New Botia's

[Mad Duff]

Well I had a great find today, I had a look in a pet shop that only has a few tanks that are normally filled with swords, platies and neons etc nothing out of the ordinary.

I was having a quick look when I noticed a nose poking out of an ornament and when it came out I was pretty sure It was a Botia Eos or Sun Loach and only £2.50 each.

Needless to say I got all 3 and I have had it confirmed that they are Botia Eos, total bargain .

 

[wuvmybetta]

Stunning. I don't believe I've ever seen one before. They look quite large already, how big are they?

 

[Mad Duff]

They are only about 2" now, from the info I can find their maximum size is anything from 2.5" up to 4.5".

They are a stunning fish, the colours on them now they have settled into their tank are lovely.

 

[danny101]

I love loaches! they have such character..i have a couple of Schistura pridii on order from BAS...nice rare loaches..heres a pic!!





Danny

 

[helsekia]

very nice fish.ive never seen sun loaches before they are lovely arent they

 

[Barracuda518]

Very nice

I heard that they get mistaken for Skunk Loaches all the time. So when I see some skunks, Im always looking for the Sun Loaches too.

 

[digital_run]

I've got 5 Skunk Loaches and I can see how they would easily be mistaken. A little more yellow on the tail and they would be almost identical.

 

[Littlelady]

Awww They're lovely congratulations!! Look at all that character in those lovely faces

 

[Mad Duff]

Lovely they are, peaceful they ain't.

They are in their own tank this morning, they were ok with the other loaches last night but this morning they are chasing and harassing all the other loaches and even having a go at the brochis that were in the tank.

It is amazing how much they can change colours as they are moving around the tank.

 

[The-Wolf]

I have some Botia caudipunctata Speckletail loach
which are very similar.
yours are better though

 

[Barracuda518]

Lovely they are, peaceful they ain't.

They are in their own tank this morning, they were ok with the other loaches last night but this morning they are chasing and harassing all the other loaches and even having a go at the brochis that were in the tank.

It is amazing how much they can change colours as they are moving around the tank.

Yeah I read on some websites a while back they could be nasty. They need lots of space to establish territories and be able to defend them. I also read where they change colors drastically when they are stressed, but once they settle in, their colors come back like you said.

This is one of the reasons why if I did find some, I wouldnt be able to get them due to lack of tank space

Very nice find

 

[Mad Duff]

Cheers Wolf, what size tank do you have your Caudipunctata in and what do you have with them.

Barrcuda518, they are in a 15 gallon tank at the moment until I sort out a couple of tanks and they seem happy enough with each others company. They follow each other round the tank but don't chase each other, there is a bit of clicking when they all go in the log but they seem happy enough.

 

[The-Wolf]

Cheers Wolf, what size tank do you have your Caudipunctata in and what do you have with them.

82 gall tank
6x Rasbora elegans, 6x Danio danglia 3x Danio devario, 1x Devario devario, 4x Devario aequipinnatus, 6x Botia almorhae, 2x Botia Caudipunctata, 2x Botia modesta, 4x Botia Angelicus, 7x Botia macracanthus, 5x Botia striata, 3x Syncrossus helodes, 1x Syncrossus berdmorei, 2x Schistura mahnerti, 1x Polypterus palmas palmas, 3x Erpetoichthys calabaricus, 2x Atyopsis gabonensis. 1x L200

 

[Mad Duff]

That sounds like a nice tank, how do you find the aggression levels of the Caudipunctatus towards their tank mates especially the other loaches.

I was under the impression that the Caudipunctatus are more aggressive than the Eos, I was thinking a bout trying these 3 Eos in my 80 gallon tank which has mainly tetras and rasboras in along with 6 clown loach which are all bigger than the Eos. The only thing is the Eos were having a bit of a go at the brochis in the other tank and in the 80G I have 3 porthole cats and I don't want any harm coming to them.

 

[The-Wolf]

I just had a feeling you were going to ask about the aggresion.

My theory is this.....
so called aggressive loaches are only aggressive if
1) they are kept on thier own
2) they are the largest fish in the tank
3) the are kept in less than ideal tanks (IE tank is too small)

As I have several clowns and a couple of yoyos that are twice the size of my
"aggresive" loaches and the fact that there is a polypterus in with them,
the worst that I have seen from them is a 5-10second sparing.

The species that I have that have a reputation for aggression, apart from the
Caudipunctatus are B.Modesta, S.Helodes & S.Berdmorei. I did have a 5"
CAE (golden) in with this lot and he was perfectly nice.


I'm even considering trying Skunks out in this tank, although
I feel that they have a well deserved reputation for aggression.