Loach Id Needed, Butterfly Hillstream Loach?

[Starfishpower]

i need to know if these are in fact Beaufortia kweichowensis (Butterfly hillstream loach), I also need to know how to take care of them. Iv read the loach.com profile but its hard to know how much to trust on there. can someone please tell me their requirements: pH, (i cant test for hardness otherwise i would ask for that too), temperature, eating habits, what to feed them, do they school (i bought 3 of them), tank setup, tank mates, how big do they get, ect. i know, i broke the rule... study them before you buy them. but i just wanted them so bad. they're so rare and they look so cool i just had to have them i hope you all understand. here is a link to a picture for ID, it should work. if it doesnt ill see if i can fix it.

[img=http/www3.picturepush.com/photo/a/613926/img/613926.jpg]

 

[loachman]

loaches.com is the best place on the net for loach info pages.

It is definitely a hillstream loach (Beaufortia sp., Gastromyzon sp. or Sewellia sp.). Most likely Beaufortia kweichowensis, as these are by far the most common, but the picture is too blurry to see the fine detail of the spots and markings. Regardless, they all pretty much have the same requirements.

They come from very fast flowing streams. Typically on the sub-tropical side (lower 70s F) and need well oxygenated water as a result. This is probably the leading cause of death (low flow, poorly oxygenated water). Generally peaceful together, but may have a little pecking order squabbles from time to time. Will graze on algae and prepared foods (could take a while to get them used to prepared foods though).

 

[Starfishpower]

ok. im working as fast as i can to get my 55 gallon set up. i plan on turning it into a "river tank" for them. its liable to be 3 weeks though before i can get it ready. right now they are in a 10 gallon with a HOB filter and an airstone. will this be ok until i can get the proper tank set up? the HOB is facing forward so the current doesnt flow across the entire tank and the air line actually has the airstone taken off of it right now since the holes seemed to keep getting clogged. the pH is 6.4. it has a sand substrate and a piece of bogwood. they have been hiding under part of it a little. should i hurry to modify this until i can get the big tank set up or does it sound like it will be ok?

 

[mikev]

Yes, they seem to be Beaufortia kweichowensis. They are perhaps the most common hillstream loach.
Don't expect "shoaling" but it is best to keep several, so they can interact. I keep three of them (sharing tank with Sewellia's and Confuzona's).

They should be fine in your 10g for 3 weeks, in fact you want to quarantine them for at least a month (hillstreams may carry nasty diseases), so don't rush your big tank.

To be on the safe side, lower water level in the tank, so you can see surface movement from the HOB output; you can put a small powerhead into the tank too. You don't need current in the entire tank, only a part of it. Try to keep the temperature below 75-77. IME they will survive in a well-oxygenated tank without problems even at 82F, but not much higher...so watch the temp carefully during the hot days.
Food-wise they will take nearly everything, from algae wafers to frozen bloodworms, and even flakes -- if you can manage to sink a large flake to the bottom of the tank. Driftwood is good, they will sit on it and may hide underneath. ph=6.4 is ok.

hth

 

[Starfishpower]

thank you. now i wish i hadnt done an impulse buy. i would have liked to have used a quarantine tank first but i dont have the room for one. im gona have to make sure thats changed by the end of the summer. guess iv learned that lesson, even if they dont have any diseases, i dont like the idea of risking my other fish getting sick.

is loach.com's profile on them correct then? do they only get 3" long? i need to know what to plan for so i dont waste my money. and ill see if i cant get a better picture up later today.

 

[mikev]

QTank is a very good idea with hillstreams.

Usually, they are smaller than 3", 1.5"-2" is typical.

Others may disagree but I personally don't like the idea of using large tanks with hillstreams, and especially deep tanks -- they come from shallow waters. I use a 55g for small non-hillstream loaches (kuhlis, maassi, termalis, this kind of things)... for the hillstreams, I use 29g tanks and they are pretty good... a 30g should be even better, but 55g is too deep imho. Further, it is easier to start with a smaller tank and design it well.

 

[Starfishpower]

ya, i kinda had plans for my 55 gallon and it wasnt supposed to be turned into a river tank. it was supposed to be a low-stocked simple tank (to start out with for a while atleast until i got the money to turn it into a well planted tank) for some banjo catfish, cory cats, and black kuhli loaches. im wondering if i can turn my 10 gallon into a small river tank for them, do you think that is too small? what length should i look for exactly to properly house them?

 

[mikev]

Go with a 20g/29g if you can.... the fish will be much happier and you can add more when you find other hillstreams. Beaufortia's are nice but there are other exciting things out there

 

[Starfishpower]

ya, there are other things out there im thinking it would be best for me and them if i return them to the store and get my money back. they're interesting but i had no idea they needed such a complicated setup. i kinda feel bad that i bought them in the first place. at least i didnt name them. i just started thinking about how it would be if i kept them and i decided its just to much. i have a banjo cat and a cory cat along with a couple of black kuhli loaches and i really want to get them their own peaceful community tank thats a decent size (i have a 55 gallon i need to get set up) that they can be happy in. i dont really think they would appreciate all that water movement that and i want a simple tank, i dont really have the time to get something horribly complicated as much as i would love to keep these guys. alteast now i know, and i dont think ill make another impulse buy with fish any time soon the majority of this decision is based on the fact that im running out of room to put aquariums and i sorta have plans for the space where i can fit stuff, and i dont want to spend the extra money on another tank just so i can keep these 3 fish only to not have room for them thanks for all your help though atleast now i can make an informed desicion.

 

[mikev]

You decide what is right, but the setup is really not that complicated and in the worst case, 10g will do. IME hillstreams are more entertaining than most other fish and are worth the effort, and Beaufortia's are not that difficult...

Here is a video taken a couple of days ago showing one of the things they do... D), see how the fish in the middle drills the ground (video: xvid codec needed).

Good luck!

 

[Starfishpower]

i suppose i could keep them. i dont know how im going to catch them though to move them to the bigger tank when it gets set up; or even if i decide to give them back to the lfs. any advice on that one? do you think they would be OK in a 55 gallon with only 1 HOB filter for water movement? it'll have sand, bogwood, and a few plants - mainly java moss and java fern. if such a set up is to much of a stretch to honestly be considered a decent home for them i need to know so i can make plans to get them a good place to live. oh and that video, thats kinda cool how it keeps drilling down. i can definately see them kicking up dirt... mine have only been in my tank for a few days now and already there is a strip of sand on the front corner that has been completely brushed away revealing the bare glass on the bottom

 

[mikev]

Catching: not too difficult. put a net around one when it is on the glass, and wait a little, it will usually jump into the net. If it does not, slide a credit card (very gently) under it.

55g with only a HOB: not enough. IMHO for almost any fish you want a canister on a 55g, there are good cheap canister filters out now. Look into Cascade. The hillstreams, however, will be better off staying in a 10g with a good HOB. Again, Cascade is my favorite make.

Bogwood is good. Java Fern is good. My hillstream's favorite plant is, however, simply a very large Amazon Sword, they can utilize large leaves very well. Another interesting idea may be Madagascar Lace...I have a 10g with hillstream gobies who like it. Rocks or large stones will be appreciated. I keep mine on gravel, but I suspect Beaufortia's will not mind large grain sand.
(I think you'll have more fun doing a proper nice smaller tank for them...really).

Yours do not dig, sorry, it is a different hillstream...there are many. But they will chase and fight each other, and this is quite entertaining too. My digger, incidentally, only started doing it a few days ago... Btw, it is not dirt that he is kicking up, it is gravel! He was digging alone till now, but today he finally found a girl interested in his work YouTube

 

[Starfishpower]

ok, you convinced me. ill just move my other fish to the 55 when it gets ready and have the 10 as a little side project. itll be fun. i actually wanted to do this but i wasnt sure id have the extra room or money but im pretty sure i can make it work. i think ill turn it into a planted tank eventually. what kind of a bioload do they have??? in other words, if i find more later how many, total, can i fit in a 10 gallon?

 

[mikev]

Great.

They are not "too heavy" as far as the bioload goes, a comparable size Danio would produce perhaps twice the waste. Your limitation is the floor space: they are territorial, and if you make them too crowded, they will not be comfortable. I like sword plants because they allow me to increase the room. In the Cheni/Gastro tank you saw, Chenis own the tank floor, Gastros hide in the swords.
Your other limitation is that you absolutely must quarantine. I've seen very unpleasant diseases in new hillstreams, many that you will not be able to cure and bad enough to kill every fish in your tank. So if you see another great hillstream tomorrow, don't touch it until you have a qtank....it may end very badly. Or buy fry from someone who breeds them, this is safe.
Having said this, you can probably fit another 2-3..., depending on their size (some species are 3"+)... if you really like them, consider a 20g/29g down the road, you can have a lot more in it.
Plants are good, but with hillstreams you want good rocks first. Put a couple of smooth stones, say 2"-3" in diameter, into the tank and see how they use them. If you can manage to grow some suitable algae on them, the fish will be very happy.
Finally, you don't have to have a hillstream-only tank....it would be more fun with dither. Small danios/rasboras/minnows/rainbows...lots of very attractive choices there.

PS. You can see some large ones on this old thread, these are 3"+, totally unsuitable for a 10g.