Should I Let The Sucking Loach Stay

[Paradese]

I have the following fish in my tank

5 x-ray tetras
2 x mollys
2 x male guppys.

And now I have just today added a sucking loach, but on further research I have read they are not suitable to community tanks and can become aggresive with age?
What do you guys think of this?

Has anyone succesfully had them in a community tank? The shops all seem pretty convinced they will be fine, but all the lititure i have read disagrees.

Please let me know as I want to get him out before any harm is done if this is the case, although it may not apply at the moment as he is so young

please let me know your thoughts im really worried about leaving him in the tank now.

Sucking Loach dont get a good write up at all lol

 

[Cheese Specialist]

How big is the tank?

They can be ok as long as they are the last fish to be added in a large tank. As far as I remember, they grow pretty big.

I personally wouldn't keep one just in case.

 

[Paradese]

How big is the tank?

They can be ok as long as they are the last fish to be added in a large tank. As far as I remember, they grow pretty big.

I personally wouldn't keep one just in case.

Thanks

I really cant beleive all the horrid stuff i have read on them compared to the fish shops advice!! they are capable of sucking out other fishes eyes eeewwwwww

I think ill take him back in the morning I dont want to risk my beautiful other fishes being ate by him!!

 

[Paradese]

What other types of fish do you recommend woulld go well in the community tank with the fish i have?

5 x-ray tetras
2 x mollys
2 x male guppys.

 

[Genesis]

it depends how many litres your tank is

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Bottom feeders would be good as your other fish all occupy the same space. If you like sucky fish, otos are great but it does depend on your tank size.



Oh and I think you made the right decision about the sucking loach.

 

[Paradese]

I am actually not sute what litre my tank is - all i know is its 60 gallons paperwork doesnt tell u in litres and i tried to convert on the net and got really confused.

yeh bottoms feeders do sound like a good idea as all my other fishes all swim up top lol

any you suggest?

im going to look up otos now!!

Yes defo taking him back tomorrow as he was sold to me without any of the risks being pointed out so they should take him back

 

[Cheese Specialist]

60 gallons is a nice sized tank. If it's US galls, it's 225l and if UK it's 270l. I always go in litres as that avoids confusion between US and UK gallons and is more accurate for meds.

Otos are great little fis that like to be in groups, prefer some plants but can be quite sensitive so you want to make sure your tank has been up and running for a while. The only reason I suggested them was because they are not unlike sucking loaches in that they eat algae and have sucky mouths but your tank is really a blank canvas at the moment.

 

[Paradese]

Its uk gallons! I think anyway lol i bought here in the uk so id imagine it is.

Yeh it is a bit of a blank canvis at the mo but i want to be sure to pick the right fish - unlike the sucking loach

i did want a male fighting fish but ive heard they will hurt my little guppys as they see them as smaller fighting fish and will kill them so thats out the question.

I prefer colourful interesting fish and want to find more of a simalar nature to that of the fish i already have something pretty to look at but also with a nice community tank nature

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Its uk gallons! I think anyway lol i bought here in the uk so id imagine it is.

Not necessarily true actually, a lot of tanks are done in US as it's more commonly used worldwide. To calculate the volume in litres I think (and I'm no Carol Voderman!) that you multiply the length x height x width and divide the number by 1,000 to get litres. Then you can always use a convertor to go from there into whatever gallons (I love the convertor for lots of things btw).

i did want a male fighting fish but ive heard they will hurt my little guppys as they see them as smaller fighting fish and will kill them so thats out the question.

This is very true. Male bettas don't generally make very good community fish and certainly not with long/fancy finned fish of any kind, but it has been done.

Centrepiece fish would be nice. I got a couple of angels for mine yesterday, although my pearl gouramis are stealing their thunder at the minute as the angels are 10p sized (give it time ).

What fish do you like? What have you kept before? Do you have plants?

 

[wendywc]

Either the loach goes or the rest of the tank does. I found homes for all my loaches so I could start a community tank.

 

[Bloo]

Either the loach goes or the rest of the tank does. I found homes for all my loaches so I could start a community tank.

When you say you found homes for all your loaches, does that include non-CAE's? If so, why on earth ? Many loaches make fabulous community fish.

Paradese, well (seeing you asked if anyone's kept them successfully) just to muddle things up a bit: I have a CAE in my 50 US gallon community tank and it's been living harmoniously with my community fish for over three years now. Never any aggression, territorial problems and any issues whatsoever. I have loads of bottom feeders.

I've had numerous CAE's throughout the years, and only rehome them when the get too large (which is generally 6" +). Up to that point and size, they also make awesome algae eaters - mine cleans almost non-stop !

In a tank your size and with your current fish (60UK gallons - 273 litres) I really don't see a problem keeping one - as long as you monitor your tank and make sure there are no territorial issues. However, if you decide to keep angelfish, I'd not chance the CAE.

If you're looking for some other centrepiece fish, Rainbow fish will go very well in that tank

Anyway, just thought I'd share my experience so that you can see the other side of the horror stories.
There are other members here on the forum too (such as The-Wolf I think) who keep them in their community tank with success. So as long as you know what you are letting yourself in for and understand their temperament, I don't see a problem

Edit: just to say, they are very slow growers in general. My current one was approx 1" when I got it 3 years ago, and is now approx 4" or so.

 

[Paradese]

Thanks bloozoo2

Its good to hear the other side of the story too as I'm sure not everyone has a bad experiance with them. If I hadnt read the reviews on the net - I wouldnt have considered removing him as I thought he would be fine.

Its the same with any pets people have different experiances - people told me my four dwarf hamster would eventually need seperated as they always end up fighting and they are still together after a year so I would tell people the opposite now.

It really depend.

Thanks for lettnig me know the speed of their growth as I hadnt been able to find that so it seems they grow pretty slowly and I have read the become aggresive once they get to around 4" so basically there shouldnt be any problems for around 3 years if anything is to happen.

Im really in two minds as to whether or not I should keep him and see how it works for me or if i should just go with the bad write ups Im hearing about CAE and not chance it?....

I've also noticed my two mollys are staying near the bottom of the tank alot of the time too is this normal, one particulary stays seems very jumpy and stays very low near the CAE which I'm a bit worried about as I dont want them to be attacked by the CAE for being in 'his' space. Do yout think I should be concered, is this normal for mollys to stay so near the bottom?

Maybe my xrays and guppys wont let them near the top lol

The rainbow fish looks gorgeous!! really lovely fish - how big are they normally?

 

[Bloo]

It's odd for mollys to be at the bottom all the time - I had mollys too (only have one left now) and they are no problems at all with the CAE - they are fairly large, round bellied fish, so don't really pose a temptation for the CAE. Are your other fish claiming the mid and upper territory ?
Have you had them long ? Have they always been like that ? Perhaps they are still sorting their territories, but in a tank that size I wouldn't have thought it's an issue. Perhaps you have a current down there they like or they just like it down there.

There are many many different kinds of Rainbow fish. For one of the best websites around, have a look at this one here. The Rainbows I have are around 4" or so, and are adults. They are probably the most "common" ones you will find in the general trade - though do keep in mind that they look quite different as youngsters and only develop their color as they mature. And females are not as colourful.

Here's my CAE - how can I get rid of such a beady-black eyed-beauty ?

 

[Paradese]

Well the Guppys and Xray Tetras seem to be domanating the top of the tank but not the mid areas so i thought they might go there?! they havent been in long so as you say may just be finding where they want to be still, ill keep an eye on them.

Wow great pic of your CAE is looks brilliant! nice colour!

I'll check out that site for more info on rainbow fish - thanks! Thats ok growing to around 4" nice size too would go really well in my tank.

All the males seem to be better looking than the ladies! in the fish world anyway