Can anyone suggest other loach to keep with my zebra loach.

Complete_Control · Post by **Complete_Control** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:09 am

Hello

I have a zebra loach in a moderately planted 150 litre (40 gallon) tank with a combination of sand, pebbles and rocks and pvc tubes.

I have a single zebra loach and want to get him some buddies but i dont want to get yet more zebras. Can anyone offer suggestions for compatible loach that wont grow too big. No bigger than 4 inches anyway.

I lost every fish in my tank in a powercut whilst i was away on vacation and want to restock. I lost plecs, yoyo loach, corydoras, alsorts of other catfish, congo tetra, bala sharks.. EVERYTHING! All apart from one little zebra loach that managed to survive perishingly cold water for a few days.

Can anyone suggest some friends for him?

Cheers guys

Doc · Post by **Doc** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:11 am

The best advice I can give is More Zebra Loaches. Why do you not want any more?

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:28 am

i agree! more zebra loaches is the best thing to do. they NEED company of their own kind. without, they can be very shy, and will not be behaving normally

newshound · Post by **newshound** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:02 am

just get rid of the zebra if you don't want anymore.

Jim Powers · Post by **Jim Powers** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 3:39 pm

More zebras is the best idea.

piggy4 · Post by **piggy4** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 4:55 am

I'm always amazed that with all the thousands of options people are asking other people which fish they can add , with most of the people i know ,they somtimes have to consider selling off stock to make way for new fish ! as for Zebra Botias there are tons of options from Asia alone !

Eyrie · Post by **Eyrie** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:19 am

People usually ask because they're concerned about compatibility. Agree though that Asian fish are a more appropriate choice than SA.

piggy4 · Post by **piggy4** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:30 am

Hi Eyrie, yeah i know , i do think some people need to perhaps get a cheap book ! I keep Zebras [Striata's] myself and the amount of tank mates to suggest is quite staggering , AND also part of the fun ! am i being cynical ?

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:24 pm

the problem with cheap books is that they are worth less than what you pay for them. half the info is a load of rubbish, and pictures are wrongly labelled.

it is part of the fun in choosing fish for your tank, but it soon stops being fun when you get it wrong through bad advice, and it ends up a disaster. how many times do we hear about bad advice on here?

LoachOrgy · Post by **LoachOrgy** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:51 pm

more zebras. i have 7 and they are the best. then feed them a shrimp stick.

you get a spoon or stick. then get some salad shrimp and place them on that spoon. they will fight and tear it up, its quite entertaining. i have some videos posted around this forum of that exact thing im talking about. take a look and you may find them.

crazy loaches · Post by **crazy loaches** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 1:59 pm

I would have to agree either get the zebra more companions (4 more at lthe minimum) or try to trade him at the lfs for other fish you want, or find some other local hobbyists that might have zebras. They really do much better amongst buddies.

Just to give you a little story, when I was newer in the aquarium scene I was obsessed it seems with getting the most amount of different fish. Even schooling fish, I'd only get one or two of each. A few years ago when I first saw the Zebra Loaches I bought a pair. For some reason I always though a pair was enough for schooling fish. Well, they were really neat fish and I was disappointed I rarely saw them out and about. And one of them died that year so I was left with one. Once the one was by himself I rarely saw him at all, at one point going about half year without seeing him. When I broke the tank down I was shocked to find him... thought he had died long ago. When I upped to a 75g I put a few more zebras in there. The new ones loosely schooled but were often seen and they seemed to like to search all over the tank. The old one seemed to suffer long term effects from being single... he rarely came out still. After about a year in a tank with a group of 6 or more he is now sometimes seen out with the group but very skittish. I've had similar but not quite as extreme story with the clowns since I first started out with 3. I did notice a behavioral change when I upped the group to 7.

I now find its much more impressive to see a nice shoal of the same fish. Some of the nicest tanks I have ever seen have just a couple species of fish, anywhere from the smallish corner tank at the lfs with 3-4 dozen rummynose tetras and a couple dozen shrimp to a few hundred gallon tank with over a 100 each or a few species.

Many think that since Loaches dont tightly school like a bunch of tetras that they dont need to be in groups but this just isnt the case, at least for most Loaches. Even if they often arent together all the time they do have a social structure and know the other guys are around with them in the tank.

Complete_Control · Post by **Complete_Control** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:26 am

piggy4 wrote:Hi Eyrie, yeah i know , i do think some people need to perhaps get a cheap book ! I keep Zebras [Striata's] myself and the amount of tank mates to suggest is quite staggering , AND also part of the fun ! am i being cynical ?

Yep and elitest. Which is ironic becuase i came on here for an intelectual discussion and not to go get bitchy & totally mundane grief from a bored try-hard.

What is documented as 'community tank' or 'species tank' in a cheap paper back, is hardly sufficient basis for specific & proactive compatibility.

Remember, you dump on the so called 'little people' to make up for you own mundane life or maybe to cover for your own insecurities. Its also a good idea to remember that everyone else is quite aware of this. Think on.

Doc wrote:The best advice I can give is More Zebra Loaches. Why do you not want any more?

I read that they're fairly social and wanted to try and find a compromise between adding veriety to my tank and improving the enviroment for my zebra. Do you think he would he hang out with corydoras? etc..

helen nightingale · Post by **helen nightingale** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:32 am

if you look back over the thread, i think you will find your answer.

cories also need to be kept in groups, so just getting a few cories will lead to the same issues.

i have to ask, what else are you prepared to compromise on?

Kamapa · Post by **Kamapa** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:18 am

The only sensible answer you're going to get is more Botia striata, that is simply the right thing to do. I have a shoal myself and they're active and exciting fish to keep. Personally I think they're very attractive fish too.

I personally would like a mixed shoal of loaches, I think it'd be great but the only sensible way to achieve this is to have a large tank with groups of 5 or so of each and hope they all get along and hang about together.

piggy4 · Post by **piggy4** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 12:12 pm

ELETIST good lord

ha ha , sorry C C , i guess your right , i didnt mean to come accross in that way , Okay why not try an Indian themed tank ? i.e. more Striatas , and a few Danios i.e. Zebra's or Devario's , perhaps a selection of small to medium barbs ? Ticto's ,Chola's , or even some Chela's ?

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Can anyone suggest other loach to keep with my zebra loach.

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