Coldwater 98 litre tank - what pretty loach will work?

[dddjjj]

Any suggestions appreciated, pictures even better

[Diana]

How cold is 'Cold' ?
How much filtration and water movement?
Do you have other fish in there already?

[dddjjj]

Well its just normal temperature really, i have a few tiny Koi carp and a couple of goldfish and a golden mirror who is also tiny.

Just bought a new tank which is pretty huge and a bit bare at the moment. Its just room temperature really, i have a heater but I dont want to use it unless neccesary as the carp are happy as it is. I could probably crank it on and heat the tank a little if neccesary as the carp dont mind a little heat too much - but basically its just room temperature in the UK.

Does that help?

Cheers

[Martin Thoene]

This depends on your definition of "pretty". Most of the loaches I can think of that fit the bill are now banned from import to England so you are kind of stuck. Your tank is too small for weather loaches...in fact once your current fish start to grow it's going to be too small for them.

Martin.

[dddjjj]

I agree that i will need a bigger tank in the future but at the moment the fish are tiny so quite content in 98 litres of water. I forgot to add i have a very good filter & aeriation unit as well!
it is all quite new to me but i want to make it as nice as possible.
I saw the weather loach but they do need a bit of room and they are not ideal really.
i was looking at a few stripy chaps who grow about 2 inches long that might fit the bill but i am concerned the tank will be too cold for them.
i am considering buying 1 or two loaches primarily as clean up operators and obviously want them to be happy in there.
Clearly the people here know a lot about them so i was hoping someone could make a few suggestions. I was unaware about the import rules i have to say. however if i know what i am looking for i am sure i can find it somewhere!
Any thoughts? (thanks)

[Martin Thoene]

Here's a report about import restrictions:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... p?news=958

Martin.

[Diana]

The Goldfish family of fish (koi, carp...) grow so fast that you will need larger accommodations for them in just a few months. I would actually spend time looking for a significantly larger tank now, and getting it set up, rather than looking for tank mates that will further crowd the tank you have.
Here is one way of looking at the stocking of a tank with fish that are known to be messier than the average fish (This describes your fish)

Figure that for every centimeter of length of your fish, up to about 5 cm, they will need about 3-4 liters of water. Your tank is only 98 liters, so maximum stocking will be about 25-30 cm.
Even if your fish are young, and are only half that size today, they will double in size by the end of the summer.
By the time these fish are over 5 cm in length they will need more like 8-10 liters per cm of fish. Think of a tank in the thousand liters + for about half a dozen Koi, Golds, Carp at about 30cm on up. (Koi can reach a meter, though that takes time)
Then you can use the little tank as a quarantine tank for medicating, or isolating new fish.

[Diana]

Martin, that is a pretty extensive list. Is trade in these species permitted, for example, if hobbyist or commercially bred within GB? Is this just an import restriction?

[dddjjj]

Hi again,
thanks Diana and Martin for your advice, really useful actually.
The Koi really are tiny, about 5 cm each i suppose at the moment.
Does that mean that really the tank is pretty much full for the moment?

by the way, one of these tiny fish is definately a mirror carp, I can see by the scale formation he is a linear mirror, but hes GOLD!

So is he a golden mirror carp OR a Koi like the other two who are fully scaled, one gold, one silver? I have been wondering this for ages as I have never heard of or seen a golden mirror carp like this little baby.

Thanks for the advice. maybe i should hold of getting anything else for the tank and just enjoy what i have. They do spend a lot of time on the bottom though, maybe a loach is not ideal, i dont want the fish distressed as they seem pretty content.

Shame really as i rather wanted a loach or two. Is it not a good plan then?

Thanks.

[Diana]

Can you post some pics of the baby? Especially a close up of the mouth area. In general this fish family does seem to have lots of variations, so a different color combined with unusual reflective qualities is probably not unknown.

How many total fish do you have now, and what sizes are they?
How soon can you get a significantly larger tank?
You can easily figure that babies like these (mostly under 5 cm) will double in size in just a month or two, and may well reach 4+ inches (10+ cm) by the end of the year. The carp family grows FAST.

While they are bottom fish, they can be tempted into spending more time higher up in the tank by providing decorations such as driftwood and floating plants that make them feel safer higher up, and offer some food to search for among the leaves. The problem is that most of these fish will eat almost every plant you might try. Perhaps buying some plants out of the food budget would work: buy the plant with the intent that it is to be eaten, and the fish get some salad in their diet.

[dddjjj]

hi Diana,
Thanks again, thats a really good idea!
i dont mind if they want something to destroy and the driftwood is a great idea.
yes i will take a photo of him tonight and stick it on this forum. maybe someone will be able to tell me what he is.
With regards to the bigger tank, I can get one when they need it without too much problem as we have a great place down the road flogging tanks at half price at the moment.
Must do some work, will post that pic

[dddjjj]

I forgot to add there are 5 fish, one tiny round goldfish who looks a football and eats for England, one pink goldfish who may well be rather old, he is the biggest at about 7-8cm, and two little koi's and the golden mirror who are all babies about 5-6cm long.

[Diana]

7-8 cm is just a young one.
Google "Bruce Big Goldfish" for a picture and brief story of a good sized goldfish.