A Few Loach Questions

[CathyGo]

Fist off, What category of fish do loaches fall under? oddball?
I was at PetsInc. today to get some guppies and saw some fish labeled "Lizard Catfish". Now I don't normally buy fish without researching them but since the guy said they wouldn't get much larger and wouldn't eat my fry I went ahead and got two. So now that I've figured out that they are loaches I was wondering if they would bother my two large snails and snack on my guppies fry. I was also wondering what these guys eat and if there's anything species specific that's important for them to have. I give my fish frozen everyday. They are fed cyclops morning and night for the fry and juneviles to eat. At night I give them an additional feeding of 1/4 a cube from the frozen Freshwater Multi-Pack that Hikari sells. Some bits are small enough that the juneviles snack on it but mostly the large adults get it. A lot just ends up the gravel. I rotate the foods so they never get the same one two days in a row. I really like these guys but if they won't work in my tank I'll take them back to PetsInc. and tell the guys what they are really called.

My second set of questions is about Horsefaced Loaches. I'm not really clear on whether they absolutely NEED sand or just smooth gravel is fine. They get frozen food everyday at the store but would they take any kind of sinking food in a home aquarium?

 

[darkleo]

Loaches fall under the category cyprinids, characins etc.
The second thing is that we need a picture or at least a description. Loaches are not easy to talk about generally.

 

[CathyGo]

They are
http/www.loaches.com/species-index/homaloptera-smithi
It says they will eat hillstream fry but I don't know if that applies to guppy fry too.

 

[rdd1952]

The biggest issue with those fish is that they are coldwater (temp below 76F) and require a lot of current. I don't think they will do very well in a typical tropical tank. And if it will eat one type fry, it will eat another so I would say that yes it will eat the guppy fry.

 

[tetraqueen]

I had a hill stream loach and it had a miserable life with my tank. I regret it very much.

Many say they do okay but I do not believe they do.

I was told they live near estuaries where there is a lot of currant and need lots of swimming space.

It is very difficult to create this enviroment at home.

Sorry I agree with Rdd {I don't think they will do very well in a typical tropical tank. And if it will eat one type fry, it will eat another so I would say that yes it will eat the guppy fry. }

 

[CathyGo]

I asked this same question on a loach forum and they were taken back to the store a few days ago. I explained that they weren't "lizard catfish" and wouldn't work with my set-up so they exchanged them for 4 female neon blue guppies. They pretty good about it but as a specialty fish store they should at least have known it was a loach not a catfish and spared me the 30 minute drive.