About loaches

[Slarty Bartfast]

Zebras Loach Hari Kari

I had a zebra loach that I LOVED in my little 10 gal tank. I had a little cave for it from the turtle section of the lfs. He'd come out for food, etc. But during a water change, he jumped and I found him only AFTER a trip to the lfs, dead. Soooo.....lesson learned, be sure and cap your tank if considering a zebra. BTW, he (she?) was 3" at the end.

 

[TwoHobbies]

Hey Lonewolf 2 of my 4 zebra's are over 2" now, and they were 1" when purchased 8 mo ago, are they almost done growing already.

Does anyone else's click when they eat, or am I crazy? My hearing is far from perfect, but I hear clicking. If I can hear it on this side of the glass----my other fish must be saying , just shut up and eat!

 

[Peregrine]

I told the manager at my LFS (whom I trust) I wanted a Zebra Loach, and he said we only have Tigers right now. So I bought him (the fish, not the manager). I asked him if I should get 3.
He said absolutely not. "Why do all the internet sites say get 3?"
3 will play with each other and be more visible. One may tend to hide (which so far is very true).
He looks like the one in my signature picture. (Although if you have them turned off you won't see it).
My loach is already close to 3 inches.
This is my first loach and I've really fallen for him. If he eats all my fish I may just set up an all loach tank. hehehe

 

[JodiMartin2003]

Well, that looks like my zebra loaches. Same coloring and everything.

 

[chabooky386]

what are loaches?

 

[lovemybarbs]

My angelicus botia is very friendly. He is so timid, the frog takes nips at him. Mine sort of looks like the one in the second picture here, but with more yellow:

http://tropicalfishgallery.com/species-gallery/cyprinid/angelicus.html

I'm not sure if he eats snails.

 

[JodiMartin2003]

Lovemybarbs, isnt that a yoyo loach? If they eat snails, they only eat very small ones because I have 5 and they never bothered my ping pong ball sized snail and they surely have never bothered my almost tennis ball sized apple snail, but who would?

 

[jim532]

Lovemybarbs, isnt that a yoyo loach? If they eat snails, they only eat very small ones because I have 5 and they never bothered my ping pong ball sized snail and they surely have never bothered my almost tennis ball sized apple snail, but who would?

They eventually might decide to have a feast on that tennis ball sized snail. I had 6 clown loaches in my tank and they left mine alone only for about 8 months.

 

[JodiMartin2003]

I sure hope not!!! I really love my snail. How did you figure out they were snacking on your snail?

 

[RoK]

I told the manager at my LFS (whom I trust) I wanted a Zebra Loach, and he said we only have Tigers right now. So I bought him (the fish, not the manager). I asked him if I should get 3.
He said absolutely not. "Why do all the internet sites say get 3?"
3 will play with each other and be more visible. One may tend to hide (which so far is very true).
He looks like the one in my signature picture. (Although if you have them turned off you won't see it).
My loach is already close to 3 inches.
This is my first loach and I've really fallen for him. If he eats all my fish I may just set up an all loach tank. hehehe

That would be a zebra loach and you should get at least 2 more friends for him. Also, I've never had problems with my 3 being aggressive or nippy.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Your pic is a Zebra (Striped) loach, and not a Tiger Loach. They are very peaceful, and I'd get at least 2 more. They also get along with yoyo's too...

 

[Peregrine]

I'll try to get a pic of my guy. He is getting more comfy and coming out when the light is on a bit more. When he came out to eat bloodworms yesterday, none of the other fish seemed to fear him. You would think they would if he is the nipper. He is substantially larger then the rest of the fish.
Now my fat belly molly has a pice of fin missing. Neons still looking pretty bad. It has to be him, as none of this happened before him.
Maybe he just bumps into them in the night and nips then?!?
If he does have an aggressive streak, do you think more loaches might calm him down, or will they all start feeding on my fish?!?
Sorry, OP... didn't mean to steal your thread.

PS. in the photo contest, that's my loach picture. That was the day I put him in.

Really thought I'd get more votes. How often do you see a pic of a loach under the gravel?!?!

 

[lovemybarbs]

I voted for you!!!

 

[JodiMartin2003]

You probably didnt win because of the color of your gravel LOL. That is horrendous!!!

 

[Peregrine]

Aw come on! hehehe
Thanks barbs!
Keep in mind how much of a closeup that is. It looks good from a distance IMO.

It's the first tank I have ever set up that I used colored gravel in. I have always used natural colors in the past.
For this tank ( 55G ) I went totally opposite of what I used to do. I used to do cichlids and sharks + natural gravel. Now I have community and blk + red.
And seriously there are probably not many pics on the net of a loach where you can see his head and tail while he's buried in gravel.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I figured not many people saw him in there when they voted.

 

[Peregrine]

My loach is so cool.
I usually melt my bloodworm\brine cubes before dropping them in. After reading here that many folks just drop the frozen cube in, I tried it. Worked great for a few days. Always brings the loach out.
He hides behind a fake rock formation I have against the back tank glass.
So yesterday, the cube starts breaking up... everyone is getting thier fill... out comes the loach. He grabs a chunk, munches it in a little cave I have. He comes back out again... grabs what's left of the cube and goes behind the rock formation. He wedged the cube in between the glass and the fake rock! He then hid back down in his usual spot. None of the other fish could get to it!! Almost like he was setting aside his midnight snack!
... and they say fish aren't very smart. My loach looks pretty damn intelligent! hahaha

 

[lovemybarbs]

that's why I stopped throwing in the cube into my tank also. A barb would take off with it and my frog wouldn't get any. Now I scatter them everywhere to confuse them and my frog gets a small feast.

The baster helps me place them where I want.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If you want to see your loach more often, need to get more. He's probably hiding because there'sno others in the tank. My Zebra loaches are out almost all the time, unless they are digging in the holes in the driftwood, lol.

 

[lovemybarbs]

Mine hardly ever hides. The pictus rules one cave and the frog and the shark have the other. He basically just cleans my plants all day.