My Latest Acquisitions-Hillstream Loaches

Rob1619

Great fish mate
The hillstreams are very nice one..i did have some of those but unfortunately they did not do very well in my tank
And yes they do like stream and lot of oxygen in the tank.

This is how my hillstreams looked like..not trying to highjack your post here mate

Brandon

Aww i want one but i can't because i have to powerhead. They look like mini sting rays.

musho3210

how big of a tank do they need?

Lupin

Nor do I think you are hijacking the thread. Everyone is welcome to share photos.:) Your hillies are lovely. Any idea why they didn't do well in your tank?:(

Daz, it's the best I can get.:(
A 20 gallons would have been sufficient but I prefer they are placed in a large, long tank where they can glide along the currents produced by powerheads.

I'm seeing these fish alot lately. I can't help but notice some poking the tip of their heads outside the water to reach green algae growing outside the water level. How persistent.

I haven't forgotten to post this one which I was supposed to post yesterday. Thank goodness. I saved it before the connection cuts through.

I'll get the ball rolling...Pls don't complain about the pics' quality. It's the best I could get with my camera.

Very dark but you could see the yellow/white edges of the hillie's dorsal fin contrasting the black driftwood.:) The third loach I've managed to get pics with.:)


















Fourth Hillstream Loach...Kinda boring to get pictures of each.




Fifth Hillstream Loach...One of the latest. He's a bit pale but he will be fine soon enough.:) He just needed to adapt to his new surroundings.:)


Close-up picture.



Sixth Hillstream Loach. Only one pic is available as he is quite elusive darting immediately behind the rocky caves.


I haven't obtained a pic of my largest hillie who keeps darting behind rocks as soon as I approach the aquarium.

I can't remember if I had submitted pics of my young true Siamese Algae Eaters but here goes.:) Pic was taken when I had only two of them. Bought 3 more a week later. Quite industrious enough to consume the algae. I had a 5-years old but he died last January. Thanks to my green arowana.

Lupin

Now I have a new dilemma. How am I going to take good pictures now that the tank is dark yellow because of my peat?

And for anyone who thinks I keep serpae tetras, they're not serpaes. I would never lay a finger on those vicious little fish. These ones are red phantom tetras.;) A bit like black phantoms changing from gold to brick red.

Rob1619

Well first of all i only had 2 Hillstreams..the lfs had only 2 and they need to be kept in groups and the second option i belive it must be to little oxygen and low stream.
They did last a few months..if iam getting some of those again i will make a perfect tank for them with lots of rocks and river setup with plenty of oxygen
They are great fish and seeing your pics Blue..i want to keep them again..though they are not very cheap!

Lovey tank and great aquascape Blue :D
You could maybe get some more light when taking the pics..flashlight like snipper mode ..sometimes i use that!

Lupin

Oh sorry about what happened, Rob.:( Thanks for the flashlight suggestion.:) Haven't thought of that.

I did bought only one at first and seeing as the first one is not showing up a lot, I bought 2 more 2 days later. I wasn't satisfied yet again and ended up going home with 2 more. And then 6 more. The last one will be with me by next week I think.:)

Wanted to get a pic of one hillie who showed up with a bright yellow coloration but in all my excitement, I forgot to grab my camera.

They're not cheap here either. Fortunately, instead of paying 100 pesos each, I was given 85 pesos but the last 6 were 80 pesos each instead.

I'm interested with the Sewellia lineolata but they aren't available yet.

AF_medic

blue - try turning on the macro mode on your camera, also if you can get something to stabilize the camera that would help, I bought a $15 dollar tripod for mine, and it really helps. also anything you could do to make your camera snap the pic faster would help. things like turning up the ISO(this also has a tendency to make pictures grainy, but at least you can tell what you took a pic of), also if your camera has an option to adjust your shutter/aperature setting the lower the number, like f2.3 is better than f8.0, the better pics will look, although this does decrease your DOF (depth of focus) try these tips and see if it helps, it's what has helped me take decent pics.

oh yeah, I love the loaches. I had one of them for awhile, but it didn't last long because I didn't know about the strong current requirements. se la vi.

Lupin

Thanks, AF_medic.:) Tight budget right now but who knows I'll be able to get good pics with your suggestion. I'll keep that in mind.:) thanks again.:)
I don't remember posting my whole tank setup since last year. But thanks for the comments anyway.:D

Thanks, everyone.

Rob1619

By the pics you posted up here and i saw how the rocks where set up and so on..i know this tank is a great one