loaches...many many questions..

[poeticpyro]

i currently have 2 yo-yos 3 clowns and 2 zebras..
they're moving into either a 55 or 65 gallon tank (most likely 55).. could i add one more zebra and yo-yo?
also..
how hardy are green tiger barbs and will they willingly school with tiger barbs?

also...
how big to polka-dots get and can they go into a tank with small cichlids?

yet more-
do loaches sleep together?

and for those of you who have been following me... now that the 3rd clown was purchased they're always out and about, unless it's after 5pm.. sad. take care everyone... please reply if you can help...

[shari]

Even a 55 will end up too small long term for clowns, but they do grow relatively slowly.

Another zebra should be ok, maybe even another yo yo in the 55. They get 4-6 inches (I think).

Yes, loaches will crowd together like a pile of puppies into the tightest space they can find. Generally same species together, but some mixing occurs, too.

Tiger Barbs are fiesty. They'll mess with your gouramis, and bettas undoubtedly and will fight amongst themselves, too. Will the loaches 'school' with the barbs? I've not kept them together myself, so maybe others can answer that question.

Are you keeping the 30g? If so, keep the peaceful species there and put the barbs, ram and loaches in the newer tank. Make sure you cycle it first and try to q-tank new loaches since they are often wild caught and come in with 'issues' like parasites or diseases that will be exacerbated by capture and transport


1 rainbow shark

[mikev]

hi, poeticpyro.

Shari is obviously right, but let me comment on the sizes in this range.
In some ways 55g is larger&better than 65g. But if you can afford the floor space of 55g, you really have to seriously consider a higher 4ft tank which would take the same space and will last you longer.

IMHO, almost any botia should be kept in groups of at least 4. It is smarter, however, to get the tank first.

You can find the answer on the polka-dot size and growth on one of the threads around, I wrote it yesterday. But if I were in your place, I'd not go for polka-dots: they are really just scaled-down and slightly less active yoyo's.

Yoyo's certainly reach 8in in tanks, at least one person I know has one like this and others claim to have. Probably this means that some exceptional yoyos may be as large as 10in.

on your 5pm bedtime observation: it probably will be 6pm in a week or faster (I think I told you before!).


Yes, clowns may shoal with tiger barbs (at least the ordinary t.b.'s). This is imho not a good reason enough to keep tb's; there are many much nicer and better-behaved barbs around. (The thing about tb's is that they will become more peaceful if you get a lot of them...but do you really want to keep ten or more of them?)

[shari]

It's generally recommended to keep botias in odd numbered groups...and thanks for the yo yo size info.

[mikev]

It's generally recommended to keep botias in odd numbered groups...and thanks for the yo yo size info.

I don't know if this applies to non-shoaling loaches at all. Even with clowns, it may be just an urban legend: my four (to become six after the quarantine is over) are perfectly happy together, and this is despite the smallest being a different variation from the rest.

The only two cases of loaches rejecting the last "even" member I had seen were explainable by the rejected loach being unhealthy.

[poeticpyro]

ok...
what fish can i get to put into the 55gal? i heard only barbs and i know i need a shool. the clowns are doing well. the 30 gallon is staying gourami and cichlid! (the gouramis can all accomodate to a cichlid thank) the yo-yos are babies right now.. one's like 1.5-2" the other is 2.5-3" and they swim around non-stop with the zebras who are much much smaller. i was thinking about keeping the zebras in the 30 with cichlids, but they're so close with the yo-yos i don't know if this is a good idea. the rams will be going into the 55gallon tank!

any answers to the questions scattered within this entry would be much appreciated...
btw... it's snowing in the south!!

[mikev]

Barbs are fine. Larger Danios are fine too. (in my 65g, I use Bengal Danios for topfeeders). Probably some large Tetras.

As for Yoyo's, you seem not to realize just how big they will become; before long they will overgrow your Zebras. They also grow exceptionally quickly in early age.

Three baby yoyo's I got less than one month ago almost doubled their size. **In one month**, from about 0.75in to about 1.5in. They are hngry all the time, and they poop as much as a pleco. I'll be very surprised if they don't get to 3in by May.

In other words, your yoyo's belong to 55g, and you need to get them playmates of their (future) size.

-----

APPEND. Btw, barbs (or anything else) are not Always fine. My little cuddly alpha clown killed a barb and mutilated the body. But he was right to do this, and I think any court would have acquitted him.