Setting up a Loach Tank

[Jennym_44]

Hello, I have just joined the this site having recently set up a community tank and been in lots of fish shops I have totally fallen in love with cheeky Loaches!!!.

I would now like to go one step further and set up a tank that is dedicated to Loaches and would like some advice please

I am looking into a tank around 4ft long, 1.5ft high and 1.5ft deep. We currently have 2 Clowns and a Horseface Loach in our community tank but I have read that they are better kept in larger groups of at least 5.

My question really is do you need a minimum of 5 of each type of loach if they are a schooling fish or can you mix and match?

Which types of loaches go together best? or is it a good idea to have a tank dedicated to one type of loach?

I have a horseface loach and a plec that will also be living in the tank.

Any ideas, advice or tips would be grately received as I really would like to get this right.

Thanks
Jen

[Total Package]

You can mix them. They tend to do pretty well with similar species. I keep B. kubotai, B. almorhae, and B. striata in the same tank without any trouble. In general, you can mix loaches with same genus and be fine. They tend to have very similar requirements and temperaments.

With similar species, they don't interact with them as closely as they do with the same species IME.

Clown loaches go well with any of the Botia species.

[Martin Thoene]

Hi Jen and welcome to Loaches Online.

I'll firstly direct you to this excellent article by Emma Turner:

http://www.loaches.com/articles/an-intr ... ping-botia

(In case you have not seen it) Total Package is correct in the fact that Botia species will mix, but because they have such complex social structures you will see far more interesting interactions if you have more of one species. Quite often it's a case of the more the merrier.

In your size tank you should be looking at groups of the smaller species. Forget Clowns, modesta or such-like unless you can hand on heart say that you will upgrade to a much bigger tank in the future because they will definitely need it.

Loads more articles here which will teach you a lot:

http://www.loaches.com/articles

Martin.

[helen nightingale]

how about striata or kubotai? you could fit nice groups into a 4 foot tank, and they are pretty fish that wont get right big.

im glad to see that you have got hooked on loaches and want to set up a tank for them. they are definately addictive

[Emma Turner]

Hi Jen and welcome to Loaches Online.

The more you can keep of one particular species of Botia, the happier they will be. Not only is this much more natural for them, but you will be also be rewarded with the wonderful sights of their natural social behaviours. One or two larger groups are better than just one or two specimens of several different species.

Unfortunately, your existing tank is not going to be suitable for clown loaches for any length of time. If you honestly cannot see yourself getting a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft or larger, then it is probably best to rehome your clowns with someone who can provide them with the space they need, and have a look at some of the smaller Botiine loaches. Helen's suggestions of Botia striata and B. kubotai are excellent, and you could also look at B. rostrata or B. histrionica. Your Horsefaced Loach could also do with more of it's own kind, although they do not strictly shoal as such, they are more than aware of the presence of their own kind and enjoy company.

Good luck and feel free to ask away if you have any questions. You've come to the best place for advice on loaches.

Emma

[Jennym_44]

Unfortunately we had a disaster today, and have lost nearly all of the fish in our community tank including Horseface who I had become extremly attached too.

We have had some kind of virus or disease that has just wiped out our entire tank in a matter of hours.

Has anyone had a simlar experience of this sort of thing, they dont appear to have any marks on them, the only sign of distress they show is gasping for air, dispite having a good filter, plenty of bubbles from the pump and an air stone???

[Jennym_44]

Forgot to say thank you for all of advice and tips, its been a bit of a bad day but I do really appreciate it!

Jen

[Emma Turner]

Hi Jen, sorry to hear the sad news.

The first thing you need to do is test the water for ammonia and nitrIte, as chances are this is water quality related.

You can increase the aeration by angling any internal filter returns up towards the water's surface (same with any powerheads that you may have on the tank) or if you have a spraybar return from an external filter, you can drop the water level in the tank by an inch or so, which will cause the returning water to splash down and agitate the water's surface. Airstones are more decorative than anything and do not add a huge amount of oxygen to the water. The only oxygen they will add is where the bubbles break at the water's surface. Therefore the more surface agitation you have on the tank, the better. One other thing to check is the temperature, make sure your heater has not malfunctioned.

Let us know what results you get for the water tests.

Good luck,

Emma

[Jennym_44]

All the water tests came back with in the normal range, we tested for ammonia, nitrites, PH the whole lot!. Its left us totally baffled. We had dropped the water level in the tank to increase the water disturbance and added an airstone but and after a 50% water change they didnt seem to look any better.

We have now lost all of the fish and its just a mystery to what might have caused it.

Luckily its not the tank planned for my loaches!

[Total Package]

What were the actual values for ammonia, nitrite and pH?

Have you recently changed/overcleaned the filter?

Added more fish in the last week?

Any external signs of disease on the fish? bloating, spots, fast breathing, redness?

[LoachOrgy]

sorry to hear jen. i had that happen not too long ago!

i had my tank heaters short out a few times. and heat up the tank to ridiculously high temps. also i had one junk out and shock the entire tank with a few volts. lost half my fish. maybe try taking a look at the heater. but who knows what the problem is.