Loaches Online Forum

I have three little zebra loach in my 30G, they are only about 1 1/2 inches at the moment. How big do these loaches actually grow? I have read that they can reach 4inches, other sites say 2 - 2 1/2. Im hoping they will grow at least 3 inches, and be nice and plump.

Can anyone help?

Generally speaking, if you keep the striata in optimal conditions, they should grow out to at least 4 inches. Ive seen some as large as 6 inches in length.


Mike

Here area couple of the 5 I have had in my 90 gal tank since 2001. They are maybe 2.5 inches.




JD

Wow! I didnt think they 6inches! Obviously thats rare, but im glad to hear they can reach a good 4inches. Nice pictures btw! Mine are so tiny, im looking forward to watching them grow! Thanks

Yea I believe its very rare for them to grow that big. The owner who turned them into the store (Uncle Ned's Fish Factory) had them for 10 years and kept them in a 180 gallon with few other fish besides discus and cardinal tetras.
But sure, Ive grown out striatas who reached a good 4 inches in length.

Mike

This is an interesting subject ! i must admit to being new to B. Striata , i currantly have a group of twelve , these are possibly about two inches standard length , and live with a group of ten B. Rostrata , the other fish in this tank are a group of eight Mystacoleucus Argenteus, five Poropuntius sp/ ? , an Osteocheilus Triporus [a little beauty ! ] and some Synodontis cats , all seem to live together in harmony , in fact the only bit of squabbling is among the Striatas , though it must be said this is very seldom ,i,ve heard of people getting these to a good size , though six inches must be the limit ? i'd also assume that to be total length ? i know Emma' has shown a few pics depicting a well grown fish ! it would be interesting if some of the people here at LOL could send in some more pics of well grown mature specimens .

Yes that was total length. I dont know if the owner fed his fish some special food to make them grow that big or what. Besides those, the max I have seen striatas were 3.5-4 inches. Those 6 inchers were beauties, but were being sold for $50 each. And it wasnt Uncle Ned's, it was some other store in Boston which is now out of business.

Mike

my biggest is 2.5 inches and down from there. i have 7. only had them 6 months or so but they seem to have grown about a 1/4-1/2" each in that time. I have fattened them up quite a bit.

WOW mike they must have blown your eyes out.
the largest ive ever seen on the showbench is roughly 3.5 SL, to see one as big as youv'e seen would have blown me away.
was there a marked difference in the pattern at that size? or no difference.

mick

We had one in our display tank that got to 5" TL. It was a beautiful albeit shy fish, but sadly it must have passed on after some years in the tank as we hadn't seen it for a few months and when I revamped the tank (and emptied it of decor before starting what I was doing) there was no sign of it. My parents B. striata, although possessing striking adult markings are not as big as they might come across on camera. I'd hazard a guess that the largest is now around 4" TL, but they are all so shy so it is difficult to get a good look at them - plus I don't live that close so don't get to see them all that often.

Emma

Aha! Piggy4 is digging around in the ancient vaults! Another post from last year...

Yes its a bit tiring all this spade work , but alas i feel its my duty ha ha ha , i get the impression that Striata's are quite slow growers , though in fairness i have'nt really kept them before , Dario's were always my subjects , and they seem to grow quite well , though i've never had any real monsters , four inch standard length ones being the norm ! interestingly at this size the bands on the Dario's start splitting up giving them a slight look of a Striata ! though that large head is unmistakably Dario , if i could get my Striata's to three inches i would consider that to be a success ! b t w have the people here LOL noticed much colour differences among their Striatas ? to me they seem quite variable i.e. some are darker , could this be just mood swings ? also that fish of Emma's does look a bit different colour wise !

is that a lead for me to come in bud, as you know i have a group of 11 striata's, i would say 4 or 5 of these has a lovely tan colour and the rest are all dark individuals.
the old female ive got is so dark you can hardly see the fine stripes on her.
thats why i was so surprised when brought this thread alive and saw 6 inches.
my old girl ( not the wife)is only about 2 and three quarter in SL.

cheers
mick

Apparently the legendary Dave Marshall had a five inch specimen ! SO big Striata's do exist ! makes you wonder how large they are cabable of growing in the wild ?
Mick as you say your fish are showing a degree of variability , most if not all mine appear quite dark ,that could be the base i hear you say , Yeah BUT they are on a light sand base ?
B t w Graeme hows your Striatas ? i bet you have one or two nice ones !

I remember seeing Emma's 5 inch loach from the display tank many years ago. I'd never seen such a large B striata specimen before nor after. Andy, i would say my largest ones are 2.5 - 3 inches and these are 6yrs old. Mine do seem to carry a dark look with little golden lines and they live with a sand substrate.