Loaches Online Forum

Hey everyone, just hoping you could shed a little light on my new Horse-faced loaches. I bought them at my LFS for 3.49 each, which I thought was a good deal, though they are small.

Anyway, I got them home and expected them to dig under the sand and never see them again but they are all still (2 days later) sitting out and swimming around. They'll suck some sand in and shoot it out their gills trying for food but won't go in past their noses(mouths?)

Here's a pic...


Sorry, the outside of the tank is a little dirty so it makes it harder to see but that was the best picture I took. I also didn't know if they were too juvenile to discern between the species.

I suppose I'd keep them if they were long-noses, they are entertaining, but I'm afraid for the lives of my son's neons.

Thanks for you input!

-Thomas

I think you've got horse-faced loaches, there. But they look tiny - how long are they?

Mine come out right on time every night for a mix of bloodworm and brine shrimp. After I clean the tank, they might disappear for a couple of days, but then they get right back into the schedule. They are quirky and bizarre little fishes, which is why I like 'em.

I think they are horse faced loaches. If you look at them their nose seems to bend downward in the middle of their nose. Long nosed loaches tend to have completely straight noses.... At least that is my experience (I have both).

ok, thanks for both of your replies.

I went to look at them with a flashlight (it's dark in there now) to measure, but could only find one out of five. So, maybe they like to go under the sand at night?

They are pretty small though, I'm thinking about 2 inches, nose to end...though I don't really know what is regarded as small, they just looked juvenile to me, not deeper colours like the pictures on this website and "cuter" bodies. I bought all of the biggest ones too, there were others that were much smaller.

Thanks for weighing in, is it easy to see their noses sticking out of the sand if they're under?

-Thomas

Sometimes you can seem them peeking out, other times, I honestly can't even tell I have them. Loaches in general are one of those fish where you enjoy the time you see them... because you don't always see them.

The one thing I'm not looking forward to is my big tank move in August where I have to catch these buggers!!! What a chore that will be!

Curtis wrote:The one thing I'm not looking forward to is my big tank move in August where I have to catch these buggers!!! What a chore that will be!

Now that is one job i wouldn't wish on anyone!! A few years ago i had to same job. Basically i lowered the water level to 6 inches and spent over 1 hour trying to catch them. Good luck Curtis! You and i know You'll need it

The tanks are a 220 gallon and a 125, one has horse faced the other long nosed.

Let the fun begin!

Curtis wrote:The tanks are a 220 gallon and a 125, one has horse faced the other long nosed.

Let the fun begin!

Ouch! And i thought my 75 gallon was hard enough!

Ooh... They certainly rank among the most difficult fish to catch in a tank with substrate! If you're moving in August, I'd start trying to catch them now.