Mixing loaches

[LeStat]

Hi all,

I have a question for you, can many different types of loach live together happily? I have had an emergency with a tank which has led me to mix two of my loach communities in the one tank.

Previously I had my Clowns, Modesta & YoYos in one tank and my Sids, Kubs & Striata in another, for the short term I have to keep them all together. They are in a 160g which is overfiltered so water quality will not be an issue but timeout space maybe, although there are 3 LARGE pieces of wood, 3 smaller pieces, 1 x 2ft long piece of waste pipe and numerous other hiding places.

All seems calm at the moment but if anyone can see a problem coming up please say, I wouldn't want any of my little guys to suffer!!!

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[mickthefish]

i can't see a major problem like death but can imagine a few fins getting slight damage.

mick

[OneWay]

I have Clowns, Dario, Kubs, Yo Yo, and Straita together with no problems. There is some inside bickering and a little between group bickering, but minimal at best.

I'm not sure how the sids and modesta behave, but the others will be fine together. A simple rule of aggression with aggressive or territorial fish is to overcrowd them. That is how you can make murderous cichlids be nice neighbors and this rule definitely applies to loaches. It spreads out the aggression so none get picked on too much. Unless of course it is the phycho clown we have read about in the forums


good luck and let us know how it works out.

[helen nightingale]

i hope all is OK for the time being - i would be a bit wary of the modesta.

sorry to hear you had an emergency. will you be able to set up another tank again for them in the future, or was this a more permanent tank merge?

best wishes

[LeStat]

i hope all is OK for the time being - i would be a bit wary of the modesta.

sorry to hear you had an emergency. will you be able to set up another tank again for them in the future, or was this a more permanent tank merge?

best wishes

Hopefully not much to worry about then. The Modesta have control of the best spot in the tank but tend not to bother anyone as long as they keep their distance.

I am in two minds whether to reseal the leaking tank and move the small guys back home or rehome some of my clowns and keep everyone together. I must admit to liking the tank as it is now.

[helen nightingale]

as long as everybody is OK with the modesta having the best spots (loaches , it sounds good the modesta really seem to be one of those "your mileage wil vary" fish.

my top dog (bitch?) striata is a case of not bothering anyone unless they want Her food, and as long as your modesta keep to not bothering anyone else as long as tyey keep outthe best spots its sounds OK.

moving the small guys sounds better than rehoming! a nice sid tank with plenty of room for lots of them is a much better idea. its just persuading any significant other, but as you already had another tank, you know its a good idea (loaches online has never been a bad influence )

[PASoracco]

My clowns, yoyos, darios, kubs, and sids all get along quite well. Biggest trouble makers seem to be the two youngest yoyos, who will occasionally chase a smaller kub/dario around or shadow one of the larger clowns until the click loudly in protest, but nothing too bad. No nipped fins or anything; all the major fighting seems to be within the individual species.

[LeStat]

Well, these guys have been together for over a week now and I have noticed no injuries to any of the fish. The only squabbling has been within same species groups and even this has been light.

I recorded them all going loopy over a chunk of cucumber yesterday: -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9JUdxECwY4

[NDininno]

I dont know why but when I read this the first thing that came to mind was ...