Hillstream Loach

Piscean · Jul 21, 2004

I bought a Hillstream Loach two weeks ago, He/She lives in a 12"x 15"x 24" tank with a goldfish and a Shubunkin. I have had mixed opinions as to whether this is an ideal situation for all fish concerned.

My goldfish and Shubunkin have stopped eating and sit on the bottom of the tank, as described in this thread:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32446

Do loaches turn from shy, quiet fish in the day to evil aggressive fish at night?

I have read on another forum that loaches will chew on goldfish. Is this right? Everyone I have spoken to about this says it's not true and that they are COMPLETELY safe to share a home with goldies!!

I am worried about my loach not eating his algae wafers (fed to him due to there being no algae in the tank)

I would appreciate as much information on them as possible, I have looked them up on the internet but not found much.

Does anyone on here have them?

Is my tank big enough, for these three fish?

Any help at all would be appreciated

Piscean
xxxxxx

Blinky · Jul 21, 2004

Hi again

As I said in your other thread I'm sure no loach expert, but I have seen a great site and thought I'd pass it on:
www.loaches.com
there's information there on IDing your loach, their preferences, etc. etc.
I just visited the site to make sure the link worked, and lo and behold there's an article on your little fishies:
http://www.loaches.com/hillstream_loaches.html
They're not suited for life with goldfish, I'm afraid

Happy researching!

kikuchiyo · Jul 21, 2004

They're not suited for life with goldfish, I'm afraid

Defintely not.

Piscean · Jul 22, 2004

Thanks again for your help

I am getting more and more confused now!

I just read this:

Butterfly Loaches can also tolerate cooler water and do well in cool water aquariums and ponds with Goldfish.

on this link:

http://www.petfishinfo.com/catalog_pages/sharks_eels_loaches/loach_butterfly.htm

I have not read anywhere that they cannot live with goldfish.

It's just hard to know what is right for them and what is wrong

Thank you for your continued support (especially Blinky

)

Piscean
xxxxxxx

Piscean · Jul 22, 2004

Just a thought, I'm wondering if your thinking that my goldfish are fancy goldfish, which aren't as fast as comets, Shubunkins etc???

Does this make a difference?

I'm wondering why I'm being told different things that's all

sorry to be a pain

Piscean
xxxxxx

kikuchiyo · Jul 22, 2004

I can't remember if it was from loaches.com or the thread from MFT, but the article mentioned hillstreams came from highly oxygenated, very fast moving streams (goldfish like oxygen, but I don't think they apperciate flow to that level). That in and of itself makes them incompatible with goldfish, whatever their temp requirements.

Blinky · Jul 22, 2004

Originally posted by kikuchiyo
I can't remember if it was from loaches.com or the thread from MFT, but the article mentioned hillstreams came from highly oxygenated, very fast moving streams

The article on loaches.com mentions this; these loaches come from heavily oxygenated water, and I'm guessing that most goldfish wouldn't appreciate the kind of water flow you'd need to provide to mimic their natural habitat.

It's really a shame that stores don't mention things like this when they sell the fish, before I answered this thread I knew next to nothing about these loaches, but I've seen them in several stores and I'm sure people aren't being told about the specialised conditions they need to do well in a tank.

Your loach might survive with your goldfish, but I just can't imagine it will be too happy, since it needs so much more oxygen than it's likely to get; this will surely cause stress on the fish throughout its life.

If you can't take it back, do your best to create more flow and surface disturbance in the tank, but not to the point where it upsets your goldfish. At least then you'll have a happy medium

If you haven't read the loaches.com article - http://www.loaches.com/hillstream_loaches.html - do go and read it when you get a chance; this site is filled with quality information.

Seaman · Jul 23, 2004

I have a hillstream loach. that i inherited form someone....my tank doesnt have a real strong current, but my spraybar from my sump flows out wide along the leftside wall...and he will sit about 8" from the spraybar and just chill in the current....and also he will sit under the output of my HOB skimmer. He seems happy enough.

Piscean · Jul 23, 2004

I just read that site, it is a very intersting read.

I do have an air curtain that runs the length of the tank, but I'm not sure that this is enough for them!

What I don't understand is why the assistants are not taught the simple rules of what is right for certain fish. Or at least have leaflets on each fish (or type of fish) to refer to, instead of guessing!!

The Assistant who I spoke to acted like she knew everything about the hillstream loach, which she actually called it a pl*co!!!!!

As much as I love him, I would NEVER have bought him to make his life unhappy. It was my own fault for trusting the two assistants (in two different shops) It just proves that you can never know enough, and should always read up on what you are buying before you buy them!

I am now considering what to do next:

Take the Loach back = They may not accept him and I don't want him to go:sad

Increase the flow into the tank = I don't want to upset the goldies!

If I had room for another tank, I would set up another tank for the loach and find some suitable friends for him.

I just don't know what to do

Thanks to everyone for your advice

kikuchiyo · Jul 23, 2004

What I don't understand is why the assistants are not taught the simple rules of what is right for certain fish. Or at least have leaflets on each fish (or type of fish) to refer to, instead of guessing!!

The assistants are mostly high school kids. Leaflets and training costs money.


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