The Grrr Tank
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 11:35 am
Here's a few pictures of my Grr tank. It may not be the prettiest of tanks but with keeping a big old bunch of aggressive loaches, you need to create lots of barriers within the aquarium. With most of the boulders i have raised them with flat cobbles so this creates territorial areas or shelters under the boulders for even the most dominant/aggressive loaches such as the Yasuhikotakia eos.
I keep 3 Yasuhikotakia eos and each of them have their own shelter which makes matters easier for others. This tank is basically designed around these 3 Yasuhikotakia eos who would cause havoc to others if no shelter is in place for each of them. The other loaches like the Syncrossus berdmorei and the Syncrossus hymenophysa do tolerate each other in there own shelters for limited periods of time. Most often than not i see the Syncrossus berdmorei always within 6 inches of each other. However the Syncrossus hymenophysa seem to carry a little more aggression in them and can be seen spread all over the aquarium and on there own for the majority of time.
I also keep some Yasuhikotakia morleti. These little chaps are always seen in every corner of the tank. The odd time i will witness them in groups of 2 or 3 but the majority of the time, they are separated but always on the look-out for each other. Very active and inquisitive of all surroundings. They have also been seen sharing the same shelter with the Yasuhikotakia eos! Not often, but has been known. Obviously, the Y eos feels less intimidated with smaller loaches around them.
The Sinibotia robusta. These are welcomed by everyone apart from the Yasuhikotakia eos. I cant recall any aggressive fighting from these loaches, perhaps the odd nip to-wards others at feeding time but generally these leave others alone. The Sinibotia robusta also likes to spend allot of time under pieces of driftwood, i would imagine that these have claimed that shelter.
I also keep two other species of loach in the Grrr tank. The Mesonemacheilus triangularis and the Schistura cf. balteata. These are the cobbles dwelling loaches with them creating many of their own shelters within the pebbles/wood/plants. Again, many of the larger specimens of loaches ignore them. These seem to squabble with each other for territory's and such and are often seen resting in top of the boulders and wood as with the cobbles previously mentioned.
Filtration on the tank is a Fluval 405 with 2x Maxi 104F power-head internals. Tanks size 5ft x 2ft x 1.5ft. Thank-you for reading this! I'm off for a cup of tea now!
I keep 3 Yasuhikotakia eos and each of them have their own shelter which makes matters easier for others. This tank is basically designed around these 3 Yasuhikotakia eos who would cause havoc to others if no shelter is in place for each of them. The other loaches like the Syncrossus berdmorei and the Syncrossus hymenophysa do tolerate each other in there own shelters for limited periods of time. Most often than not i see the Syncrossus berdmorei always within 6 inches of each other. However the Syncrossus hymenophysa seem to carry a little more aggression in them and can be seen spread all over the aquarium and on there own for the majority of time.
I also keep some Yasuhikotakia morleti. These little chaps are always seen in every corner of the tank. The odd time i will witness them in groups of 2 or 3 but the majority of the time, they are separated but always on the look-out for each other. Very active and inquisitive of all surroundings. They have also been seen sharing the same shelter with the Yasuhikotakia eos! Not often, but has been known. Obviously, the Y eos feels less intimidated with smaller loaches around them.
The Sinibotia robusta. These are welcomed by everyone apart from the Yasuhikotakia eos. I cant recall any aggressive fighting from these loaches, perhaps the odd nip to-wards others at feeding time but generally these leave others alone. The Sinibotia robusta also likes to spend allot of time under pieces of driftwood, i would imagine that these have claimed that shelter.
I also keep two other species of loach in the Grrr tank. The Mesonemacheilus triangularis and the Schistura cf. balteata. These are the cobbles dwelling loaches with them creating many of their own shelters within the pebbles/wood/plants. Again, many of the larger specimens of loaches ignore them. These seem to squabble with each other for territory's and such and are often seen resting in top of the boulders and wood as with the cobbles previously mentioned.
Filtration on the tank is a Fluval 405 with 2x Maxi 104F power-head internals. Tanks size 5ft x 2ft x 1.5ft. Thank-you for reading this! I'm off for a cup of tea now!
