small loach?

Byron

I don't usually get active in this area, but the "small loaches" intrigued me as I've kept some small ones years ago, so I may have some suggestions.

Botia sidthimunki (commonly called dwarf loach) are fascinating fish. Must be kept in a group as they shoal. They are a maximum 2.5 inches and quite active, closer to cory behaviour than most loaches. Don't know how well they control snails though.

There's Botia hora [seems the name has changed to Yasuhikotakia morleti] which is 4 inches max, and a noted snail eater. Kept in a shoal of 5+ they are less troublesome. Reported to be "feisty" to smaller fish particularly bottom dwellers. I had a couple that didn't cause trouble, maybe just lucky.

And there's Botia striata, a very beautiful loach, also 4 inches. Peaceful (moreso than others) and good at snail control. Best in a shoal.

Photos of these species attached, and here's a link to a loach site that may provide other info: Loaches Online - Community Edition — Loaches Online

Re the feeding, Twistermom has a method similar to mine; I use a piece (about 20 inches) of hard tubing with a 30 inch piece of the soft airline tubing attached. I carefully suck up a very small portion of thawed frozen foods like bloodworms using the hard tube end and can then direct them anywhere including at the bottom. Put the cube of frozen food in a dish of warm water to completely thaw first. Excellent way to get food to the bottom fish.

Last comment is on the fish per gallon issue. A sensible guide for beginners, but SinCrisis you're not that, so ignore it. Tanks can be heavily stocked provided the aquarist is rigorous in regular maintainance (especially weekly partial water changes of 40-50%) and the fish are compatible--which means share the relatively same water requirements and have compatible behaviours. Both these things reduce stress, and fish can be more numerous as long as they are comfortable and not stressed out by having to adjust internally to different water parameters, sudden changes, poor water quality, or unsuitable tankmates. I could cite several authorities who recommend 130+ smallish (shoaling characins, etc) fish in a 40g tank, and I have no problem with this number in my 70g and 90g tanks. But you need to know what you're doing and what the fish require. I do not stray from their preferred habitat when it comes to the water (hardness, pH, temp, and lots of plants).

Attached Images

	botia sidthimunki.jpg (32.7 KB, 54 views)
	botia hora.jpg (78.2 KB, 56 views)
	botia striata.jpg (96.1 KB, 54 views)

SinCrisis

i love chain loaches, the 2.5 inch ones. However they run up to 10 dollars each which will get pricey if i get many. The reason I use the inches per gallon rule is that i need to leave for college in a couple of months and my parents do not do water changes. So the water in the tank does not get changed more than once every month and a half. I try to keep to the gallon per rule and keep a filter that filters twice the amount in my tank because i need the water to stay as best as possible until i find a weekend to go home and change the water.

Lupin

Inch per gallon rule is absolutely garbage. 10 kuhlis equals another 10 neon tetras. They hardly poo and neither will they eat snails.

No, they won't. They're too small to do that.

No.

SinCrisis

So kuhli loaches will consume snails, and carry a relatively low bioload. Seems like the fish iw as loking for. However, what about yoyo loaches? are they similar? I cant seem to find kuhli loaches at any of the pet stores near me but i did find one that stocked yoyo's periodically.

Twistersmom

If you go with the yoyo loaches, I would buy at least three.
Be sure to ask the store if they have kuhili loaches, most of the time they are under the gravel at the stores, so you may not see them.

SinCrisis

yea i will check some more stores that are farther away for kuhlis since i really like them. I will only get 2 though, is that too small of a population? I googled them and it says they dont school but enjoy the company of each other.

aunt kymmie

Kuhlis are shy and in order for them to feel comfortable they need to be kept in a group. If you only get two you may not see them much at all. If it was me (and it's not) I'd get at least five kuhlis.

aquadude

to get rid of the snails you can crush them with your finger nail or rock or something and only get 1 or 2 loaches incase them come back.

SinCrisis

no these are trumpets... not exactly crush able and the older pond snails are hard to crush too. I dont just want loaches for snail control, i also want them cuz ive never cared for loaches before. I usually only do tetras and danios and i feel that a loach would give the tank a little more diversity.

Lupin

Huh? I said kuhlis do not eat snails. Where did you hear they do? I've kept kuhlis for a few years and never observe them to eat snails. I thought my posts are as clear as crystal?

Yoyo loaches are another thing. They are feistier than most species growing to 6 inches and will gobble almost any snails they can find.