Loaches Online Forum

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing.

I added three dwarf loaches to my tank last weekend. The only other inhabitants at this point are two otocinclus cats and six neons.

The funny thing is - the loaches and the otos more often than not shoal together. I have seen the otos seek out the loaches company, and often the loaches will follow the otos' lead and swim where they are going. The feeling seems mutual.

I guess there are many similarities in size, coloring and frenetic swimming behavior, but I never would have thought they'd enjoy each other so much. I have not seen any aggression whatsoever. I thought maybe they would stop when everything settled down after the excitement over adding new fish - and maybe they still will - but it's been four days now.

Mine did that for a long time -- and still do it occasionally. In fact, just after I got the Sids (Dwarf Loaches), I found an otto with his head stuck in a snail shell, luckily still alive. I imagined the Dwarfs were snickering behind the driftwood. I pulled the Otto out of the shell, and interestingly they seemed to hang out a lot less frequently with the dwarfs after that.