Boita Compatibility

[BigFish01]

I recently bought what i thought was six boita kuboti and it appears to me that one is actually a Botia rostrata . Do you think that they are similar enough that i dont need to go find some more of my oddball? They look a lot alike as juviniles but the markings are a bit different. Anyone have any knowledge on them?? Any help is much appreciated!!!

 

[greenmumma141]

haha, i thought one of them looked a bit different. it's so hard to tell! is he the one that hides in your filter??

 

[BigFish01]

Nope he is out playing with the others all the time. I dropped the water level about an inch and have not found any in the filter at all now for a few days. Now i have a crater in my sand though!!! Oh well. I thought he looked different from the start but when they are young they are all striped. His stripes seperated instead of joining together to form spots like a couple of the others are starting to do. Will have to get some pics soon for ya!! They are happy and healthy. Should hear them clicking away at feeding time. Its very cool

 

[greenmumma141]

Oh man, i think its really cool when fish make sounds lol. when i was switching my fish over to the new tank, my kids and i were cracking up bc my pictus was making actual catfish squeaking sounds.


atleast he's happy with the rest of them though. maybe he'll be okay.. maybe he doesn't know he's different lol

 

[sadguppy]

I am convinced that the loaches sold to me as yoyos are in fact a mixture of rostrata and histrionica and I haven't had a problem yet...

 

[BigFish01]

The first time i heard it i thought they were gitting the spoon into the glass that held the cucumber down. Then when the spoon was not by the glass i was thinking cool! So i googled clown loaches clicking and learned more about it.

I figured they would be good together but i figured i would ask!

Ha. Just realized i spelled botia wrong... Dummy

 

[BigFish01]

Oh no i came down to sit with my fish tonight and it appears that my heater in my qt tank was stuck on!! Had it set to 78f and it was 81 and rising!!! I unplugged it and let it cool down while i got the rocks out and plants transfered and put them in the big tank just now. Wow that was a close call!! Immediately after the transfer they started swimming with the tigers and exploring their new home. One even came to the glass and just looked at me... Lol i fed them and they are happily clicking away! wow...

 

[greenmumma141]

WOW! good thing you saw it when you did. Im glad all the fish are okay and in the big tank now, i bet they're pretty psyched lol. I actually just had something similar happen to me yesterday, except this was completely my fault... I was doing a water change and was adding the new water to the tank. (I use the syphon that attaches to the faucet) I had it propped in the tank so i didn't have to hold it in place, ( i like to do cold water changes so i add it slowly) and when i went to readjust it, i felt the tube and the water was hot! Somehow the cold nozzle had been turned way down.... no one has come clean but Im still thinking the 3 yr old had something to do with it . I immediately vacuumed some of the water out and added colder water, and luckily the tank temp never went higher than 82ish. phew. SO, i completely understand that moment of pure panic lol 

 

[BigFish01]

How lucky can we get huh? its scary... I do cold water changes also. No hot on at all. But in a tank as big as mine it dont drop the temp but a couple degreese. I usually do 20 gals per change so its not bad. Just have to watch out for small fish not to get sucked up... Im happy now! Tank is looking better than ever. Took a couple videos i will upload this weekend. Then you can see how big my clowns are next to the baby polka dots.

 

[BigFish01]

In the first video you see my two smaller clowns with the polka dots.  nearing the end of the video you can slightly hear the little ones clicking while they eat
http/youtu.be/Dr-9MtHytk0
The second video you can see my largest clown loach eating with the rest of them. I rescued her from a small tank by herself that someone was selling on craigslist last year. Needless to say she was very happy to have a bigger home. You should be able to hear her clicking also when shes eating
http/youtu.be/Z446RIYYiVU
 
 
well hope you like!!

 

[greenmumma141]

I needed a little loach video this morning... your tigers and clowns are such a cool mix. Its so funny how small the yoyos are. I must say, your tank looks really great in your sig picture, but I never realized how humongous it really is and how much work you put in to the rocks with all those hiding spaces, until watching the video. very, very cool and you've got some lucky fish


i have the exact opposite thing going with my rocks I really love the way they look, but they're just taking up ground space and give absolutely no hiding places, AND i have no room to make hiding spaces... I think this weekend I am going to figure something out so i can atleast know for sure that i can add the yoyos.. hmm....

 

[JenJ]

Aw, love it!
 
I got 6 polka dots myself a few weeks back on your recommendation, and love them to bits.
 
Did you find yours were very shy at first? For the first week or two, I hardly ever saw them, and when I did it was no more than 3 at once. I even went as far as moving everything around to search for the (presumed) dead bodies! But over the last week or so, they've really become active - there's one that hides a lot of the time, but I usually see the other 5 around at all times of day.
 
Of course, I can't actually tell them apart so they may be taking it in turns to be the 'loner'

 

[greenmumma141]

Aw, love it!
 
I got 6 polka dots myself a few weeks back on your recommendation, and love them to bits.
 
Did you find yours were very shy at first? For the first week or two, I hardly ever saw them, and when I did it was no more than 3 at once. I even went as far as moving everything around to search for the (presumed) dead bodies! But over the last week or so, they've really become active - there's one that hides a lot of the time, but I usually see the other 5 around at all times of day.
 
Of course, I can't actually tell them apart so they may be taking it in turns to be the 'loner'

 
do you know anything about sexing bolivians? I put up a post in the cichlid section but no one has helped me..
 
I can't wait to get my polka dots. Im doing some rearranging this weekend for sure to make some room. thats it. lol

 

[BigFish01]

I needed a little loach video this morning... your tigers and clowns are such a cool mix. Its so funny how small the yoyos are. I must say, your tank looks really great in your sig picture, but I never realized how humongous it really is and how much work you put in to the rocks with all those hiding spaces, until watching the video. very, very cool and you've got some lucky fish

i have the exact opposite thing going with my rocks

I really love the way they look, but they're just taking up ground space and give absolutely no hiding places, AND i have no room to make hiding spaces... I think this weekend I am going to figure something out so i can atleast know for sure that i can add the yoyos.. hmm....

well your lucky because I was going to post them this weekend! I woke up at almost 5am this morning and couldnt get back to sleep so I figured I would post them.. 
As far as your layout goes, I think it looks really good and as the plants will fill in it will look really good. Your layout only has to suit the fish you have or want! It has taken me tearing my tank down hundreds of times. My girlfriend just rolls her eyes and says leave them damn fish alone your gonna kill them! lol but I really think they like it when I move things around. I actually had it "perfect" a while back, and I had to tear everything down to catch my stupid CAE because he was really really fast and good at hiding and very smart. Still have not gotten it back to the way I liked it. But i'm happy with it now. Will continue to change things around though. 
 
Thanks for the compliment too

its my baby. Life long project I would say. Dont know if I will ever go without a tank again.
 
Just give yours time and keep thinking about what you could do to make it suit your liking more and plan it out. Worst that could happen is you have to start over again. Sand is really nice because you can suck it out with the siphon hose really really easy as long as its not going into the sink.. lol I suck mine out into a bucket and then scoop it back in where I want it... I find it easier to work with when you have water in the tank. 3/4 full or so. The round stones are really really difficult to work around with bigger sizes and not so much of a big footprint to work with. I honestly would say 5' by 3' would be a good round rock working base. but you have made it look really good with what you have done also! If you have any landscape places around maybe take a gander at there flat stone and see what they have to work with. They can tell you what kind and all that, and maybe you will find something that you like. I hand picked most of the flat stone for my little pond out back and used the leftover for my tank.. But just be patient. I know first hand how frustrating it is to get it the way that makes you happy. You look at it every day!!!

besides, you just put it all together. cant expect it to be perfect the first time right?
 
I worked from this

To this

To This in my fifty five gallon..

Then I added this

Oh my clowns were so little back then!
 
 
 

Aw, love it!
 
I got 6 polka dots myself a few weeks back on your recommendation, and love them to bits.
 
Did you find yours were very shy at first? For the first week or two, I hardly ever saw them, and when I did it was no more than 3 at once. I even went as far as moving everything around to search for the (presumed) dead bodies! But over the last week or so, they've really become active - there's one that hides a lot of the time, but I usually see the other 5 around at all times of day.
 
Of course, I can't actually tell them apart so they may be taking it in turns to be the 'loner'

Yeah they were very shy for quite a while. I had them in a 20 gal tank, No decorations, No sand, just my internal filter. They would pack behind the filter whenever i came around. Would have to stand still to see them.. was funny taking pictures standing in one pose. flash - they are gone.. lol then one figured out he could go in the filter through the out port! Now they are out all the time. Have had the last four for just over two weeks now, and the other two for almost a month. As of right now I can only find four at a time. but there are sooo many hiding places. Thats why I wanted to wait at least two more weeks to put them in the big tank. Was hoping to bulk them up a little bit more. But they will grow. They are my absolute favorite. Even over my clowns. What the heck I love them all!
 
I'm very glad that you like yours and I was able to help you find something that made you happy

Always nice to have feedback. 

 

[greenmumma141]

lol it helps to hear someone else gets frustrated! I always expect to have things perfect and i will just keep messing with it and messing with and drive myself crazy lol I live in the fingerlake region of NY so i just go to the lake to find cool rocks and stuff. I think I will take a trip this weekend, hopefully everything isnt frozen 

 but i have yet to find the piece of driftwood Ive been hoping for. I am so mostly frustrated with mine bc it still floats, so at first i had the bottoms buried, but it kept coming out of the sand, so finally I screwed tupperware lids and slate to the bottom of them and buried them in the sand, but now I can't plant anything anywhere around them!!!

 I feel like filling a big tub with water and sticking my fish in there for the day and rescaping everything lol. I know what you mean about the rocks, I wish my "master stone" wasn't quite so big, then the others could have been smaller, but it was the perfect shape.... i love them but i don't have anywhere to hide loaches and i just can't get over them lol. Ill have to think of something....  I did get my bolivians yesterday though they're pretty awesome.