Dojo Loach Questions

[elinore]

Hello, I've got dojo/weather loach questions! I've read that they can be great pets, and that it's best to keep at least 3, but what size tank do they need? I've just set up a 55 gal corner bowfront (it's still cycling) to house 2 fancy goldfish. I'm planning on keeping the tank at 72-74 degrees, and I love that the dojos seem to prefer lower temps. The substrate is sand (.1-.3mm), and I am planing on planting the tank at least moderately (my goldies don't seem to care about eating plants, which is wonderful).

I'm wondering if adding 3 gold dojos would be ok, or if would be overstocking, or if they just get too big to live comfortably in my 55? Right now, filtration is a Marineland C-220 canister, and I'm planning on adding a second source of filtration once I see how everything works out in the tank with currents and such. Anyway, I've read some articles that say dojos grow to 6 inches, and some that say they'll get 12 inches long...which is true? Would they work in my tank, or should I look into a small kuhli school instead? Thanks for any input!!!

 

[thebrandon]

I'm not familiar with the dimensions of the 50 corner but I'm thinking you would be ok with 2 of them. I have one right now that is about 8 inches or so and definitely have the potential to reach 12". He has always been in a 4 ft tank though. They are very curious and active fish with great personalities. They spend all their time at the bottom of the tank except for when they go to the surface for air so they really do need a lot of room to explore. Mine loves scurrying through plants and dead leaves and around/in what ever it can. Even if you have a lot of hiding places you can expect to see this fish all the time and is usually one of the first to the scene if food is around. They are one of my favorite fish to keep. They also eat literally anything you put in the tank. Mine eats flakes, shrimp pellets, sinking carnivore pellets, algae wafers, blood worms, gold fish pellets, all of the kens fish food I have tried as well.

 

[elinore]

Thanks! I'm still going back and forth...I love the idea of bigger, friendlier loaches that like cooler water and don't mind gf waste, but I'm just scared that they'll get too big to be comfortable. From what I've read, most get around 6-8 inches, but could possibly get bigger if given adequate space. 6 inches I can handle, but 10 or 12 inches seems huge. One thought I've had is I could get 3 and if they get too big for my tank, they could go live in my outdoor koi pond (the koi and outside gf "hibernate" in my heated garage over winter, but I'm not sure if dojos could take that). Whatever I do, I just want to be a responsible fishkeeper and not do something stupid that will hurt any fish if I can possibly help it.