I'm going to get a....

[aridiar]

I'm gonna get a loach for my 10gal FW tank. I currently have all the babies rounded up to take to the store, so All I'm keeping is the two fully grown mollies and the guppy-sized male Molly. The LFS just got a few clown loaches in stock. I was wondering if I should buy one from them, and risk moving it to my dad's or wait til I get out to my dad's and see if WalMart have any. Usually I wouldn't buy fish from WalMart, but the one out by his house actually seems to have healthy aquariums.

Which do you guys think would be better off buying on for sure at the LFS and possibly risk it dying whil I move my tank to my fathers, or risk not getting one at all or getting a sick one if I have misjudged the healthiness of the tanks at WalMart??

 

[Madame_X]

A clown loach will outgrow a 10 gallon tank pretty quickly. Yoyos stay small, but they prefer to be in groups.

How about a couple of small cories instead?

 

[Cichlidguy]

Yoyos can actually grow to over 4", and are a little too big for a 10g. Try a zebra loach/botia, they only grow to 2-3".

 

[MikeWinLDS]

Interested in a snakey-looking Loach instead? Try a Dojo!

 

[Atlarge]

Coolie loch, I love Coolie loaches.

 

[bound_for_obx]

I agree! It used to make me dizzy staring at a tank fool of the at the LFS!

 

[Christmasfish]

zebras need to be ion groupings like clowns.... khulis too. 3 khuhlis barely impact space though. Zebras are my hands down favorite small loach at this point, but the do swim midwater, top, whereever. Very gregarious.

 

[aridiar]

I don't really want to add something that won't do good with just one of them, and what I need it for is to eat snails, I don't think cories would be the best fish for that would they? I think at this point what I will most likely do is mail order something since I will be at my dad's for a bit longer than expected b/c of a doctors appointment.

I've got an Aquaclear 150, a Tetratec DW 24-2, a UGF, and some plants on/in the tank, so it's pretty well filtered and oxygenated, it can take a decent load, plus I'm going to have my dad doing weekly water changes, when I only do them evey two weeks (with him adding FloraPride for the plants)....that should be able to deal with however much anything I get would grow over the summer.

Ok I'm gonna look-up each of the ones you all suggested and see which might fit best.

I like the idea of a fish that I'll see alot, and something that looks kinda funky sounds cool. So I guess I'll find the info on Zebras and Dojos first Thanks for your help so far

 

[Cichlidguy]

Well zebra botias are great snail eaters, not sure about dojos though.

 

[aridiar]

Hey I was looking on Loaches Online and saw this wierd/cool looking thing, thay called it a HillStream Loach (this one is prolly my first choice if the water conditions and stuff are right). I'm gonna look for more info on it, so if anyone knows anything it would be a big help

http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/beaufortia_kweichowensis.html


Others that I am still condsidering after looking at the preferred water temp and non-schooling one are (Still need to find more info on these too):

Sun loach -- http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_eos.html
Skunk loach -- http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_morleti.html
YoYos -- http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/botia_almorhae.html
Dojos -- http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/wloach.html

 

[Madame_X]

Hillstream loaches are cool looking, but I don't think they're good snail eaters if that's what you're looking for. They're better equipped to be algae eaters.

I know they need cooler temperatures than most tropical fish, which is why I didn't get one (I live in Arizona--impossible to keep temps below the low 80's in the summer here). I know a few others here have kept them, some with not such great luck. They may be difficult to keep.

 

[Menagerie]

I recently lost both my Hillstream loaches They are not like other loaches and will not eat snails. They also like fast currents and cooler water (a factor in losing mine). Mine also did not seem to want to eat anything I put in the tank like algae wafers. Since the tank was new and there was no algae, this too was probably a factor

 

[aridiar]

Thanks for the info on those. I might be starting a tank that I'll keep at cooler temperatures next year, it all depends on if it's ok with my roommate if I can take up her allowance for a ten gallon tank, so I might get those for algea eaters.

Dropped off the last of my fry at the LFS and gave the Pleco to my sis for her Cichlid tank, so all I have left are the two big mollies and the one male. I asked the owner of the LFS if I could get a loach for all the babies I gave him (even if they sell 'em all at 10cents they should make 6$) and he said yes. He'll probably get me a Clown or a Dojo he said. I'll pick it up on Wed. or Thur. and keep it in the breeder we have in my sister's 10 gal, then bring it down to my tank which has been relocated.

I threw out most of the old substrate and put mostly sand with maybe a pound of the old gravel/pebbles. My plants are in and I'm waiting for the sand to settle.... the mollies are spending the night in a cooler with the air pump running, so they should be good til tomorrow, they are being nice and active. I'm glad they made the trip alright

 

[Menagerie]

To keep the sand out of the filter, put a sponge on the filter intake tube

 

[aridiar]

well, I set up the filter last night, while the water was still cloudy, but I think it was from "bacterial bloom" checked the filter this morning, no sand in it and it cleared up fine after I put the fish. My fish seem a bit shy in their new home, but I figure by next weekend they will be used to it (they are swimming like their usual selves, just not at the front of the tank like usual, they are staying at the one side). I'll try to take a picture next weekend to let you all see how it looks

I'll probably get a sponge for the uptake tube when I pick up the loach from the LFS on thursday.