New and loach ?'s - Dario with Yo Yo's?

Spankenstyne · Post by **Spankenstyne** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 1:31 am

Hello all.

I've greatly enjoyed reading through the forum (and archives)for a while now so i wanted to thank you all for all the great info so far.

I've become a HUGE fan of loaches through my research and viewing of them at the local pet stores and aquariums etc..

While it was clowns that originally attracted me to these guys, space dictates that we'll be getting some smaller (but equally fascinating) loaches for a sort of community tank. We've decided on loaches, and a bristle nosed pleco for the bottom, and some gouramis and a rainbow or red tailed shark to complete the tank.

FYI - The tank size is 80 gal? according to my math (48" x 16" x 24" = 79 and change gallons) or is that considered a 75 tall?

So we've decided that we want either Darios or Yo Yo's, or can we house both just fine? I had planned on say 5 Darios with maybe 3 Yo Yo's (or vice versa) but should we stick with just one loach species? It seems both of these come from close to or the same areas so i thought it might be alright but i'd like to hear what you folks with more loach experience think.
We could go with either 5 or 8 total i guess to keep it at 5 and 3 or should we just go with 5 in total?

Right now the new tank is just a week into the cycle, so we have a while yet before we have to make any final decisions. I just want to be as informed and prepared as i can be.

JD · Post by JD » Mon Jan 30, 2006 10:20 am

You will be fine with Yoyo and Dario in the same tank. The only time I would be nervous was if you were to introduce some small juvenile botia into an established shoal of dario. I would also add a few clowns to get some color in there. Look at my post on my 90 gal I just added, I have loads of loaches in there, no dario though, they are downstrairs with the rostrata in another tank.

JD

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 12:46 pm

as JD said you will be fine with yoyo's and darios.
I would however skip the gouramis and red tailed shark and just get a school of praecox rainbows. They are beautiful and make a great dither fish as they like current like loaches.
I find too many species in one tank looks strange, thats why I went just botias and rainbows together with some bristlenose. I later got a one kissing gouramis who is now large and sometimes cranky. I wish I had not got him sometimes...
Regards
Erik

Spankenstyne · Post by **Spankenstyne** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:40 pm

Thanks for the replies!

We'd love to add clowns but really have no space for a bigger tank in the future, and it would just kill me to have to give any fish up down the road. I'm trying to plan for the size of these guys in the future. I know they grow slowly but i'm a little paranoid about overcrowding coming from a reptile background, so you'll have to bear with me

Fish i kept many years ago but it was more of a kid's setup then rather than a nice display like we're planning. Much more reasearch and knowledge is going into this than back then. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just that *i* was a kid back then & it was hardly a display setup just for some background info. I know there are a lot of younger folks out there with a wealth of knowledge.

Interesting idea about the rainbows we'll definitely look into that, we've seen some very attractive and colourful ones but strangely never made the connection as good tankmates. Maybe we could still go with an RT Shark and just a slightly smaller school of rainbows?

Any idea on what sorts of numbers we can look to stock with in regards to the loaches and rainbows? Is the 5 Darios and 3 Yo Yo's going to work well for the loaches?

Thanks again for the answers so far!

JD · Post by JD » Mon Jan 30, 2006 3:46 pm

In my 90 I have 5 striate, 2 yoyo, 5 clowns, 3 sids, 1 histrionica, and 3 kubotais. Along with the loaches, there are 2 farlowella, 2 bristlenose and 1 clown pleco, a cory cat, a rainbow, and a large angel. Mor rainbows to come.

My tank is also heavily filtered by the plants too.

JD

newshound · Post by **newshound** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 4:44 pm

I too avoid clowns because they grow too large.
They do have great colour.
I think a RTS would be a great addition to the tank.
Rainbows although they are very popular are too "faddie" IMO.
Although I really haven't decided what to buy for a top fish. Hatchets aren't hardy, neons vanish, rummy nose stay too low.
Tiger barbs or Rosie barbs look good to me right now.

Erik · Post by **Erik** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:59 pm

The praecox rainbows I find very active schoolers which I love watching.
The added bonus is that they regularly breed so get free ones now and then.
But yes They have definately have been popular lately. The breeding and dominace rituals is quiet interesting.
Here's an example from my tank.
Erik

Spankenstyne · Post by **Spankenstyne** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 5:25 am

Erik i saw that setup on the other thread and WOW what an impressive tank.

NancyD · Post by **NancyD** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:17 pm

I've always liked both RT & rainbow sharks but IME they don't play well with other cave dwellers or most bottom feeder-types. They will try to own all caves & body-slam any fish in their feeding path into the gravel. One we even nick-named one Mako "Jaws of Death"

though he didn't kill by biting. I don't remember a loach being killed but lots of fighting. RTs seemed slightly less aggressive as I recall. Good luck on your new tank, you're wise to plan ahead.
Nancy

newshound · Post by **newshound** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 3:56 pm

newshound wrote: Rainbows although they are very popular are too "faddie" IMO.
Tiger barbs or Rosie barbs look good to me right now.

I take back the Rainbows statement.
Like the old Skull Skates tee shirt said "function before fastion"
Rainbows are great looking and school well. From what I have read they are pretty stable fish too.
As you can read my tanks are all about the bottom dwellers. Geez me thinks we are all loachy folks.

newshound · Post by **newshound** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 3:59 pm

today I was watching my tank with the young darios and yoyo and I was thinking "dam those darios glow gold!"

Spankenstyne · Post by **Spankenstyne** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:28 pm

Nice

Any thoughts on if it would work to have some Praecox Rainbows *and* Tiger Barbs for the upper levels? I would think that the rainbows are quick enough and not of fancy flowing fin to tempt the barbs into nipping, or is it just a bad idea?

newshound · Post by **newshound** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:09 am

I think it is better to go with a school of just one type. If your like me you already have a mix of loaches

I am toying with the idea of a good school of tiger barbs myself. Well maybe a bad school of tiger barbs

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