Zebra loaches

[skipper]

Hi

Just bought 2 small zebra loaches for my 125l (UK) tank and wanted a bit of advice, if anybody has time...

1 - They are seriously nervous during the day - hiding in plants/ rocks and not moving - but a bit more active first thing in the morning when the lights are out. Is this about right? I've read that they are quite timid and mainly nocturnal.

2- If they are pretty nocturnal, would I be right to drop a few food tablets in after the lights go off at night?

3 - I have small gravel as the substrate in my tank, but have read that the loaches would probably prefer sand... Should I therefore add some sand to a specific area of the tank? Or would this be a bit of a nightmare to do and unsettling for all the other fish.

4 - Is there any other info I should know about keeping these type of fish. Have read up and they seem fairly hardy if not a little sensitive/ nervous during the day.

Thanks, any help appreciated,

S

 

[ryan]

Zebra Loaches or Botia striata are Cyprinids.

Here is some info on them;

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=34949

At first as with most fish they will be stressed and hide due to the move. THe reason why Loaches prefer sand is because they have forage in the sand without damaging their barbles, but small gravel is normally fine. I would feed them before lights out, I do this in my Loach tank giving all the species time to feed including the Zebras who are now very confident.

 

[Snowie]

I dont know how many fish you have in your tank but it wont hurt if you add 2 more. They are schooling fish after all.