Zebra Loaches?

[Hell Fire]

Im debating what Loaches to get next. Ive been looking at zebra, dwarf, or yo yo or something similar.
Quite like the Zebras, whos got them and whats ur experiences with them? Im used to keeping clowns but love loaches and want something else thats not too large like clowns.
Any suggestions?

[poeticpyro]

i have botia striatas and i totally love them! i also have yo-yos, they get bigger than the zebras and are also a great personality... any specific questions, just ask!

[Tery]

Straita's and kuhlies were my first loaches, Love em both. The straitas aren't as shy as the kuhlies and not nearly as boistrous (or as big) as the yoyos. Mine were very vocal as youngsters, but grew out of it mostly. Which is kind of a shame.

[Mike Ophir]

Zebra loaches, Botia striata, are a very peaceful and sociable species. They prefer to be kept in groups of 4 or more. They can frequently be seen rummaging around in the substrate for left over bits of food, emulating the behavior in the wild of searching for worms or other prey items they feed on. Do not keep this species with aggressive fish as they will not fare well in such situations. Similarly, be sure to provide sufficient amounts of plant cover and places of refuge such as a cave, rock formations, drift wood, etc. Botia striata especially enjoy snails and bloodworms if such items can be provided to vary the diet. Snails commonly come in with plant shipments and frozen bloodworms can be bought at most local pet stores.

They get to a maximum size of about 4 inches and remain peaceful. Provide water conditions for this fish as you would for Clown Loaches.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[Emma Turner]

Highly recommended! To me, Botia striata are the 'ideal' loach and I wish more stores would carry these as a 'must have' instead of clowns, which are unsuitable for all but the largest of tanks.

Here's a pic of one of my dad's adult B. striata. Beautiful markings I think you'll agree.


Emma

[helen nightingale]

your Dad has a stunning fish, Emma. i love the different shades of yellow. Hell Fire i'd say get zebras as i love them too. they are less inclined to have a mean streak, though my largest one has proved himself to be a tough nut when it comes to his cave and his food

[Hell Fire]

Hi, Thanks very much people, i already knew about the care and what to provide etc just really trying to decide the bets lol. Had a look today at both, they both have lovely markings and seem to both have good personalities i just want some sort of tie breaker, may flip a coin!!!!
My Clowns were always vocal and fun to watch too, there lovely and just want a wider variety of loaches, i already have a nice tank set aside for them with just some pencil fish a bristlenose and some platies in. LOTS of plants and caves etc so now its decicion time!!

[crazy loaches]

Emma, that pic is stunning, how big is that straita? Looks full grown. I cant wait till mine get that size, there all less than ayear in my tank and I have seen there stripes start dividing a little here and there.

I posted these a couple weeks ago so I just copy and pasted the code:





Striatas are great loaches, especially for average size tanks were clowns arent a good option. I have 6 or 7 of these, not really sure to be honest. They seem to come out more than any other loach I have had. Sometimes they go off foraging individually but are most of the time either all together or loosely schooling around.

My main gripe is that there is only 1 or two lfs around that have them, and I only see them in stock once in a while. Clowns and yoyo's are always in stock but these guys are hard to get. IMO though these are probably one of the best loach choices for the average aquarist.

[Hell Fire]

You both have lovely looking zebras! (fish type not african lol)
Well they are definatly a better choice than clown too true. My clowns were fantastic and i had the room for them which was the main thing. I lost them all a while back due to a horific accident! You may of seen my very upset post
So now im looking at something different as i miss my clowns terible but wouldnt mind something a bit smaller for now, as said i had the room but the clowns werent out that often so the tank was looking empty most of the time bar the tetras! Yet my other clowns that i had before were out all the time. Odd.
So im off to get 5 Zebras!!!! Ill post some pics as soon as i can (if i can make them small enough!!)

[crazy loaches]

Good luck with the zebra's hopefully you can get some, they seem to be rare around here. Although I dont go in the lfs all that often, I actually didnt see them for nearly two years. I just had a lone one all that time. As soon as I saw them again I got a bunch, but the poor original fellow is still not very social but slowly comming out more and more. So remember, keep em in a school of 5 or more

[Emma Turner]

Emma, that pic is stunning, how big is that straita? Looks full grown.

Thank you!

This fish is approx 3.5" TL, so not fully grown yet. Nice and chunky though!

Hell Fire - I hope you managed to find some B. striata.

Emma

[Hell Fire]

Well we seem to be quite lucky here as the LFS stocks a good selection and most of the ones here have zebras, im off now to get some Guna get 5 if i can as this is the min to keep really. But if they only have 3 or 4 ill still get them and wait for another load to come in. Im very lucky that one LFS im very good mates with and he actually orders fish in if i want them! But he already stocks zebras and all dif loaches.
After they settle ill take some pics and post them.

[Hell Fire]

Well ive got them!!! Got 4 of the little criters as thats all they had left so will add anotger when they get the next lot in. There in the quarentine tank at the mo and will be for a while before i move them on. Unfortunatly the Q tanks only 7 gals but there only small and itll be ok for a few weeks. All my fish go thru it lol.
Added some pocs, sorry im not that good at taking pics of fish for some reason! Anything else im really good at!
Couldnt remember how to up load so heres the link to the photobucket page ive put them on.
There just so sweet and into everything! Dont think theyve seen real plants before the way there exploring them!!!

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p98/ ... 0_1427.jpg
ttp://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p98/Hell_Fire4/100_1419.jpg

[Hell Fire]

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[crazy loaches]

Hope they get through acclimation ok for you, and hope they get some more in stock so you can add another (or two ). I dont know why they arent more common here, just about every lfs has clown loaches but I have only seen zebras at 1 or 2 (there are a lot of lfs around here).

As for the pics, what kind of camera do you have? I think there are some good aquatic photography threads but I dont know were they are off hand. I dont mean to sound judgmental or rude, just trying to identify some of the problems...Looks like the main problems with the pic are graininess, shutter speed, and focus. Graininess might be due to low light level or too high ISO setting, among other things. I see you not using flash. I find unless I have very bright lights and still fish I need to use a flash (at an angle to the glass so it doesnt reflect back). That would also help with the shutter speed - if you dont have still fish there is no way to avoid blur from fish moving with low shutter speed. And for focus, sometimes its easier to focus on a larger object nearby and at the same distance as the fish, then move back to the fish and complete the picture. If you can do manual focus and are good at judging distance, that might be better. Just some suggestions, and I am by no means a pro photographer but enjoy doing photography. What kind of camera is it? Have you used any customized setting or auto?