Loaches for a 38gal?

[Loachesrule]

Well, i'm new here and i have some questions about loaches. when i first set up my 38gal tank my sister came home one day with a single clown loach. even though i told her not to get one...
we had it for a few years and my dad wouldnt allow me to bring it back to the lfs for some stupid reason. (im 14.)

i was finally able to bring it back last week, and now i want some more loaches that i can keep the way theyre supposed to be kept. the tank has a 36"x12" footprint and is 20" tall. right now the residents are an angelfish, a male swordtail, a ruby shark, a whiptail cat, a bristlenose pleco, a clown pleco, and a small school of red & blue columbian tetras.

i was wondering if i could get any of the following for my tank:
3 dojo loaches,
3 angelicus botias,
3 yoyo loaches,
a mixed school of 5 kuhlii and black kuhlii loaches,
5 kuhli loaches, or
5 black kuhli loaches.

thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

[Diana]

Kuhlies are about all that would work in that tank, and even then I will suggest it may not be great.

Loaches in general prefer much more water movement than flat sided fish like Angels. Angels are not built to live in fast moving rivers; most Loaches come from such rivers.

Do some research here at Loaches and look up each fish that you are asking about. Look at optimum temperature range, and adult size.

Here are some notes about the fish that you have:
Angelfish: Warm to very warm water, low water movement, soft, acidic water. (Hatchery raised fish can tolerate harder water)
male Swordtail: Warm water, average water movement, hard, alkaline water. Salt is optional.
Ruby Shark: Reaches 6" (too big for a 3' tank), aggressive and territorial about caves (mostly toward other shark shaped fish, but I would not risk other bottom fish with this guy in there), cool to moderate temperature.
Whiptail cat: Many species. Generally prefer cool to moderate temperatures, more than average water movement. Many come from moving water, streams and shallow rivers
Bristlenose Pleco: Cooler water. Males can get territorial about a cave, especially if there is also a female BN in the tank.
Clown Pleco: A wood eating fish from somewhat slower moving moderate to warm water.
a small school of red & blue Columbian Tetras: Warm, soft, acidic water.

Cool temperature = low 70s F, low 20s C.
Medium temp = mid 70s F, mid 20s C
Warmer water = uppermost 70s to low 80sF, upper 20sC.

I think your tank is already pretty full.
If you want to trade in some fish with the goal of getting some Loaches I would get rid of the shark, the Angel and a couple of the Loricariads. Make sure there is enough water movement to circulate the water at least 10 times per hour.
Kubotai Loaches or Kuhlies are small enough to work in this tank, but not with all the fish you have in there now.

[Loachesrule]

Ok uh, i forgot to say that the filter is an ac110(does 500gph!), and that the angel is going to be removed soon anyway. I just got him and he doesnt like all the current in the tank. The shark is brand new as well and hasnt really set up territory yet. And theres a lot of driftwood for cover.
... Does that change anything?

[mickthefish]

if you get youngsters kubotai would be a decent choice but better if it was striata given your tank dimensions.

mick

[Loachesrule]

If i find any stratia ill get them. what about almorhae?

[mickthefish]

i don't think so they can grow over 6 inches body length and are pretty boisterous most of the time.

mick

[Loachesrule]

Oh, ok.
And, what about misgurnus sp.? Im pretty sure i cant get them but ijust want to make sure.

[mickthefish]

naw mate they're far to playful for a better word, they won't harm your fish but when foods about they're like rockets round the tank.

mick

[Loachesrule]

oh ok. so, youre saying theyre too active? just wondering, because my ruby shark and tetras do the same thing lol. so its not like theyd be scaring my fish, or at least i dont think they would...

[kingmed]

Have you ever thought about the dwarf chain loaches, they get about 2.5 inches in length and look pretty neat. Figure after getting some of the other fish out you could probably have a good number of these. I saw some over the weekend and they were 9.99 each, I am going to try and get 8-10 of them for my 55 gallon this fall.

[Diana]

For a 3' long tank I would not suggest any active fish that grow over 3".

Misgurnis can reach 10". By the time you get a small school of them you will have WAY overloaded to biological filter capacity of this tank, and you will be confining the fish to conditions that are too small for even an average amount of action.

I would also remove the shark before you get any more fish. It will outgrow this tank.

Striata as suggested above, are a good choice.