Botia Id and info, please.

[Piscine]

So I've got a few botia's in the 75g.

Exhibit A in my tank. I have only one.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/Fish%203-27-2010/IMG_0927.jpg

Generic picture that looks like Exhibit B. We'll call this one Exhibit B. I have about 4 of these(2 small, 2 large), 3 of which are in the 75g.
http://www.vootar.com/imgs/elementos/1241626470_Botia%20Lohachata


Can someone please identify these correctly?


Also, my Exhibit A is starting to look a little obese and is chasing everything in the tank. Could it be? What should I look for to know if there are eggs, and should I take action? She chases off 5-6" crawfish and my small firemouth from the cave she inhabits..

[sailor]

Great looking botia you have there

The first one is a Botia Dario.
This fish comes from Bangladesh, so the name "Bengal Loach" is tagged on this loach often.

The second is a Botia almorhae or also known as a "yoyo loach" found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh.

[Piscine]

I suppose that it is very possible that they have spawned?

[sailor]

I suppose that it is very possible that they have spawned?

As much as we would all like this to take place it is highly unlikely. Very little is known about the mating and breeding habits of most of the loach or botia species. There are very few if any known successful breedings in the homw aquarium. The fish inquestion just might have staked out this area as their own.

[Piscine]

:scry: Oh. The enlarged belly may just be from a long night of grazing then. lol

I'll have to get a video of the crawfish attacks. The crawfish look so funny when they take off running from her, when they could probably easily grab and devour her.. They are more interested in tearing my java moss wall up and scattering plants everywhere.

I must say that crawfish are very interesting creatures, though. They each have their own attitude and preferences.

[Scrup]

19559

interesting thing about yoyo loaches is how easy they can be to ID when they are young.

[Piscine]

LOL Shouldn't it be called a yoyoyo loach then?

I guess what had me thinking pregnant, is the fact that she used to be so anti-social. She would only come out at night, and would stay far away from everyone else. Over the past 3-4 days, she has become what I call aggressive and is no longer shy when I am around.

[toddnbecka]

They have been known to spawn in aquariums, but successfully raising any fry is a different matter altogether. Both are social species, and really need to be kept in groups. Single fish will become aggressive problems for other fish sooner or later w/out others of their own species to interact with.

[Piscine]

Ok, Everyone was being social yesterday. I fed and everyone came out (except the extremely shy firemouth) at the same time! That's super-rare!

I finally took some more pictures.


What is this one?

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0970.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0971.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0973.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0975.jpg

[Piscine]

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0976.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0978.jpg

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0980.jpg

[Piscine]

Mr. Dually eating an algae wafer.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0986.jpg

Mr. Loner. I call him that because he has only one claw (a lone claw), and because he seems to like to sit in his hole a lot.
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i18/codyws10/IMG_0974.jpg

[toddnbecka]

The odd one in the top pic is a polka-dot (aka Burmese border) loach. I have a group of 9 of those in a 55, soon to be moved into a 75.

[Piscine]

How many of each species can I keep? I've never stocked smaller fish like these. Any suggestions on tankmates and stocking?? I really like the Emerald Green Corys I've seen recently.


I'm a complete noob when it comes to the smaller, less aggressive fish.

My Ph stays around 7.5.
I am using a 20g Wet/Dry Sump (around 13g actual capacity) for filtration with a mag-drive 7 return pump.
Temperature stays at around 80-82 F.

[toddnbecka]

Temp is a little high, minimum number for any social/schooling fish is 3. Odd-numbered groups are better, and larger groups tend to make the fish more active/visible.
As for tankmates, I'd recommend mid-size fish compatible with the firemouth. I had a group of Von Rio tetras with 5 of the polka-dots in a 29 for a while. The tetras disappeared one by one, as did 2 L-204 pleco's, never a trace of the MIA's to be found when cleaning the tank. I can only conclude that the loaches were behind the disappearances.
They're not harmless little "community" fish in general. I had a single red-tail botia that killed several dwarf rainbows larger than it was before I figured out what was going on and returned it to the lfs.
Definitely best kept in groups, and with fish large and aggressive enough to keep up with them IME.

[Piscine]

Any opinion on the Emerald Green Corydoras? Compatible?

[toddnbecka]

I'd recommend increasing the numbers of the botia's and forget the Corydoras. There's only so much "floorspace" available, and the botia's are more aggressive/competetive than Cory's.

[Piscine]

Thanks! Not many people seem to be interested/knowledgeable about them. I went and got three more yoyo loach last night.