Loach Talk

[starsplitter7]

Hi there,

I will be talking at my fish club in May about Loaches. I have never done this before, and I will be asking people for permission to use pictures on here. I will give photo credits, of course. I would like to use some of the funny pictures. I want to show how endearing loaches can be.

What I would like to know is if anyone has ideas about what you would like people to know about loaches? I will touch on the incompatibility of a single snail eating clown with Africans, . . . I will discuss funny loach behaviours, and I intend to talk about unusual loaches and some of their habitats.

Does any one have any ideas? Thanks, Tanja.

[raedeon]

I have an idea thanks to another post I just read: The misconception that loaches hide all the time and you never see them!

[starsplitter7]

Thank you. I was thinking the same. I would like to mention dithers. Many in my club have cichlids, so their concept of dithers is different from many loach keepers. I think single loaches are often hiding due to feeling insecure. Of course I do have a few loaches I don't see often, but they are not the norm.

[Jules]

Hi Tanja

One thought may be to confirm the correct treatment and dosage etc for Ich. Perhaps this is something you have already considered but by looking at the forum alone, we know how misleading and confusing some of the information out there can be...specifically for treating loaches.

Just a thought.....

Jules

[starsplitter7]

I will talk about about ick, but I will concentrate on prevention. I will certainly cite the article on here for the best course of treatment for ick. I have followed it and been successful. Thank you for the suggestion. I know a lot of people do not get loaches, because of their reputation for getting ick. I don't know if that is a reputation they share everywhere, but they do have it here. Thank you.

[Jules]

Prevention is better than cure so I think that's a great idea !!!!

Wish I was going to be there to hear your talk; sounds like it will be very interesting !! Hope all goes well on the day !!

[redshark1]

I would advise having a beginning, a middle and an end to your talk

But seriously, tell them what you are going to tell them.

Then tell them.

Then tell them what you've told them!

Also, I think your idea about focusing on what fun it is to keep Loaches is brilliant!

My Clowns only had ich at the very beginning when I got them, never since!

(oh, and you can use any of my pics no problem - if they were good enough LOL!)

[zenins]

Hey Tanja,

I did a similar presentation to my club a couple of years ago.
Since then, 6 other clubs have asked me to present it to them.
I begain my presentation with a talk on how endearing loaches are, especially clown loaches,
to other family members in the house who are not fish keepers.
There are many spouses ( and children ) who only pay attention to the loaches and
basically ignore the rest of the fish.
Between each presentation, I added some photos or information in point form,
to cover something that was asked in a question session at the end.
There were always new questions
I did add two videos, one of my 100 gallon tank with the larger botias,
and another one of my 50 gallon with smaller loaches,
that shows them out and about.
I have lots of loach photos that I have not posted here,
so let me know if you are looking for something in particular

[Dojosmama]

Be sure to mention the weather loach (dojo), and inform your club that they are a cooler water fish that shouldn't be kept in tanks warmer than 75F for prolonged periods of time, as this shortens their lives.

You might want to emphasize how playful they can be, and that they'll eat just about anything you give them. I treat mine with Sera brand O-Nips -- protein tabs that they gobble up voraciously. I break a single tablet into four or more smaller pieces so they can handle it and each loach gets its fair share (though there are some greedy hogs, nonetheless!)

Weather loaches like company of their own kind -- at least three together in a tank. They need a larger tank, about 65 gallons or bigger, and they're generally peaceful, so should be kept in a community of other peaceful fish.

NO crayfish in with dojos! Nothing that will pinch their fins or nip at them.

Often, dojos can be trained to take food from your fingers. Some are more outgoing than others. DO provide lots of hidey-holes for them, but make sure the holes are big enough they don't get stuck, and NO sharp edges.

They do fine with a pH of around 7.4 to 7.6.

Substrate can either be soft sand or very small, smooth rounded gravel. They will dig in it, and often like to bury themselves. Care should be taken when vacuuming the substrate.

One very important note: Dojos MUST be kept in tanks with tight lids on them and no external holes large enough for them to escape through. They can live outside the water for a brief time, and are notorious escape artists! If a dojo CAN get out, it WILL get out!

Dojos are just plain cute! It's not uncommon for them to go crazy when the barometric pressure changes, hence their name "weather loach".

-- Dojosmama

[starsplitter7]

I wanted to thank you all for sending me so many ideas. I really appreciate it. I don't have time to respond properly at the moment, but I wanted to make sure and thank you. I hope we can keep this conversation going. Thanks again.

[starsplitter7]

Does anyone have a picture of a loach with a snail on his nose that I could borrow? I know I have seen one with a clown racing through a tank with a MTS on his nose playing keep away!

I wanted to use it in my talk. I want to show loaches for the crazy/funny fish they are.

[zenins]

Does anyone have a picture of a loach with a snail on his nose that I could borrow? I know I have seen one with a clown racing through a tank with a MTS on his nose playing keep away!

I wanted to use it in my talk. I want to show loaches for the crazy/funny fish they are.

ha ha ... that would be funny

however, I don't have such a photo

I do have some photos of clown loaches sleeping on their sides

I see that your talk is coming up on the 14th, about 10 days away, are you ready ?

[starsplitter7]

Final check with the talk, and I reread everyone's comments to make sure I included them. Got them all. I really am focusing on the fun. The talk is called Weird and Wonderful Loaches. I picked up a few loaches at local store that I will auction at our meetings. I got some Histies, sumos and zodiacs. There may also be some kuhlies. I tried to pick fish that would work well in people's tanks and fish that were nice and stayed pretty small. I also have a friend in the club who will donate a couple lizard loaches, a couple Kubs and a couple of Histies or Yoyos, so that is really nice. I also picked up some adorable Peru Darters. THey will fit in perfectly with my talk about "not loaches."

I have gobs of pictures of clowns, even though I am trying to discourage people from getting clowns. But they are just so darn cute.

[Jim Powers]

Good luck and tell us how it goes!!

[zenins]

I picked up a few loaches at local store that I will auction at our meetings. I got some Histies, sumos and zodiacs.

I have not seen histrionicas in my area for quite some time, I wish I could get two more

When I have given my Loach presentation, I also donate a bag of loaches ( always a minimum of 3 ) and some food, like pellets or algae wafers, to the auction for the benefit of the club.

It encourages members to bid a bit higher, knowing all proceeds go to the club

Let us know how your presentation went ...