Hillstream Loaches

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Phantom Thief

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I just went to the LFS to get some ghost shrimp. The guy at the lfs decided to give me a hillstream loach, since it was the only one left and he said no one seemed to want it for some reason.

Anyway, i've read what i can on the net, but i just wanna hear from some of you guys with first-hand experience with these guys. :D

P.T.
 
thats awsome PT!
i havent had personal experience with them but dug this up

HTH

DD
 
ive got one in a tropical tank, my g/f had one in coldwater with goldfish. Theyre supposed to do better in cooler, highly oxygenated water but mine seems to be doing fine at 25c in a well aerated barb community. Unfortunately the coldwater one died over christmas, cause unknown. I think i read that they dont actually eat algae but actually eat microorganisms on the algae.

they seem to like sitting on/near the filter - i'm guessing its the faster flow of water that they like. they seem to go for long periods without moving then have a sudden flurry of "shimmying" around the glass - they can move pretty quick when they want to. I reckon they make a really interesting addition to a tank
 
That was the first page i got when i searched hillstream loach over Google, but thanks anyway :D

So chris, what and how do you feed yours? I plan to leave some pebbles in water out in the sunlight to grow algae, and then to put these pebbles in. Do you think that would work?

P.T.
 
i feed my bristlenoses in the same tank algae wafers, no idea if he has any of these or not. Otherwise my tank is lit up for 10 hours a day and has several broad leaf plants that seem to attract algae growth, as well as growth on the glass which i leave for them. He can quite often be seen grazing on the growth on the glass. not sure about the pebbles in the sunlight idea to be honest, how much algae do you usually get growing in your tank?
 
they need some large flat surfaces to graze on, cobble stone or large pebbles will do.
most of their diet is made up from the microrganisums that grow in the tank.
my two love algea wafers and red flakes. they also eat sinking pellets and I occasionally give then 1/2 a grape.
 
I have lots of algae, but only the brown type.

Wolf, how do they eat the red flakes? Do they wait for it to sink or do they go up for it?

Would they take other fruits/vegetables?

P.T.
 
Phantom Thief said:
I have lots of algae, but only the brown type.

Wolf, how do they eat the red flakes? Do they wait for it to sink or do they go up for it?

Would they take other fruits/vegetables?

P.T.
they wait for it to fall then they pounce on it, in a flash it's gone :D

I've read that they will eat other fruit and veg,
but mine only like grapes. maybe they are picky like me :p
 
The-Wolf said:
but mine only like grapes. maybe they are picky like me :p
Does that mean you like grapes? :p

So do you think they will eat the brown algae? And would the "growing-algae-on-pebble" plan work?

P.T.
 
they will eat diatoms if that is what you mean.

and yes I like grapes but only the seedless ones :p
 
I have two of these.
gastromyzonpunctulatus.jpg
No idea which species they are. I thought they were Gastromyzon punctulatus but then one guy who has been in borneo and near areas catching/observing them told me that they are not.

One important thing he told me was that they live in 23-25C water. And they are not very picky about conditions, they are quite embryonic.

Here is pictures and movieclips about his experiences.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/vuorela.antti/sarawakenglish.htm
 
Mine also like Bloodworms, he kinda goes crazy for them :rolleyes:!
I know that they are supposed to be in a cold tank, but mine seems to be doing fine in the tropical, I dunno :unsure:
Cute little buggers :wub:
 
I haven't kept them personally, but they seem like a cool fish.
 
Beaufortia kweichowensis has more pointed nose than mine have. I've seen Beaufortia kweichowensis in nearby store. Not the same fish. If the fish in the picture is Beaufortia kweichowensis.Guy I was talking about said that loaches online does not have all species right. I think my loaches look like this http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/gastromyzon_ridens.html but G. ridens is extremely rare and have not been brought to reach of aquarium hobby, officially. I mean elsewhere than in loaches online. Also, in FishBase G. ridens look like this http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSum...ciesname=ridens, hmmmm.
 

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