Manic Pygmy Chain Loaches

[raylove]

I have had a weird thought this evening.
I have some 8 year old Pygmy Chain Loaches.
They've always been super active and I'm currently watching them whizzing back and forth along the length of the 4 foot tank that they live in.
It takes 5 seconds from one end to the other, so they are swimming about 48 feet per minute. They do this for at least 5-6 hours a day, which means they are swimming between 3 and 4 miles per day! Not bad for 2" fishes!
I can't think of any other fish that are likely to cover that kind of distance in captivity. Danios are certainly active but they don't travel as fast, nor are they non-stop, so I doubt they get anywhere near that figure.
Can anyone else think of a fish that is as manically active?

 

[Innesfan]

I'm a big fan of the genus of Barbs, Pethia, which includes some pretty well-known, beloved and very active species--Black Rubies (Pethia nigrofasciata), Rosies (Pethia conchonius), Odessas (Pethia padamya) etc. The latter border on manic. But one Pethia species that is inarguably manic is the Lipstick Barb (Pethia erythromycter), a diminutive, eye-catching but totally manic thing. Aquariums are often thought-of as relaxing, hence how many doctors and dentists often have them in their offices. But a tank of Lipstick Barbs with their endless, robo-charged chasing, is downright anxiety-producing. Pity, they really are handsome little things.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I'm a big fan of the genus of Barbs, Pethia, which includes some pretty well-known, beloved and very active species--Black Rubies (Pethia nigrofasciata), Rosies (Pethia conchonius), Odessas (Pethia padamya) etc. The latter border on manic. But one Pethia species that is inarguably manic is the Lipstick Barb (Pethia erythromycter), a diminutive, eye-catching but totally manic thing. Aquariums are often thought-of as relaxing, hence how many doctors and dentists often have them in their offices. But a tank of Lipstick Barbs with their endless, robo-charged chasing, is downright anxiety-producing. Pity, they really are handsome little things.

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I felt the same way when I had a school of giant Danios (Devario aequipinnatus) in a 55g. They were pretty, but they stressed me out. Watching that tank felt like being on a playground with a bunch of sugared-up first graders.

 

[fishorama]

I've kept sidthimunki loaches (dwarf chains) several times over the years. While they were always pretty active, mine were nothing like yours, lol. What other fish are in their tank?

My last time keeping 10? of them was in a 4ft 75g with 6 young zebra loaches & espei rasboras. Funny thing, half the sids & half the zebras lived together at each end of the tank. A female sid of each group was "boss". They didn't fight ever but only interacted at feeding time, then back to their friends at either end.

Sidthimunki are 1 of my all time favorite fish I hope to keep again! Active, long lived & cute as all get out! What's not to love?

 

[gimme30]

Not freshwater, but I had a school of lyretail anthias that'd make you dizzy. Couldn't have much in the way of hardscape because they needed the room to blast around. The fish I keep now seem positively lazy compared to them.