Loaches Online Forum

No problemo Emma.

Great pics and info. At first glance I thought they would be timid.

Great photos, Emma. Lovely fish!

I havent got it in front of me at the moment, but I seem to remember that Tyson Roberts called the Indonesian species diabolica because of the red eyes and forked tail

Just picked up half a dozen of these from Pier Aquatics , stunning !

Whats the common name of these Barbucca sp again? Sumatran Scooter Loach

I think i know partly why these are called this. They Walk!!...yup! I've seen mine do this and Andy has also! They use their pectoral fins to walk around on large pebbles and cobbles. It's totally fascinating to watch!

Hi All

I noticed an interesting point in the diabolica description. For the type series most are from the archipelago, but one/some seems to be from the mainland.

So either they are the same or Roberts may have two species within his type series.

There is another mismatch: the size of the species in LOL index is 1", in fishbase.org entry it is 2.3cm (ref: Roberts 1989), but the animals being imported now are apparently larger. May be significant.

Does anyone have a good idea of the appropriate environment for these guys?

I don't think they need hillstream tank in any sense -- they share habitats with Clowns. But putting them with Clowns in a large tank does not seem smart...

Is anyone who has them willing to describe the tank they are kept in?

Like Clowns and many other loaches, a currant is preferred. I keep mine in a Brook/Hillstream tank set-up. Basically you take a small chunk of the habitat similar to the Clowns and simulate this in a smaller environment if you want to keep these separate.

With the wording smart i presume you mean that your or anyone's purchase will be effective in viewings. If so then a small Brook/Hillstream set-up would be advisable.

Smaller loaches have different characteristics when facing flowing waters, compared to larger loaches, so for me these are Brook/Hillstream loaches with the looks and actions of one.

The way they stick to the walls looks very hillstreamish indeed.

smart also referred to their ability to find food, I'm not sure they can compete against larger loaches too well.

Whom do you keep yours with?

The three roomie species I've been considering are
Rosies
L.Thermalis
Aborychthis
Kuhlis probably will work too...

What is your feeling about the best choice here?

I shan't comment as i keep mine alone with Drape fin Barbs in a 20gal.

Hi Mikev, just for the record ,mine are kept in an unheated 4ft tank ,with an internal Fluval4, sand and gravel base, smooth rounded stones ,pebbles , and some Beech wood,the fish list is 12 Homaloptera Zollingeri, 5 Gastromyzon Ctenocephalus, 3 Indonesian Gobies , the orangy ones with 2 or 3 bluish bands, [name escapes me ] and lastly 6 of the Babucca ,the Homalopteras are very shy ! although since i put the Babucca's in they are slightly more gregarious, VERY SLIGHTLY, i must say i really enjoy watching this tank !

Thanks piggy4!

This is very helpful, so true hillstream setup is an option after all....

Milev, i'm not certain that this is the proper way ? but so far [it is early] so good, are you gonna give them a try ?