Inle loach (Petruichthys brevis) or Rosy loach (Physoschistura mango)?

[WhistlingBadger24 7]

@anewbie Are the Inle loaches everywhere, and the rosies more sticking to the bottom?

 

[anewbie]

@anewbie Are the Inle loaches everywhere, and the rosies more sticking to the bottom?

The rosies so far seem to be sticking to the bottom and inle when they take off they seem to be about 6 or so inches high (the aquarium is 18 inches high); i would say both species so far when i've seen them stay in the lower 1/3 with the inle willing to swim higher level. Neither aquarium get a huge amount of eye ball time given their locations. I think i could give a better answer in a week.

 

[fishorama25 16]

I would say my rosies were not really schooler/shoalers. Judging from 12-15 ft away when I could actually see them out & about, they seemed to go their separate ways for the most part. As for the "midwater" swimming, it's hard to say in such a shallow 20g long. Was it 5 inches above the substrate or 5 inches below the surface?

Based on my limited rosy experience & anewbies, I think I'd lean toward Inles...maybe just because I was disappointed with rosies...but like anewbie, not a frequently viewed tank. I would also give your Badgerling's preference some weight

 

[anewbie]

The rosies continue to be very shy and seem to always be found with other rosies, but lets be honest this is a 10 gallon aquarium and space to spread out is limited. They do stay very low - one or two inches near the bottom.

The inle loaches have spread out quite a bit but can always be found in 2s or 3s and when they do swim around 2 to 4 inches above the substrate and rarely go higher. While i cannot always immediately find them if i wait a few minutes eventually some will show up. I ordered 8 more (after all this is a 180 - 72 inches long and 30 inches wide) to see if that changes their behavior.

The tankmates are very different - in the 10 i have shrimp, 4 lampeye norms and 2 female borelli with the rosie.

In the 180 i have 2 very old male keyholes and bunch of mid size true f1 m. egregius around 1 to 2 inches in size (really pretty at this age as they have blue eyes and frequently show full markings) and 16 or 20 zebra loach (in truth i forget how many i purchased) along with a bunch of orange laser cory (some quite old). There are also a lot of tetras - mostly cardinals, red phantoms and keri or keri relative. So the 180 is quite a lot of fishes but nothing large 'cept the keyholes. I will say the zebra which is normally fairly shy fish do come rushing to the front at feeding time.

Both tanks are around 74 during the winter - the 10 will stay in that 74 range during the summer but the 180 will go up to 79. Last but least both tanks have tap water - approx tds 130.

 

[anewbie]

A couple of more comments. I increased the inle loaches to 16 but in truth it didn't make a huge difference - they still show up in 2's and 3's - not really hiding but not really in the open and I also increase the rosy to 12 which seem to make a huge different. The rosy very much seem to be more of a schooler than the inle - however there is a bit of apple and orange here since the rosy are in a 10 and the inle in a 180. I think if i went with rosy in a more serious fashion i would get 30 or 40 of them for a 65 - the 10 is a a bit constriained in space and 11 is probably pushing the limit. Also the inle laoches have more competition - nothing larger that would intimdidate them but still there are a lot more fishes in there - mostly tetras and the 20 zebra loaches as well as some me (which are still small but one day will get larger).

 

[anewbie]

Small update - the rosy have lost their skittish some weeks ago and are now out and about all the time. They esp like feeding time in the morning. Their colouring has also become more intense.

 

[anewbie]

Another upate - my inle loaches have gotten so bold they now yank the food out of my hand at feeding time (whether i want them to or not). Basically i put my fingers in the water to push the food down when releasing it so it doesn't all float and these guys know how to get first dibs.

 

[anewbie]

Another upate - my inle loaches have gotten so bold they now yank the food out of my hand at feeding time (whether i want them to or not). Basically i put my fingers in the water to push the food down when releasing it so it doesn't all float and these guys know how to get first dibs.

I should say even my chocolate cichilds (anotehr aquarium) are much more polite; though the geo are a lot worse they will just eat the whole finger

 

[anewbie]

So it seems about 6 months since i purchased them - the inle loaches are in a 180 and during the summer the temp runs around 76 to 80 - with 80 becoming more common this time of year - the ac is set to 76 but the aquarium is in the warmest part of the floor so it gets warm.

I haven[t' noticed any deaths but they have coloured up quite a bit more then the picture i took on the other page - and have develop much stronger reds - not red red but a pleasing tone of orange red - they are of course very bold often biting my fingers in an attempt to grab food when i feed the fishes in the morning but in general they are almost always out and in motion - would be an interesting fish in a 8 or 10 foot aquarium - the 180 is 6 ft x 30 inches - so a bit shallower for a big aquarium but more floor space.

The rosy loach - i know early on a couple died - and they had sunken stomachs when received - most have made it - they show themselves and are a fun little fish for a 10 but again rather shy - much of the tank is planted and they prefer to remain in the portion most covered by a very thick wad of pearl weed that make that side of the aquarium very dark. Definitely not bold but will creep to the other side slowly if i put food over there.

I think the inle loaches are a bit more robust and a lot more active and as really very striking once they colour up - the rosy loaches are not a bad option for a 10 but i would not consider a large group for a 40 or whatever - i just think there are better options - even among the loaches i think i would go with dwarf chain loaches over rosy in a larger aquarium (they are much too active for a 10 so don't even consider it for anything less than a 20 long). I think part of my negative comment is that they don't openly show themselves much - they just sort of skittle around in the shadows. I have enough fishes that hidden from me for 1 to 2 years that adding another doesn't brighten my day (yes at least 3 of my apisto have 100% hidden from me for over a year only to show me a tail that they were still alive and then i had the stupid green neon tetra that hid from me 100% for over a year - though now there are too many for them to totally hide from me).

A few secondary comments on the rosy loach - they are kept between 73 and 76 (again winter/summer sets the difference); also they have developed a more rosy colour not too dissimilar to the inle loach and the central line has become more solid and bold. They also have a bit of a nervous behavior where 2 or 3 will 'hop' from spot to spot where as mentioned above the inle are extremely assertive and go wherever they feel like going when they want to go there... as well as covering top to bottom.