MeioFormiga Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 (edited) I'm on holidays right now, managed to catch light coming on and discovered everthing covered with tiny snails. So after talking to the kind folks at Franco's - I've decided that I want a small school of loaches. Queens or Yoyo. Currently 30 breeder (33 gallons?) is stocked with 1 gold nugget, and 1 big wood shrimp. They peacefully coexist, and tend to hang out in the same cave area at the same time. Lots of wood with lots of little hidey holes, 1 slow growing sword (might move it out of tank if going to be molested) and lots of Windelov fern. 1 AC300, and a MP600 for movement. Is this realistic to have a small school of Botiine in there? 3, 4, or 5? Is that too small of a school? Will I be taxing the filter/biological capabilities? I'm very slow to add livestock, and tend to be over cautious about these things. I don't like losing fish, and want everyone to be happy. Edited January 30, 2009 by MeioFormiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 28, 2009 Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 In a tank that size you could easily house a school of 4-6 small loaches. Adding them all at once may not be a good idea, as the imediate impact in bioload may not be handled by your filter. Right now your filter (beneficial bacteria) is used to processing waste for you pleco and shrimp. If you add a couple each week, you should be OK, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeioFormiga Posted January 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2009 Cool, do you have any experiences with these guys? They're one of favourites to watch, always look for them when I go to a fish store. Out of the 2, Queens or Yoyos? Are they gonna eat my wood shrimp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Cool, do you have any experiences with these guys? They're one of favourites to watch, always look for them when I go to a fish store. Out of the 2, Queens or Yoyos? Are they gonna eat my wood shrimp? I really like my yoyos but have never had queens. They love their brine shrimp pellets too so I'd make sure the wood shrimp is big enough not to get eaten. They do like to be in groups too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) I have 4 Queen loaches and they are great. Very active at feeding time but they do like to hide as well. Mine make clicking noises to scare off other fish who threaten to move in on their dinner. I have mine in a 50G and they are 3-4". Time for an upgrade soon. You should be OK for a while but will probably need a bigger tank eventually. Your filtration is more than adequate for a tank that size. Edited January 29, 2009 by thegrandpoohbah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Have you looked at any of the dwarf loaches, Queens and Yoyos will outgrow your tank, but there are quite a few species that will stay small enough to stay in your tank their entire life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeioFormiga Posted January 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 (edited) Have you looked at any of the dwarf loaches, Queens and Yoyos will outgrow your tank, but there are quite a few species that will stay small enough to stay in your tank their entire life. I think I need to do some googling! Ok, are all the dwarf loaches odd or hard to find? I'm also finding multiple sites telling me 36" tank is ok for Yoyos, and then 48" or bigger later. Example. Along the lines of what thegrandpoohbah says. I'm ok with that if Yoyos are, and it means an excuse to do a large tank again in a 1/2 a year to 2 yrs. :thumbs: So anyone have info on dwarf loaches? Are there dwarf loaches that are not endangered where they originate from? How come Franco's didn't tell me about these? Does anyone agree with Yoyos or Queens? Edited January 29, 2009 by MeioFormiga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Basically I would just look through the loaches.com website... Dwarf Chain Loaches like this might be nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Does anyone agree with Yoyos or Queens? Either should be fine in your tank as long as you are willing to upgrade as they get bigger. I've got 3 clown loaches in that 50G along with the 4 queens and 1 skunk loach. Everyone gets along fine and I'll be upgrading to a 120G within a year. Also, it doesn't hurt that the clowns are only 1" and there's an XP3 filtering that tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FLIP Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 I'd go for zebra loaches they stay smaller and are better suited for a 30g tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeioFormiga Posted January 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Zebra loaches it is! And plans for a larger tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James (Western Canada) Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 (edited) In a 33g, I would think seriously about the Dwarf loaches (Sidthimunki), as they stay small. and with loaches, 3 is an absolute minimum, 5 is better:) For all things loachy, it's hard to beat the info (and the people) on the loachesonline site.......how many other forums do you know of who's collective membership collaborated to produce a book?? http://www.loaches.com/ main site http://forums.loaches.com/viewforum.php?f=...5315e90245a4b3e forum HTH James Zebra loaches it is! And plans for a larger tank! Edited January 30, 2009 by James (Western Canada) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeioFormiga Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 So who's got Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki in Calgary? Still scheming for another larger setup, but want to keep this tank setup as is. Been reading at loaches.com forum for a couple of days and these guys fit the bill (should be fun to watch too!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Ram Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Don't think you'll find any of these in Calgary. I lucked out a year ago and bought 4 from Nature's Corner in Edmonton. I've never seen them since. My 4 are in a 90 gal with discus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 (edited) Sids are pretty expensive (usually about $20 each) and they are definitely a schooling loach so you'll want at least 6 of them, the price is definitely what turned me away. I'd take Paul's advice and go with Zebra Loaches, they're more peaceful than any other Botiine loach of a similar size and are readily available (and very good at snail disposal). Also if you can find any in your area, loaches of Schistura sp. are nice to have. I thoroughly enjoyed mine! Just be sure to have lots of rocks and wood for them to establish territories as they are a bit more aggressive than the Zebra Loaches, but still suitable for a community tank (unless you've got a Betta or similar with long fins). Good luck Edited January 30, 2009 by Slough Shark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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