BC I'd like to hear from you. Otherwise I look forward to getting all the great advice from experts and others like myself from LOL.
Home fishkeeping has changed much in your amount of fish keeping time.