Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

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gf225
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Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by gf225 » Thu Feb 17, 2011 3:32 pm

Hi all,

I'm after a shoal of small loaches for my latest 60 litre planted tank. Ideally they need to east pest snails too!

They will be the only fish in there.

I like Botia sidthimunki but they are very expensive, especially for a shoal. Botia striata are a little large. Any other options, please? The water is hard, pH 6.8, KH 7, GH 14, 25C

Here's the tank. There's a shoal on neon tetras in there at the moment but I'm re-homing them.

Image

Cheers,
George

PaulineMi
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by PaulineMi » Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:34 pm

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL tank!

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Graeme Robson
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Graeme Robson » Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:58 pm

Unfortunately, I wouldn't put any loaches in your tank set-up. You have no cover-slides and loaches are notorious jumpers.

Perhaps some more Assassin snails would be the better option.
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Emma Turner
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Emma Turner » Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:22 pm

Hi George,

I also wouldn't advise on loaches for an open-topped set up with such a high water line. It's a beautiful tank, but a little on the small size for the majority of loaches. There are a few smaller species that you could consider if you were able to fit covers, but none of them would really go for the snails. Many also enjoy uprooting plants.

Best wishes,

Emma
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gf225
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by gf225 » Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:07 am

Thanks, all.

I suspected the open-top may be an issue - hence the pic. I have kept shoals on Botia striata before in open-top but there was lots of plant cover.

I already have 7 Assassin snails in there. They've haven't touched the pest snails. I even saw one Assassin crawl right over a pest as if it wasn't there. A bit peeved to be honest at £3 a pop.

Can any of you recommend another fish, except dwarf puffers, that eat pest snails, please?

Cheers,
George

Hokum
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Hokum » Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:43 am

Give them time, Ive got 3 assasin snails in my 100l and it took a about a month for them to start getting hungry. Now I have a lot less pest snails!

gf225
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by gf225 » Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:26 am

Hokum wrote:Give them time, Ive got 3 assasin snails in my 100l and it took a about a month for them to start getting hungry. Now I have a lot less pest snails!
Thanks - that's reassuring to know.

PaulineMi
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by PaulineMi » Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:06 am

I too have had great success with assassin snails. One thing they seem to do is go on hiatus. They hunt and kill pest snails and then "rest". Sometimes they aren't even evident in the tank. Then they reappear and go to work. You may one day notice several pest snail shells laying on the bottom of your tank. You'll know that the assassins have gone to work.

Hokum
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Hokum » Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:17 am

They bury themselves in in substrate when the lights are on. When the lights go on, they rapidly start cruising about.

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Matt
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Matt » Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:58 pm

I doubt that Yunnanilus sp. 'rosy' or Y. brevis would be a problem in that tank.

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Emma Turner
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Emma Turner » Sun Feb 20, 2011 7:04 pm

Yunnanilus spp. would not eat snails though, which is primarily what George was looking for. They may be suited to a smallish set up, but they are also capable of jumping from an open topped tank.

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Matt
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Re: Ideal small loach for 60 litre planted?

Post by Matt » Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:16 am

Good point about the snails, missed that first time round. :roll:

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