Do Schoaling Fish Ie Loach Need To Be Schoaled In Specific Breeds Or W

[del316]

will fish such as loaches schoal together even if they are not the same type... ie polka dot loach schoaling with clown loach and or yo yo loach etc 
 

 

[fluttermoth]

They will, but only out of 'desperation' because they'd rather be in any group than on their own, but they would always prefer to be with others of their own species.

 

[Wills]

Schooling fish should be all the same species - in the wild they are in huge swarms and its not just a case of they are all fish that like to swim with other fish they are all the same species with the same behavior patterns, ability to develop a hierarchy with dominant males and females as well as defense mechanisms from predators or generally stressful situations (pollution, rough water or weather, temperature fluctuations etc)
 
In a tank 6-8 is a minimum (some species need more) as these are the amount of fish roughly that a fish would need to think that they are part of or close to a larger number of their own kind in an open water system.
 
Sometimes if you put relatives close or distant together you do get some kind of schooling behavior but this is just them "making do" with what they can.
 
I find its best to keep high numbers if you can of each species as the low numbers can cause a base level of stress which if the tank takes a turn for the worse (unexpected aggression, filter failure or power cut etc) which can make a situation way way worse. Disease outbreaks, hiding fish, washed out colours from stress etc etc.
 
In your situation with loaches - if your tanks big enough for a group of Clowns you could probably get a school of Polka Dots as well
 
 
Wills

 

[TallTree01]

+1