Weatherloach

[freddie21]

hi all
i purchased a weatherloach yesterday from my local store and now after reading online iv become rather confused...
Online iv read that weatherloach are only for cold water tanks - however i bought the weatherloach from my local store who said that they are fine in tropical tanks too. My mother in law has one - and she has had hers for 5/6years - its really chuky, where as this one i have is very thin - probably only young. Some websites say weatherloaches can adapt to tropical temperatures?
Will the weatherloach be ok in my tank- it seems to be settling in well - is really entertaining to watch - hope he/she will be ok - its one of my favourite fish.
thanks again

 

[lloyd]

to be honest they are ideal cold water fish buy people do keep them with tropicals and they are fine but you have to be careful because true weather loaches can get very big. my nan has two in her pond all year round and they survive even for weeks under ice but i would suggest this isnt a good idea to keep them like that but she wont listen. just because they survive in a tropical tank doesnt mean they are thriving or are happy

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Weather Loaches need big social groups, I used to have seven. They need a big tank, at least 5-foot, my seven used to do tank laps midwater after lights out (hiding in soft sand during the day). Even without raising their metabolism further by keeping them constantly above 22C (but below 25C), they eat a lot of food and so a big group produces a lot of waste, meaning they will put a large bioload strain on the filter's bacterial colonies. My group went from being thin ~6cm specimens to chunky (circumference of my index finger) ~15cm in the space of nine months.