Shy botia striata

[karl71]

HI,

I have a 125 litre tank with 6 red ruby barbs and 5 botia striata. I have had them for about 2 months and there is one larger one than the other and it always hides in the bog wood and hardly ever see it. I never see it eating food. The smaller ones are much more active and always feed in a group? Any ideas on this?

[karl71]

anyone?

[plaalye]

I have the same situation. The alpha loach pics the best hiding spot in the tank and spends most of it's time protecting it from others. It's most likely getting it's food, as long as it looks healthy I wouldn't worry.

[Keith Wolcott]

I have striata, histrionica, rostrata, kubotai, and clowns, and the striata are by far the most reclusive. I only see them a little bit and then it is just when they move in and out of the shadows. I have 12, but I only rarely see 4 or 5 of them. I don't know if this is typical and I would be interested in hearing from others about their experience with striata an how much they are out and about. I have had mine for two years and they are growing well, but have gotten more reclusive as they have gotten older.

[Katy]

It's funny, because in our 120 gallon the Striata are definitely the bullies, and we have no shy fish. There are plenty of hiding places, but, at least in daytime, everyone is always out and about and not hiding.

Cloudhands is even threatening to move the Striata to a different tank because they are such bullies (doesn't seem to me like they do any actual harm, though)

[karl71]

I havemy 5 about 2 months and most are extremely shy. I was thinking of getting about more but my tank is only 125 litre?

[Bully]

I have a group of 14 and they got more reclusive as they matured. There's a lot of stones in my tank and they do like to stay within the shadows of the stones and any part of the tank where there's cover. It's a different story once there's food in the tank though

[NancyD]

Mine mostly hide until feeding time, if it's past the time they expect food then they're out & about...waiting

[Katy]

Mine mostly hide until feeding time, if it's past the time they expect food then they're out & about...waiting

LOL. Maybe that's why ours are always out and about -- they are like cats:" if there are people around they must be about to feed us!!!"

[cloudhands]

It's not so much the striata in general, as the alpha striata in particular, as bully, who I think I'd like to move. In general though the striata are all vigorously and constantly out and about.

In general the loaches all mix together these days in the 120, except the Kubotai are more likely to group up or do a loachy dance together.

Among this mixed group, the alpha striata, who seems to be the alpha fish in the tank, goes from fish to fish with a little nip here and there, and the victim goes shooting away.

[karl71]

My daughter is always asking where are the loaches? I am always saying they are sleeping:). I am thinking of trading the 5 striata for 3 Kubotai as they seem to be a lot more active??

[cloudhands]

Lots of hiding places (driftwood, plants, rocks), lots of dithers, other loaches, some current, and good fish food. That's what they've got here, and maybe something there has something to do with it. Or maybe it's just the batch of fish we got. 5 Striatas, a few Rostratas, 4 Kubotai, a handful of siddthimunki, and a few other odd loaches swim and eat together. For dithers we've got diamond tetras, some danios, cardinal tetras, and a school of rasboras.

[NancyD]

You could try making the hiding places higher off the substrate so they have shadows but you can see them better, prop up wood on rocks. My clowns prefer their tall caves to the low tight fitting ones.