Which loach?

[bic]

hi,

I have a 180l (47gal) tank with danio (choprae, pantheri), gastromyzon scitulus, beaufortia leverreti. I would a shoal of loaches but my tank temperature is 22 to 23°c for de hill stream loaches. Which species of loach i can keep in this tank? I' have some idea but I need your advice.

I like this species =>lohachata,dario,histrionica,kubotai,striata,sidthimunki,nigrolineata.

For me the better choice when i saw the temperature is lohachata,striata nigrilineata.
what do you think about that?



thank's you

[Ashleigh]

My best bet would probably be the Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata . I have no experience in keeping any of the botia loaches cooler than 25 degrees C so I am unable to comment 100%.

I know you said you were after a shoaling species but you should have a look at some of the Schistura sp as although they don't obviously shoal like the Botia do, they are very cheeky and foward. Another species that could be considered is some of the Sinibotia sp-they are a nice fish once well settled and enjoy the cooler temps.

Acanthocobitis sp (Zipper loaches) would be another choice. They do very well in large groups and are always constantly interacting with one another.

Although much of the above choice will be determined by what species you are able to get hold of in your area.



Ashleigh

[daspricey]

You cannot go wrong with Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata!

I have 4 around 2" in a 5ft tank. The tank as it stands now is 25*C without the heater on - i'de prefer it lower. It usually sits at around 22-23*C and they are doing well.

Before i added a river manifold they were quite shy apart from one in particular but since they've been in the tank with a good flow they have been very active. For example the powerheads are not on all the time, when i came in today two e swimming around towards the left of the tank but since i turned them on all four are out in the high levels loving the flow! It's fantastic! Good candidate for a river tank!

I also have some sinibotia (Probably pulchra) in the tank. They are much more shy but when you do see them they are absolutely magnificent! It is also funny to see their little faces sticking out from wood an rocks - and when you feed the tank they just nip out, get a pellet and go back to the hiding place and eat it in peace.

I also have some acanthocobitis zonalternans in a smaller tank with a slower flow. I've heard they do brilliantly in river tanks so don't dismiss them!

The only problem with them 3 is that they are generally not easy to find.
Good luck!

David

Here ore some pics of the ones mentioned

Sinibotia pulchra



Yasuhikotakia nigrolineata (As i said - they are VERY active so excuse the poor image quality)



Note in the top one his marks are faded - esp the top line, he's alsways been like this!



Acanthocobitis zonalternans

[bic]

thanks for the answer asleigh,
however when I look shistura or acanthocobitis,
they are nice fish but is not what I search. Sinibotia are very nice but I don't know if my shop can have that.
Sinibotia must be in shoal?
I like the sinibotia robusta and reevesae.
what's the maximum size of loaches can I keep in my tank?
I think 6-7loaches 4-5inch or 10 loaches 2-4inch.
Somebody has an experience to keep botia under 25°C?

Sorry for the lot of questions

thanks

edit: thanks daspricey, you keep nice fish! I prefer the nigrolineata to the sinibotia, I want an active species of loaches,
I will go to my shop to know if it's possible to have nigrolineata...
I have 2 pump in my tank and the total flow is 1400l/h, the thank capacity is 180l...The flow is ok for nigro or sini?

thanks

[Ashleigh]

thanks for the answer asleigh,
however when I look shistura or acanthocobitis,
they are nice fish but is not what I search. Sinibotia are very nice but I don't know if my shop can have that.
Sinibotia must be in shoal?
I like the sinibotia robusta and reevesae.
what's the maximum size of loaches can I keep in my tank?
I think 6-7loaches 4-5inch or 10 loaches 2-4inch.
Somebody has an experience to keep botia under 25°C?

Sorry for the lot of questions

thanks

Sinibotia robusta are a lovely species. They are fairly mild mannered as far as I remember when I had my six although they could be feisty enough with one another at times. The number of loaches will also depend on the filtration you intend to use on the tank and how often you change the water, assuming that you would do weekly maintance and have adequate filtration I would think the numbers you have stated would be about right, along side some dithers.

Sinibotia are best in a shoal, but they are not as tight a group as Botia would be. I find that mine like to have their own space now and again.

What species do you have avalible in your area?


Ashleigh

[bic]

I change weekly 20% of the water.
I can find most botia and yasuhikotakia species, for the sinibotia and other I must ask the question to my shop. It depend of the import list. Tomorrow I will go in my shop and I tell you what species I can have.

[Ashleigh]

I change weekly 20% of the water.
I can find most botia and yasuhikotakia species, for the sinibotia and other I must ask the question to my shop. It depend of the import list. Tomorrow I will go in my shop and I tell you what species I can have.

Sounds that you have a fair number of species avaliable to you

Were I am, I have to travel quite a bit to find even some of the more common Botia


Ashleigh

[bic]

Oh, I'm in good term with the shop and when I search a specie the man make everything he can to bring me that specie.
Lately I receive a command of 13danio SP TW03 pantheri, a rare specie but very pretty!
I can have lot of fish, it depend of the import.
In belgian they are lot of shop but only some one are nice. The other are bad.
thanks you for the aid.

[bic]

hi,
I was thinking about my temperature and finally I decide to keep 75°F (24°C) in my tank. With this temperature I can keep lot of loaches species.
It's the better choice to keep my danio, beaufortia and to add a loache specie.

good day