A very angry loach problem. Now with pictures.

[The Angry Loach]

I have a loach that i have yet to identify. I've had him for just short of a year now and nothing I have done has calmed this fish down. We know that he is a loach. We know that he is silver. We know that he has "red" fins. Which in all reality are just a brownish gold/yellow. We know that he has a black oval and not a stripe right before his back fin. Every loach i have ever read about is usually pretty calm and live in communities just fine. First, I had him living with a betta, some platies, six kuhli loaches, and some other various fish in a highly planted tank with lots of hides for the kuhlis that he fit into just fine. A day or two in, this guy ripped my betta, the platies, and everyone else to shreds. Momma was not pleased. So I decided to move him into a tank with big fish. Two enormous gold fish, a gigantic algae eater, the mother of all snails, and so on. Another planted tank with lots of hides. This was my 29 gallon tank and this guys was less than an inch long when he came home. He then bit the other fish until they were terrified of him. The mother of all snails, slain in the middle of the night. I did some reading and read that a diet of live prey should calm him down. So I went and bought him some tasty ghost shrimp. that kept him busy for... two days at most. All twenty shrimp were never seen again. This was horrible. So i put him in a large mesh separator until he was moved into his own 20 gallon tank with four very tiny clown loaches. I read that other loaches calm down loaches. This didn't work either. I got him a bigger and better hide. It's a giagundus tree trunk. More plants. More shrimp. Nothing kept him from biting. I then decided to get a much larger tank. My current is a 55 gallon. With enough hides to practically cover the bottom and a field of plants for what to a small fish must feel like miles. This worked for 12 hours. He started attacking the kuhlis in the new tank, the young platies (around six months), the bichir, the algae eater, the clown loaches(now seven little guys), the bala sharks, and all of my snail army had been slain. Snails are loach food, so I saw that one coming. We've suffered six fatalities since he's gotten into the large tank and one of my balas will never see from his right eye again. I feed them a wide variety of foods, I rearrange the tank every month, and I'm constantly removing the wounded for treatment. What I would love to know is if some one has any idea what this guy is and why he's so angry! Always with the clicking! I'm starting to consider putting him in a tank by himself and I know that's no way for a fish to live. Any help would be loved on this subject.

If you're wondering, his name is Normandy. Play Mass Effect and you may understand. xD

[DainBramage1991]

Is this your fella?

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/ya ... ia-modesta

Please note this quote:
"The fish are highly territorial and a lot of in-fighting will be seen. During these interactions and at feeding times, this species may be very vocal with its clicking noises."

My suggestion would be to either keep your fish by himself in a moderately sized tank (a 40 breeder would be my suggestion), or find another 4 or 5 modestas and keep them by themselves.

[The Angry Loach]

Not him. I'll have to try to get a picture of him to narrow down the search.

[plaalye]

When you refer to the oval before his back fin are you referring to the dorsal fin on the top/back or the tail/caudal fin? Have you looked through the species index? Here's another possibility.

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/yasuhikotakia-eos

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/ya ... a-lecontei

[NancyD]

Most of the aggressive botia-type loaches do much better with several of their own species...& not at all well with smaller, more passive species. Young loaches are always hungry & will eat anything, tankmates included. If you can rehome him I would...it isn't going to get better.

[Doc]

You broke one of the fundamental rules of fish keeping..

Don't buy a fish without researching first... !!!!!!!!!

A year on and despite all the reading you have done in attempting to calm down this fish you still haven't managed to actually Identify it?? How you can you research methods of calming it down when you haven't a clue to it's actual species?

Get a photo of the fish in question and upload it here. Then we can actually advise you on the best and correct action to follow..

[The Angry Loach]

Got some pictures of my elusive and very quick loach. He has traits that a lot of stream-lined loaches have, but no real indicators to specifics. He could even pass for a skunk loach with no fin streaks. Dx

plaalye, your suggestions are very close. Hopefully our pictures can narrow down the search with more advanced loach owners.

[The Angry Loach]

UPDATE! He has finally calmed down! Turns out my large algae eater thinks the whoooole tank is his and clobbered the little angry fella until he submitted(clarification--he was not injured in anyway). Now he "shadows" the big guy and stays out of trouble. He even has a biiig ol' piece of drift wood to comfortably sit anywhere he wants with out worrying about god knows what. Next step: identify!

[chefkeith]

Looks like a faded out Blue Botia (Yasuhikotakia modesta) to me.

[plaalye]

Looks more like y. eos to me. Notoriously nasty!