Botia morleti-- Skunk Loach

[Hypancistrus]

I am interested in keeping skunk loaches. I have a 20 gallon tank already cycled. Could I keep skunk loaches in a 20, or do they need a larger tank? If so, how many? What would be a good "upper level" species to keep with them? Danios? Tiger Barbs?

[Nonn]

Keep them in school of at least 5, this is how they live in nature. The upper fish can be medium size Cyprinids like Devario, medium size Puntius like the sp. Odessa and Tigerbarb, Danio maybe a little bit too small. Keep in mind that this is one of the most aggressive loach out there and they maybe the only species of loach you can keep in your tank.

[JonGuerriero]

I am interested in keeping skunk loaches. I have a 20 gallon tank already cycled. Could I keep skunk loaches in a 20, or do they need a larger tank? If so, how many? What would be a good "upper level" species to keep with them? Danios? Tiger Barbs?

Welcome.

Is the tank a standard 20 or a 20 long?

I kept 2 skunks in a 20 long for about 8 months and then upgraded the tank to a 40 long. The problem is that they can be pretty territorial. I felt like the upgrade was necessary if I wanted to keep the skunks. They need lots of hiding spots and I needed a tank with a bigger footprint.

It's funny you mentioned tiger barbs because that’s what I originally had in the tank for dither (in the 40, now there are giant danios), they were great but you should really keep at least 5 of them or they get pretty nippy. What ever you pick for dither make sure they’re fast, hardy and don’t have long fins. Zebra danios would probably be a good fit for the 20. You could throw a school of 5 in the tank and there would always be activity. Those fish are insane!

A good idea might be to pickup 3 small skunks now with the plan of upgrading the tank later (if you have the space). The 40 long I have was $90 USD. Not too bad if you put $10 for the next 9 months.

Personally I love the skunks. They have great personalities and are a lot of fun to watch. They love snails!

[Mark in Vancouver]

I brought a pair of skunks home months ago and quarantined them in a 20 gallon tank - not a long tank, but with ample hide outs. They seemed to get really well adjusted quickly. They do some brief territorial shows with each other, but it's not harmfully violent. I would like to get more, and follow Nonn's advice, but I would like a bigger tank - even a 30g. They need some room, even for small loaches.

[Hypancistrus]

Thanks! It's a 20 high. I have a 20 long that is a livebearer tank with 3 platies and 5 guppies. I don't think they would fit well in there, but perhaps I could swap tanks-- move the 8 livebearers into the 20 high, and have the loaches in the 20L.

[JonGuerriero]

Thanks! It's a 20 high. I have a 20 long that is a livebearer tank with 3 platies and 5 guppies. I don't think they would fit well in there, but perhaps I could swap tanks-- move the 8 livebearers into the 20 high, and have the loaches in the 20L.

That's probably a good idea. If you have two 20 gallon tanks I would use the tank with the biggest footprint for the skunks.

Have you kept skunks before? They are great fun!

[Hypancistrus]

Only the one... I was a teenager, knew nothing about it and popped it into my 10 with a betta. The end results were not pretty, but they have fascinated me ever since.

[JonGuerriero]

Only the one... I was a teenager, knew nothing about it and popped it into my 10 with a betta. The end results were not pretty, but they have fascinated me ever since.

That's funny (not what happened to the betta, the situation itself) because my g/f had the great idea to drop her betta in with my yoyos....against my advice. The results were probably not a catastrophic as yours but I really haven't seen a sorrier looking betta then when we pulled the poor guy out after about 48 hours.