uhoh... I think I may have been assimilated

[gulogulo]

I went to my lfs today and they had some 'boreo suckers' that I believe were Gastros and I got this feeling that I need a river tank for these hillstreams, only $8 each is within my price range.
I used to think they were lame fish until I found LOL and realized that they are loaches kept in suboptimal conditions and if kept properly are very active exciting fish.
I have always been a loach enthusiast but am new to the hillstreams. I will have to see what equipment I have to convert a tank to a hillstream habitat.
Would Gastros do alright with Schisturas or would the Schisturas be too aggressive?
I am not sure of all the Schistura species, I have some similis and sexcauda but 3 are unidentified. The tank is a 50 gallon with a standard 55gal footprint. Currently it has a biowheel HOB with a powerhead attached to a spongefilter. I am considering adding a powerhead or internal filter to increase water movement.

[Mark in Vancouver]

Schisturas are fine with hillstream loaches. They appear not to notice that sucker-bodied loaches are even present in the tank. Congratulations for having entered assimiliation!

You'll want to really kick up the circulation for Gastros, IMO. Definitely add another powerhead. Consider increasing both the light and the amount of rounded stones in the tank - allowing lots of shaded cave spaces. And keep that water nice and clean. You'll be fine with them. You'll love them.

[Nikki]

I'm glad you realize early that the LOL motto is "Resistance is Futile," It saves us lots of hand holding and training.
Welcome to LOL btw, glad to have you in our community tank!

[gulogulo]

I just redid my tank for the gastros. Let me know what you think of the set up.
50g tank w/ 48 x 12 footprint
biowheel HOB 330gph
Powerhead attached to a spongefilter now on the opposite side of the tank
Internal Fluval 4 filter 260gph

I'll try to post a pic tomorrow. The tank is established with 6 happy Schisturas currently inhabiting it. Lots of rocks and caves.
One more question, My Qtank will not have as much current, I'll add airstones but was wondering if I can cut down the time in quarantine. I usually do 2 weeks but would like to cut it to 1 week. The store I will be getting them from rarely has disease issues and I have never had a problem with my purchases from there.
As always thanks for the advice.

[mikev]

I usually do 2 weeks but would like to cut it to 1 week....The store I will be getting them from rarely has disease issues and I have never had a problem with my purchases from there.

Let's see. I used to think that 2 weeks are enough...

Not too long ago I bought some hillstreams from a store which previously sold me a lot of healthy problem-free fish. A minor problem noticed on day 16. The first death occurred on day 19 of quarantine, and it went downhill since then. (A pretty deadly internal parasite, which took its time to strike and even longer to reveal itself, and which was not responsive to most treatments either). 999:1 is that you would not hit this thing, and that I'll never hit it again, but if I ever dare to buy another fish, I'll be seriously thinking about 30 days being enough....

[gulogulo]

Here are a couple pictures of the tank. It has some algae growth, Do Gastros eat brown and red algae?
http://images.snapfish.com/3467959%3A4% ... 3A76nu0mrj

http://images.snapfish.com/3467959%3A4% ... %3A8nu0mrj

[gulogulo]

Picked up three Gastros today. I will post some pics if I can get my camera to take any decent ones. I tried today but none of them were any good.

[gulogulo]

Update: 1 of the Gastros died the day after I bought them but the other two are doing well. I can see gastro tracks all over the tank.
Since they seem happy in the qtank I will leave them at least one more week, maybe longer since they are in cooler temps.