Ok, getting some ideas on 30 gallon tank

[flamingonhot]

Ok, as you can tell from my old post I wanted to get some hillstreams. Well I think I may do a 30 gallon. I'm going to set it up like martin's or all the other hillstream enthusiasts tanks.

But I don't JUST want hillstreams. I want some other loaches (been getting into them lately. So does anyone know a good site selling them other than aquabid?

Here's what i'm really looking for:

Schistura mahnerti
Schistura savona
Schistura kohchangensis
Nemacheilichthys ruppelli
Botia histrionica
Acanthocobitis rubidipinnis
Acanthocobitis botia
Nemacheilus selangoricus

Of course, i know some are very hard to find but i'm just makin ga list of what I really like on the forum's database. If I can find them hopefully they can be kept in the 30 with the hill's but if not I have a spare 10 gallon and may set up the 65 again someday.

[Mark in Vancouver]

You're a little ahead of yourself, IMO, because fish like these don't just show up all at once.

On a positive note, brook loaches are fine in a high-current hillstream tank - they just need shelter. When I set up my 60 gallon RT, I knew that the hillstreams would be fine given good circulation, so designed the filters to deal with that. The brook loaches wanted more focus on the floor of the tank.

I laid down varying lengths of pvc tubing, and then added sand/gravel in such a way as to leave some ends to some of the pvc open for hiding spots. Then I poached many trips' worth of river stones from local (healthy) streams with high flow. I am close to the rivers that drain the mountains nearby, and they are VERY healthy as we get so much rain. I built up a layer of relatively large rocks at least two levels high, carefully setting them so they did not wobble or move.

When the tank was cycled and I added the brook loaches I had at the time, they were like porpoises, diving in and out of the abundant new caves and crevices. The hillstreams get down in there too, but it is the primary domain of the brook loaches.

Some of the brook loaches can get big and domineering, so be warned.

Schistura mahnerti will probably show up in shops if you ask around. They are very common here, anyway. S. savona are rarer, and S. kochangensis are a total fluke. Acanthocobitis species (IMO) are very rarely seen in the shops. Be warned - they get big and bothersome. I am down to one A. rubidpinnis for this reason, and he still hassles the other fish, but not as bad as when there were two. The other species you mention appear from time to time - apparently - but I have never seen them.

S. mahnerti is a great loach: long-lived, sturdy, self-sufficient. Look for Microneamacheilus pulcher, as well. They are way more colourful and interesting than is made out on the LOL species index, and they spend a great deal of time in the middle water column.

Sadly, the brook loaches are either unpopular in the eyes of fish importers or they import badly. I just never see them around here.

Perhaps my favourite remains the A. rubidpinnis, but if I were to do it again, I'd build an even bigger tank and consider keeping them on their own. Or, get one.

[Mark in Vancouver]

Here's a very early (prior to cycling) look at the brook tank. After this, I added even more rocks. At feeding times, the fish shoot out of all the holes and grab food... it's rather good.

[Jim Powers]

fish2u.com often has schistura savona (sold as bicolor loach).
I just picked up a couple of these little guys this week from my favorite lfs so they are out there. They don't show up every year, so I was glad to find them.
They are tiny schisturas so I don't know how they would do with some of the more aggressive big guys.
I put mine in a ten gallon with a school of tiny danio nigrofasciatus and schistura beavani (another small schistura). I added a small powerhead and have made a mini river tank.

[flamingonhot]

Ok, thx. I know I'm getting alittle overboard here yes but I;m not going to get all fo them at once. I just wanted to know if I could get them and where.

[Graeme Robson]

Jim, These little chaps are great (schistura savona). Fascinating to watch, if you can find them. Mine don't really spend much time on the substrate, they prefer to hang around on broad leafed plants.