Loaches with Plecos?
- Thread starter Hooked Newbie
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I have a 4" pleco with a similar sized tiger botia and they share almost everything together...I do notice however that the tiger loach took control of the driftwood cave ( the pleco will hang off the outside )... if anything the tiger botia goes after my 'huge' green terror and sometimes will put him the corner and yet leave all the other fish alone!
I have plenty of caves, but based on the advice here have decided to not add the BN to the tank. I may rethink it once the BN is of equal or greater size than the loaches, but the loaches are bigger than the plecos now. If you have a single loach, I'd recommend adding unless the tank can't support it. They need to be in groups.
I do like the way this thread has turned out though and have been reading along. It seems that those of us that lean to the bottom all like plecos and loaches and the number of possible mixes are innumerable.
I do like the way this thread has turned out though and have been reading along. It seems that those of us that lean to the bottom all like plecos and loaches and the number of possible mixes are innumerable.
Ok a few questions... when you say "Tiger Loach", what species are you referring to? (www.loachesonline.com). What size tank? What are the residents? My gut feeling is that adding to the loaches (with the same species) would be good in a cichlid tank, but I can't be sure without the details.
Dangerdoll
Global Moderator
I've kept large school of skunk loaches, which I loved with my whiptail and lemon spotted pleco and there was never a problem. I did have the floor of the tank with caves and crevices everywhere and then a thick bunch of plastic plants so not sure if there was going to be tension, the large number of the loaches and the ground cover settled it out or not.
Ok...the type is botia helodes ( silver with lightly black bands and a yellow bottom fin ) Fairly aggressive but very shy. He lives with a very small jack dempsey, 2 yellow labs, 3 small tin foil barbs, 1 tiger barb and of course my pleco and green terror. I have a 38 gl tank, plastic plants, substate gravel and 1 piece of driftwood. I plan to move any fish onward that outgrows their surroundings. No one else is aggressive and all water parameters are normal...tank is fully cycled and 6 months old.
Lupin
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- Sep 21, 2006
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Good advice, HN.
Loaches are not to be deprived of their companions no matter the excuses. One can say it seems happy, but is it really happy? There have been plenty of cases wherein loaches resort to harassing other fish constantly to death because they cannot establish a social hierarchy without members of their own species.Tiger loaches are all aggressive species, no more, no less. All your fish are at risk having their eyes ripped out, fins put in shreds and even worse get bloodshot marks around their bodies. Tiger loaches along with the skunks, modestas and eos are gram for gram very aggressive loaches. I kept a large group of Syncrossus helodes along with my Yasuhikotakia modesta and I can't help but notice the clicking sounds become more audible as days pass. What species are yours or perhaps a pic can help?
I will add that my LFS once again made a mistake of mixing common plecos and the above mentioned loaches much to my horror. First, glass catfish wherein 3 died out of 6 while the other 3 up to now are still recovering from the damage. Several common plecos had their underside skins peeled off and eyes ripped out. I was enraged and again almost lost control of my temper. I warned them before that they are putting a lot of fish to risk being harassed to death. I suggested only the red-tailed black sharks, rainbow sharks and tiger barbs can be mixed and it worked well. All are capable of defending themselves and can escape at near lightning speed but this is not the case for cichlids at all. They're rather slow moving and despite their ability to defend themselves, they are still no match for the loaches who can move at a fast speed.
No, it is not good to mix the cichlids and loaches, most especially those from Rift Valley. We've said before some people can try the mix but the aggression levels are far different and cichlids are pushovers at times and can readily disrupt the loaches' pecking order established in their social hierarchy. As far as loaches are concerned, they will not appreicate being pushed around by other fish species other than themselves. They prefer nooks and crannies and will not appreciate either being removed from their territories.
Proper link:
www.loaches.com
Oddly enough, I never have luck mixing skunk loaches with other fish. I had suffered cases of severe injuries and even deaths among my yoyo loaches and other fish thinking the skunks would never have gone beyond my expectations but I was wrong. These are, by far, the nastiest loaches I have kept. Second to them would be the Yasuhikotakia modesta.
The mix with plecos and loaches once again is dependent on the species, setup and possibly luck. Unless you are prepared to lose your prized fish with the well-known belligerent species of loaches, then it is not advisable to try at all. In the end, loaches and plecos never came from the same origin hence they have different lifestyle particularly social hierarchies. Neither are cichlids and loaches in the same origin.
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Bout time you showed up again Lupin! My Festi is fine with my loaches, but I found this quote particularly insightful....
"In the end, loaches and plecos never came from the same origin hence they have different lifestyle particularly social hierarchies. Neither are cichlids and loaches in the same origin."
I do think there are viable options to include both loaches and plecos in the same tank, but the variables (environment, species, numbers, etc.) seem to dictate what will work and have become fascinating. Many people keep Plecos with African Cichlids and have well documented results. Loaches with Plecos seem to be less so.
"In the end, loaches and plecos never came from the same origin hence they have different lifestyle particularly social hierarchies. Neither are cichlids and loaches in the same origin."
I do think there are viable options to include both loaches and plecos in the same tank, but the variables (environment, species, numbers, etc.) seem to dictate what will work and have become fascinating. Many people keep Plecos with African Cichlids and have well documented results. Loaches with Plecos seem to be less so.
I can only speak for my own experiences with clown loaches and plecos.
I have 4 clown loaches, one of them is the king of them all, he's about 9 years old and is much bigger than the other 3.
The king clown loach has his own log cave, but woe betide any other fish that foolishly dares enter, whether he happens to be in the cave at the time or not! He will aggressively chase any fish away from his cave.
The only fish that he ever allowed in his cave was a my small clown pleco (approx 1 year old), they seem to be like old buddies.
I recently purchased a bristle nose pleco about a week ago, and to my suprise it too was allowed into the king's cave!
It's weird, he won't even tolerate any of the other clown loaches in his log cave, but plecos he seems fond of and allows them free range.
Perhaps he views them as the aquatic equivalent of attractive young ladies!
I have 4 clown loaches, one of them is the king of them all, he's about 9 years old and is much bigger than the other 3.
The king clown loach has his own log cave, but woe betide any other fish that foolishly dares enter, whether he happens to be in the cave at the time or not! He will aggressively chase any fish away from his cave.
The only fish that he ever allowed in his cave was a my small clown pleco (approx 1 year old), they seem to be like old buddies.
I recently purchased a bristle nose pleco about a week ago, and to my suprise it too was allowed into the king's cave!
It's weird, he won't even tolerate any of the other clown loaches in his log cave, but plecos he seems fond of and allows them free range.
Perhaps he views them as the aquatic equivalent of attractive young ladies!
