Aquarium Info

Archive for the ‘Loaches’ Category

I have a 10g tank with a gravel bottom, and the gravel looks pretty cool, but i was wondering if there would be any benefit to getting sand instead. I personally think that sank would look cooler than gravel, but will it do anything differently?
Mainly, will the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate-eating bacteria grow any different?
Will my little snails (theyre actually baby Mystery snails, not the bad ones that take over) still bury themselves in the sand?
I have a dojo loach, will it enjoy the sand anymore than gravel? I’ve read that they like softer substrates because they move along the bottom instead of swimming.
Can a large snail still move in sand? It seems like thatd be relatively hard for them.

Ok so This is my tank. 7 red tail Rosabora and 4 female bettas. I just got 2 of my dream fish the Bolivian Ram today. I am so excited. I am getting them ready for the tank by useing the drip method. Right now all my fish are young so they are not full grown yet. only 1 to 2″

Here is my question. What would you do? I have those fish but I really want 3 Yo Yo Loach and a Candy stripe Pleco. If I add those fish to the ones I have now that would be too much for a 36Gl tank I think.

SO should I just get my bettas a 10Gl tank and just keep them in that. Or should I put all the fish together?

I am pretty sure I know the answer. I am just wondering what other people think.

So the new tank set up would be.
2 rams (4″ each)
3 Yo yo loaches ( 3″each )
1 Candy stripe pleco (only get 4″)
7 red tail Rosaboras. ( 2″ each)

And a 10GL tank just for my betta girls.

OR should I just leave the tank as is and maybe add a candy Pleco and call it a day?
My bad I said Bolivian Ram They are Blue rams. I know they are a little tricky to care for but I am so ready for a challenge. My tap water is also Natural very soft. I checked my water before I got them and it is fully cycled and I have a ph of 6.5 or a little lower. I have live plants so that helps keep any nitrates down.
So far the betta just have been checking out the Rams. The Rams don’t really care about them. They are loving exploring all the plants.

the loach species are relatively small: zebra (striata), yoyo and ladder, all between 2-3″. they’ve formed a shoal but the alpha is still a little agro so i think one more would help curb aggression. same reasoning goes behind wanting 4 f. bettas. since bettas are usually top and loaches are bottom, is an 18 gal allright for this? i know the queen loach can get up to 6″.

I am using the site www.thinkfish.co.uk. It has a community creator section that enables you to design your aquarium stock list taking into consideration, stocking levels and compatibility. I am a bit worried about how accurate the stock levels are. I have a Juwel Rio 125 (125 litres/ 33 Gallons). The site suggests I can stock up to 174.96cm of fish and my wish list of fish is calculated to being 108cm. Well under guide stock level. But… the list looks overstocked to me:

5 Honey Gourami
2 Bolivian Ram (paired)
2 Otocinclus
10 Neon Tetra
8 Checkered Barb (2 male, 6 female)
2 Japonica Shrimp
3 Zebra Loach

Please note I have chosen peaceful breeds of Roach, Rams and Barb to make sure the tetras wont get bullied or eaten. The site specifically marks these as good tankmates for neon tetra and they are meant to be hand picked

I’m not adding all the fish in one go obviously but what are your thoughts before I buy any fish?
According to the site I am way under stocking levels anyway.
As you say about the must have fish, I was thinking along the same lines as you but in terms of keeping some fry if I’m lucky enough to have some.
As for the tetra school size. I’d really like to see my tetras comfortable in a nice big school, plus it would look great seeing a group of 10 rushing to the ends of the tank together
Thanks for the advice so far folks,

Checkered barbs are the one thing I can’t change now. I have already 5 of the 8 (1 male and 3 female. I’ll be adding one more male for competition for the existing male and 2 more females).

They aren’t as bullying as other barbs that’s why I chose them to keep my options open. The ones I have are very peaceful and the females are schooling nicely in the open. They just suffer a very randy male. In fact I have named him Randy haha

I’ve got some really nice looking active ones (made sure I had the ones the shop keeper struggled most to catch)

Thanks for the advice on the plants. I am going to get some more this weekend because it is a bit sparce for plants. I ended up throwing out some grass because i couldnt get it to stay in the bogwood I have. I’m going to get a bigger fern because my current barbs love the little fern I have and i’ll get some floating plants too because I read they like hiding in the roots
Ok I’ve decided to add more plants as said. I think i’ll remove the gourami from the list and add another oto and seriously reconsider the rams.

Ok, I have just aquired a 40 gallon tank and have it set up with live plants, heated, etc.. I currently have a male betta and some corydoras. I want to add some cool fish that are of decent size (but won’t kill my betta, he’s been a good guy). I was about to get angels or gourami but heard they might be too aggressive.

What might some good fish be for this set up? I am debating putting the betta elsewhere and getting cichlids or something like that. Also I am REALLY fond of Clown Loaches, but don’t think it would be fair for them in a tank smaller than 75 gallons. Would a Yoyo (Pakistani) Loach be okay in this set up?

Any suggestions? I just want a nice, neat tank to view while keeping all my fish happy and healthy.
Thanks!