Wanting to start a loach tank.

[GhostArcher]

Hello Everyone! I have been tossing around the idea of a loach tank for some time now. I currently keep and breed plecos and cory cats so, I know about catfish but, I have never kept loaches. What would be the best loach to start with for a 75 gallon tank? Are there any loaches that breed in an aquarium setting that can be kept in a 75? I would like this to be a single species tank. So, what loaches do best in groups? I know that most loaches come from streams so, what kind of flow will I need in a 75? What is the best substrate for loaches? Thanks in advance for any help!

[GhostArcher]

Hellooooo.... Anyone out there?

[mattyd]

There is no need to be impatient.... You first posted only a few days ago, and then not even 21 hours later you post your second comment.

Keeping fish requires patience and care. Patience that you seem to lack if I based it on the amount of time between you asking your second question so soon after your first lot.

But I'll try to do what I can.

How big is a 75 gallon tank? What is the length of your tank, and floor space? I live in a country where dimensions are in metric centimeters. I understand the imperial dimension as well.... But I also know that a 75 gallon tank can be long and narrow and short, or it can be reasonably high, and deep and not so long. Dimensions would be good, please.

All loaches do best in groups. You should never have fewer than 5-6 loaches in one tank, as they are a very social fish. Very few loaches have bred in captivity, so I wouldn't worry about that. If you want the loaches to breed, be prepared to devote significant effort to getting them into ultimate condition and provide them with the ultimate environment and water quality.

If you want a species-only tank of loaches, I would suggest one of the smaller loaches. Clown Loaches would get too large over the years as they grow older and bigger, although they are my second favourite type of loach behind the borneo-sucker loaches. Perhaps the striped 'Zebra' loach, botia striata, might be suitable. They can be hard to find and expensive, but you haven't told us where you live so I can't comment on your local availability.

Best Substrate: very small natural gravel, or a coarse sand would be fine. Try to avoid that black gravel that increases the PH. Try to avoid fine sand, because loaches can mess it up and leave your tank looking constantly cloudy. And try to avoid the coarse gravel, because the loaches do like to dig their faces into the gravel hunting for snails and worms, and some people believe that if the gravel is too coarse then it can damage the little 'barbels' (spines) that are like cat-fish whiskers.

Are you after the cory shaped loaches? Or the bristlenose shaped Borneo-sucker loaches? I'm about to set up a bunch of 5ft long x 18-22inch wide x 16-20 inch high tanks specifically for my collection of borneo sucker loaches.

[GhostArcher]

Its a standard 75 gallon. 48" x 18" x 21" (L,W,H). I live in Western North Carolina. Would Pool filter sand be good? That is what I use in my plec breeding tanks. The Borneo sucker loach is a really good looking fish. Are they commonly available in th U.S. ?

[mattyd]

Ah, so almost a standard 4ft tank size. That size isn't really 'perfect' for any type of loach, because loaches prefer floor space instead of water height, in the same way that corys and bristlenose/l-numbers prefer floor-space and barely ever swim in the middle or top sections of the tank.

Depending on how much effort you wanted to go through, you could set that tank up really nicely for 20-30 borneo sucker type loaches, including some kuhli loaches and maybe some small danios/rasboras/rainbow fish. There are a few really good set ups in the threads in this forum, and I'd highly recommend this sort of design if you are interested in the borneo sucker fish: Alan Repashy's Hillstream tank. http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23348

You will probably need to ring around to a few aquarium stores, but the higher quality ones will surely be able to get some of the borneo sucker fish in. If not, there are probably online USA fish stores that will ship them to you. Since I don't live anywhere near USA, this question is best answered by someone else.

If you do chose to go with a rocky river hillstream tank, set up with in a river tank style manifold, you will have a brilliant and fun tank to look at. I love my different river tanks. And everyone that comes over loves them too. I must have done something right as well, because I've managed to look after my sewellia lineolata so well that they constantly spawn and I now have heaps of juveniles and fry. It is something to behold at feeding time when hundreds of little fish all dart out of their hiding places under pebbles and rocks to grab the feed as it floats past.

And yes, I guess pool filter sand would be okay. If you have too much water movement in the tank it could move around a bit too easily, but it depends on what sort of pumps/filters you use and where you direct the water. Most loaches play in the water current though, so you should try and keep the direct flow of the water as low to the bottom as possible.

[GhostArcher]

Ah, so almost a standard 4ft tank size. That size isn't really 'perfect' for any type of loach, because loaches prefer floor space instead of water height, in the same way that corys and bristlenose/l-numbers prefer floor-space and barely ever swim in the middle or top sections of the tank.

Depending on how much effort you wanted to go through, you could set that tank up really nicely for 20-30 borneo sucker type loaches, including some kuhli loaches and maybe some small danios/rasboras/rainbow fish. There are a few really good set ups in the threads in this forum, and I'd highly recommend this sort of design if you are interested in the borneo sucker fish: Alan Repashy's Hillstream tank. http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23348

You will probably need to ring around to a few aquarium stores, but the higher quality ones will surely be able to get some of the borneo sucker fish in. If not, there are probably online USA fish stores that will ship them to you. Since I don't live anywhere near USA, this question is best answered by someone else.

If you do chose to go with a rocky river hillstream tank, set up with in a river tank style manifold, you will have a brilliant and fun tank to look at. I love my different river tanks. And everyone that comes over loves them too. I must have done something right as well, because I've managed to look after my sewellia lineolata so well that they constantly spawn and I now have heaps of juveniles and fry. It is something to behold at feeding time when hundreds of little fish all dart out of their hiding places under pebbles and rocks to grab the feed as it floats past.

And yes, I guess pool filter sand would be okay. If you have too much water movement in the tank it could move around a bit too easily, but it depends on what sort of pumps/filters you use and where you direct the water. Most loaches play in the water current though, so you should try and keep the direct flow of the water as low to the bottom as possible.

Thank you very much! Going to buy the equipment today so I can start cycling the tank.

[polinkuer12]

Hi, I would like to know if your fish is difficult to keep?
Drift Boss