Loaches With Personality

[Loraxx]

I have just got a new 33 gallon tank that I will be setting up/ cycling in the next month or so. When I first started researching what to put in it, I was considering Clown Loaches because my aunt has some in her 50gallon and I am in love with them. Unfortunetly, I have discovered my 33 is far to small for these guys.

So are there any other loaches that are smallish with the same insane personality? I would love them to have intresting colour/pattern as well but this is not essential.

And one other question, can peaceful loaches go in with Bolivian Ram Chiclids or Gourami's?

 

[millym]

hi
i dont know about compatabiliy with cichlids or gouramis but we have 2 yoyo (pakistani) loaches & they are full of character & we love them! worth a thought as the max they grow to is about 9cm. i know they prefer their own company & are even better if you have 3 or more (we dont have room). if you do a search you can find some good info on them.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Black khuli loachs are much more active than the common striped ones and have lots of personality, they are mad little things at times and very peaceful fish that are not agressive or nippy and very interesting looking .

 

[MAM]

I have a group of Botia striata (Zebra Loach). They're a smaller loach. Some sites say they may be semi-aggressive (like Yo-yo loaches), some sites will tell you they are peaceful. From my experience, they are quite peaceful little guys. They are also very active, always flitting about the tank. That, and though they are not the most colorful fish, their stripes give them character. I had them with my Gouramis, when I had Gouramis, without problems.

 

[Weaver]

Ive got 2 zebra loach in a 28g uk with 2 pearl gourami,1 bolivian ram,3 swordtail and 6 black phantom tetra with no problems at all.The zebras are very lively nosey little fish

 

[The-Wolf]

hi
yoyo (pakistani) loaches & they are full of character & we love them! worth a thought as the max they grow to is about 9cm.

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Erm I hate to burst you bubble milly, but the yoyo loach maxes out at 8".
I have two that are currently 7"

I'd go for the botia striata in that size tank
you should be fine with bolivian rams, but the gourami may get picked on
due to his slowness, especially at feeding time.

 

[millym]

the- wolf -8" ??? i did quite a bit of reading on them before we got them & all said max size was around 9cm......we've had ours for about 2 & a half years & the biggest is about 9cm. i'd be v sad if we had to rehome them still might be an excuse to get a meg big tank instead & keep them
how old are your yoyos wolf?

 

[The-Wolf]

I've had the two that are 7" for just over a year; the guy I got them off said he had them for three years, so I guess they are around 4 years old

here is a pic of one of them, the golden nugget(r.i.p) on the wood is an adult size, so that should give you some idea of the size.

 

[SarahBravo]

You could also go for dwarf chain loaches - they stay pretty small (1.5 - 3") and are absolute nutters!! they are into everything and everyone. you definitely will see them all the time! And i think they're pretty cute!

 

[Fiori]

I've got some polka dot loaches in a community tank - no problems for the other fish and the loaches are active, zipping about all over the place. I believe they only grown to 3 to 4 inches as well.

 

[Loraxx]

Wow, thanks for all the replys, (keep 'em coming!).

Many sites reccomend keeping loaches in groups, is a group of 3 big enough?

How agressive are Zebra Loaches?

And in a sort of off topic comment, I'm sitting here staring at my new tank, good lord it's huge! Okay, I know it is actually fairly small but when you go from a 10 gallon to a 33, it's mind boggling!

 

[The-Wolf]

I have many loaches of the botia species in together, they all get along with eachother and often snuggle to eachother to sleep.

Zebra loaches are no more aggressive than most other botias, the only aggressive botia, ime, is the skunk loach botia morleti
these should be avoided like the plague.

3 is a good size group.

 

[CathyG]

For the record, comparing the Bronze Cory and The Yoyo, mine are the same size as The Wolf's

 

[Sky042]

wow I've never seen a yo-yo that large. I wonder if you got some form of cousin to it.

If they get to be 10 inches and not the 4 inches I reasearched I'm screwed. I've got 10 in a 54 Corner bow.

I will say in a group of 10 they're VERY active.

 

[KeddyPie]

I have 2 dojo/weather loaches, they have a LOT of personality They like to chase my finger around the glass, dig up everything, and try to school with my betta. (Yeah, it's strange, but the betta doesn't mind at all). They also like to sleep upsidedown in my java moss, which used to scare the hell out of me before I got used to it ^^