botia

zpeck30

got one last week its kind of tiger or bumblee bee looking but anyways the ones in the tank were extremly lively the one i got ..well basically i never see it it hides 24 7 ive seen it once maybe since saturday...is it nocturnel?if i get more will they came around more often?

aunt kymmie

I'm not sure what species you got (can you post a pic?) but I assume by botia it's a loach? If so, nearly all loaches need to be in a group, usually minimum is five. Loaches are very social critters and without each other for company they don't do well.
What size is your tank? What other fish do you have in the tank? I keep four species of loaches and they are all rambunctious and lively, out and about, constantly and that's due to the fact that they are all kept in numbers of 5+ per species.

LasColinasCichlids

Aunt Kymmie is right, all types of botias need to be in groups of 5+ to be happy and stress free.

zpeck30

id get more but i belive my tanks close to over stoacked as it is...2dwarf gouramis,4dalmation mollies,1 sail fin molly,2red tetras,5rosey red minnows,1 rainbow,1 ruberlip pleco,1algea eater,botia, and a breeder net full of 4week old baby mollies...

Lupin

How big is the tank?
Is the algae eater Chinese Algae Eater?

zpeck30

45.. yes when it gets bigger im getting ride of it
Posted via Mobile Device

Lupin

No, get rid of it now before it rips through your community setup.

So where are pics of your loach? We haven't identified it yet.

zpeck30

dosnt comeout far enough to get a good pic but judging by the pics ive looked up its either a bengal loach or a botia robusto...what would the best way of getting rid of it?i dont wanna kill it i have another aqruim but i dont wanna put it there cuz itd be just as bad..its a betal Zebra Danio and 2 ottos...

LasColinasCichlids

You can give it to someone who has an appropriate tank for it, or you can contact your local aquarium stores and see if any of them will take them in. Or, put an ad on craigslist for a free Chinese Algae Eater and see if you get any takers.

I use to have one, I gave it to a friend. That friend got pissed at it because it started to show aggression towards her other fish (and he was only like 2 inches at the time) so she threw him out into the freshwater creek behind her home. lol I had given it to her because I knew what could happen with some of the fish I had decided to add to my tank, so I planned ahead and warned her, she was willing and sadly he became more of a pain than a pet. *I do not advice putting any aquarium fish in a creek or lake, it can change the ecosystem there, if not native.*

Byron

The Bengal loach is Botia dario. Like all species in this genus, it must have a group of 5+ and be in at least a 4-foot tank; it attains (if healthy) 6 inches. I use the word "must" deliberately. Loaches have a high social structure within the group, and with less than 5 there can be serious aggressiveness to the submissive fish. Also, without a group, they are "at a loss" because they are out of their element and feel stressed, which is why your single loach is hiding. It is literally scared to death, and that means under stress which weakens the immune system and can lead to all manner of health problems and increased aggression to other fish out of desperation. I'm painting a gloomy picture, but I can assure you it is accurate.

Botia robusta is now actually Sinibotia robusta, having been moved to the new genus by the eminent ichthyologist Dr. Maurice Kottelat in 2004. It is even worse, being far more feisty than other loaches and is more demanding in its maintenance, needing roomier tanks with increased water flow and cooler temperature as it comes from Chinese mountain streams. Won't say more, as I suspect it is the former loach you probably have, the latter is less common.

The striped patterning is very similar on several Botia species, so it may be yours is actually not either of the above. We have some species, the more common ones, in our profiles, second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page. Whichever you have, all Botia need a group and space as noted above.

Byron.