Taking on Botia Striata loaches

[Illsavemyself]

I have today reserved from my LFS 5 Botia striata which I will be able to add to my tank in about 2-3 weeks. They only had 12 in the shop hence the reservation. Looking on this site there is a big emphasis on creating a perfect environment for the fish in a low pH 7.0, low hardness, good water movement etc. Anything else is deemed unexceptable and the fish should not be forced to adapt to unnatural conditions.

I am in no way questioning the ideal as the people writing these articles have many years of experience looking after these wonderful fish. But can my Candystripe loaches be happy out of their comfort zone?

I can give them all the natural hiding places they could want, lots of bogwood and plants, a soft substrate and good water quality. Also it will be well aerated with plenty of water movement. What I cannot give them is soft water conditions. My pH is 7.6 and GH and KH are both around 15-16. My loaches are likely to have been raised in similar water conditions so can I expect to be able to have a troup of happy fish or am I just offering them a shortened and stressful life?

The one thing I will add is that my strong desire to get it right and homework I have done will mean that these fish will have a far better opportunity with me than 95% of the other fishkeepers who might buy them in my area. So many people, including friends, are only concerned with how a fish looks with no consideration of water quality, decor, substrate, tankmates or whether they are badly overstocked or not. These lovely fish will be sold to somebody, is it not better that it be me who can create a far better standard of life than most?

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[TammyLiz]

For the striata, those conditions should be fine. It is my personal opinion based on my observations with my own fish that the most important things you can do for the fish is keep the water stable and keep it clean. Stretching their optimum pH and hardness is OK within reason as long as it is consistent and clean.

[bslindgren]

I keep 10 of them at higher pH than that, and they are very healthy. I found striata and kubotai to be very hardy fish relative to some other loaches. I think they should be fine as long as long as the consitions are stable.

[helen nightingale]

at my old house, the water was very hard and around pH 8, and my loaches were OK. i am a lot happier now i have an Ro unit, so its a lot easier to reduce the pH and hardness of the water. i can get it below pH7 now. maybe an RO unit is something you could consider for the future. it sounds like you want the best for your fish

is your substrate sand? i found that makes a huge difference. i got the normal gravel from pet stores when i set up my first tanks, and i think the gravel didnt help me to lower the pH. i now have sand in my main tanks, and stupidly put gravel in my q tank. even with Ro water, i couldnt get the pH down very easily. i am sure it was the gravel, as the only ornaments were plastic.

i know you will enjoy the candy stripe loaches (or zebras). i love mine, they are great characters. can you create caves with your bogwood? they will enjoy caves, or bits of plastic pipe to rest in.

[Mark in Vancouver]

Welcome to the forum, Illsavemyself. How large is your tank?

[Illsavemyself]

Welcome to the forum, Illsavemyself. How large is your tank?

Thanks Mark, been a browser of the forum since I knew I was getting a new tank and wanted loaches.

My tank is 200 litres (44 gallons) and 100/40/50 dimensions. I have been maturing the new filter in my old tank for 1 month as this was the best way for me to do things. Change-over is next Saturday and if I can test free of Ammonia and Nitrite for the whole 2 weeks after set-up then I will add the Striata. Have 1 Bristlenose, 4 Harlequins, 7 Neon Tetras, 4 Tiger Barbs, 3 Rosy Barbs and 1 Peppered Cory who will also be making the move from old tank to new.

My only planned additions once I have the loaches are two more Bristlenoses but not until about 2 weeks after the loaches.

Lots of bogwood, lots of plants and a fine gravel and sand substrate are going in. Sand by all the cave areas and fine gravel over the rest. Brought a water pump too so will be able to transfer almost all of the water from the old tank to new which at least should help to keep my existing fish from getting too stressed.

[Illsavemyself]

at my old house, the water was very hard and around pH 8, and my loaches were OK. i am a lot happier now i have an Ro unit, so its a lot easier to reduce the pH and hardness of the water. i can get it below pH7 now. maybe an RO unit is something you could consider for the future. it sounds like you want the best for your fish

is your substrate sand? i found that makes a huge difference. i got the normal gravel from pet stores when i set up my first tanks, and i think the gravel didnt help me to lower the pH. i now have sand in my main tanks, and stupidly put gravel in my q tank. even with Ro water, i couldnt get the pH down very easily. i am sure it was the gravel, as the only ornaments were plastic.

i know you will enjoy the candy stripe loaches (or zebras). i love mine, they are great characters. can you create caves with your bogwood? they will enjoy caves, or bits of plastic pipe to rest in.

Substrate will be sand around the cave areas, the rest is very fine gravel. I have 3 decent sized pieces of bogwood. One piec I have had for a while which does give decent shelter even if it is not an actual cave. the other two pieces were recently brought and hand picked as they do create good caves. I have a small terracotta pot which will also be broken up to try and create a tight fitting low level cave.

An RO unit may be something to consider for the future as I certainly do want the best for them. I have spent as much as I spent on the tank in additional bits and pieces for it so cannot afford the extra cost at the moment.

[helen nightingale]

i know the feeling - stuff costs so much

it sounds like you will have fun looking at loach noses sticking out of your bogwood, then darting out, and the substrate sounds good too