Loaches Online Forum

I have LOTS of guppies in my 55 gallon, will they be ok? The water flow isn't that strong in the 20.

guppies, especially males, wont tolerate currents..they are not strong swimmers, and because of the male's large tail, it might be fatal..

not such a good idea..since hillstreams love currents..

-brett.

They mostly look like the wild type, my fancy ones became "extinct" once I tried to produce swordtail guppies. My LFS sells danio chopraes for $3(US) each, so about how many chopraes will kepp both the hillstream loaches and chopraes happy?

for danios, i suggest having atleast 5, same with the hillstreams

how many hillstreams do you have at the moment? and they're going in a 20g?

5 danios and 5 hillstreams in a 20g. should be alright, depending on how big the danios get..(couldnt find a length quickly)

-brett.

My tank is a fairly samll one, only 20 gallons, I currently 2 Gastromyzon Ctenocephalus or Gastromyzon Scitulus. In the beginning I was planning to keep only hillstreams but needed something to eat the left over food.

do you know how big the danio choprae gets? around 2-3"?

if they stay smaller than 3" (most likely) then get 1 or 2 more hillstreams (if you want to) then get 5 danios..

7-9 relatively small fish in a 20g. is fine..good luck!!

-brett.

BTW: you were unsure of your species, did you read this?

Gastromyzon scitulus (TOP) is very similar in appearance to G. ctenocephalus (BOTTOM). They are both similarly marked, but the spots along the back in G. scitulus are generally larger, plus the overall distribution of spots is less dense than with G. ctenocephalus.

This species normally lacks the bright white/blue dorsal markings of G. ctenocephalus, and the blue in the caudal fin is broken by irregular vertical black markings, plus longitudal bars, giving an appearance like stained glass panels, whereas in G. ctenocephalus the markings of blue are broken only by longitudal black stripes.

Click for picture.

Gastromyzon ctenocephalus (BOTTOM) is identifiable from G. scitulus (TOP) by generally having smaller yellowish spots, distributed more densely all over the body. The dorsal fin has bold pale blue markings, and the caudal fin has bold horizontal pale blue stripes with black lines between them. The caudal pattern in G. scitulus has vertical breaks in the horizontal pattern, and the dorsal is normally lacking any blue spotting.

thats all just in both of the species profiles, under 'Notes'

-brett.

Thanks! Do you have any guesses what other type of hillstream "sucker" loach can fit in the tank? I've always wanted Sewellia Lineolata, but I know I need to start with easier species before I start with Sewellia. I really don't want to crowd the tank though as I want to keep all of the fish in there happy.

i always think its better to stick with 2 or 3 kinds of fish in tanks smaller than 29g.
instead of having 1-2 of alot of species, have 4-5 of a few species..if you understand..

also, you said '...can fit in the tank.' its better to under-stock than over-stock..you could put 20 hillstreams and 40 danios in there, there'd be enough room, you could fit all those fish in there, but its not right because they need room..

IMO: its better to under-stock than 'fill up' the tank..this gives the fish more room..makes them happier

i'd probably just stay with one kind of hillstream for now..but thats just me..im not an expert..

-brett.

Thanks for the reply, I think I'll just get one more Gastromyzon Scitilus (still unsure even after taking a closer look) and some Danio Chopraes and let them be for the rest of their lives, or until I get a bigger tank for them.

well, with those fish, you wont need to get a bigger tank, the two hillstreams they could be only get 2". and the danio, im sure, only reaches 1.5" max. (i studied up, haha)

good luck, post up pics!!

-brett.

Oh, well that's great news! More bundle of joys to watch now!

Sewellia lineolata are really no more difficult to keep than gastromyzons. In fact, I would say they are a bit easier to keep since they tend to start eating prepared foods more quickly than gastromyzons. Both require similar conditions (high flow and oxygen levels). The amount of hillstreams you could keep depends somewhat on the footprint of the tank. A 20 long is 30" long and a 20high is 24" long. A 20 long would be better for hillstreams because you can get a more stream like flow, but both would work.

I currently have a 20 high and it is 24" long. I have a 10 gallon long, would that work better? It's kinda hard to make there preferred tank decorations in my 20 long. The tank was also originally made for tropicals but now has 2 HOB filters (the cheap $10 ones) and a small 50 gph rio powerhead (all I could get for now) and there is no wood, stone, and the gravel is somewhat rough. It is mostly looks for now.

Danio choprai hardly reach an inch, so you could have a decent sized shoal.
Here's one of mine:



Martin.