I happened upon the Y. Modesta aka: Red Tail or Blue Botia Loach quite by accident
while looking for a rugged group of scavenger fish for my grow out tank. The LFS had a small grouping of Red Tails in a display tank. I noticed that they were not shy like the majority
of Loaches, and were actively swimming under relatively bright lighting. The Modesta' s Olive green / blue coloration along with the red fins swayed me to take the plunge and buy three.
The Botia trio has been swimming in a 65 gal. Tank for over a month, with absolutely no aggression towards their Black Skirt, Red Eye and Candy Cane Tetra tankmates.
I've read that the Modestas tend to be aggressive fin nippers. Not my experience. They are more like the "Three Stooges" of the Loach world; constantly chasing each other, causing no damage. I've found them to be excellent scavengers, able to squeeze into and under any
structure In the tank searching for food.
My group of Red Tails are getting promoted to the display tank in the very near future.
while looking for a rugged group of scavenger fish for my grow out tank. The LFS had a small grouping of Red Tails in a display tank. I noticed that they were not shy like the majority
of Loaches, and were actively swimming under relatively bright lighting. The Modesta' s Olive green / blue coloration along with the red fins swayed me to take the plunge and buy three.
The Botia trio has been swimming in a 65 gal. Tank for over a month, with absolutely no aggression towards their Black Skirt, Red Eye and Candy Cane Tetra tankmates.
I've read that the Modestas tend to be aggressive fin nippers. Not my experience. They are more like the "Three Stooges" of the Loach world; constantly chasing each other, causing no damage. I've found them to be excellent scavengers, able to squeeze into and under any
structure In the tank searching for food.
My group of Red Tails are getting promoted to the display tank in the very near future.