OOPS! made a mistake?

[DirgeDevil]

Ok, so I was browsing at a lfs for some algae eaters, and saw the coolest little fishies, hillstream/butterfly loaches. This store has amazingly healthy fish and great tanks.(a good store to buy from)So, I asked the "fish expert" if they eat algae and he said yes. so I asked him if they could be put into a tropical tank and he also said yes. So I bought two of them. When I got home I did some research on them and It says they are a coldwater species and don't do too well in tropical settings. (he lied!) So, I lowered the temperature to about 73 degrees, hoping they don't die. Is there anything else I can do to make this work? Or was it a bad idea buying them in the first place and should I give them away? Also, any information on them would be great.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

they like strong current !!!
they like driftwood
they 'prefer' coldwater (they can live in tropical)

think of them as a coldwater pleco/bristlenose - and they stay nice and small (maximum 3 inches)

 

[Jchillin]

If you placed them in your tropical tank with other species, you are running a risk of harming them.

I would return them.

 

[greenmaji]

Lowering the temperature in an estabilished tropical tank suddenly is also asking for trouble.. Slow is the way to go with any change(unless that change removes leathal toxins).. HTH

 

[talloulou]

I made the same mistake when I bought my hillstream loach. I have had it for a few months though and it hasn't died yet in my tropical tank. It does hang in the bubble wall alot and seems healthy though I must say it hasn't grown much at all

 

[DirgeDevil]

thanks for the help.
ps- They seem to be doing fine and love eating all the algae.

 

[Menagerie]

Hillstream loaches can be a real heartbreaker. I bought two at one time. Each one went into a different tropical tank (I did not research ). After a month or so, they died within a day of each other. All my other fish were fine

 

[Guest]

I got mine like you, unknowing of their natural habitat, but ive had mine in tropical for 4 months now and it is perfectly happy and active, i think it has adapted to the warmer water and actually grown a bit. When i feed shrimp pellets or algae wafers, he pounces on them!!! Of course i do have a very high current aquarium but my temp is usually around 80, and as i said, hes been in it for over 4 months now!

 

[DirgeDevil]

oh good! So there's a possibility then, i should probably buy some algae wafers for when my algae's running low.

fyi- they were housed in a tropical tank at the lfs, so I'm assuming that they've been in tropical conditions before and moving them to my tank wont stress them out too much.

edit- I put an airstone in the tank for extra oxygen, my guppies don't seem to like it, but I don't like them anyway so they can just deal with it. lol

 

[Bubble_B0y]

edit- I put an airstone in the tank for extra oxygen, my guppies don't seem to like it, but I don't like them anyway so they can just deal with it. lol

LMAO !!!!!!!!!

hahahaahahahahahahhah

i'm feeling you!
been there, done that

 

[Guest]

good luck
IN my opinion, they are better off in your aquarium than the fish store anyway, so taking them back will probably only kill it faster :|