Woah. Don't mean to get in the middle here but I think that manual removal by way of veggie baiting is always the best option...just my opinion...carry on...
snail eating loach
- Thread starter tjcher
- Start date
Bio-load aside, I personally don't think a 33gal is enough room to swim for a school of these fish. I had 3 kubotai in a 29 for almost a year. It was my first experience with loaches and i didn't know better. They are obviously stunted and the others have outgrown them in the 75gal where they now live. I'd say a 4ft tank, preferably a 75 or 90 with the 18in width, would be the best choice for a healthy home.
I thought a 33g long was 4 ft x 1ft x 1 ft, so the same footprint as a 55g (more or less). Plenty of "space" for a group of smaller loaches. BUT with that plec especially & the other fish, no way. Even minus the plec there isn't enough room :nono:.
(This is why my stocking always starts with the loaches, I don't get the problems of other fish taking up loach space :evil_lol
My striatas in a 75g have gone from 1 inch SL to just over 2 in 2.5 years being fed twice a day. Not stunted, not starved just slow growers :silly:. My 1 inch histrionicas on the other hand have grown more than 1/4 inch in 6 weeks in a 20g long quarantine tank
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OP-- I think you'd be best off baiting & removing snails & reduce feeding to control but not eliminate them.
(This is why my stocking always starts with the loaches, I don't get the problems of other fish taking up loach space :evil_lol
My striatas in a 75g have gone from 1 inch SL to just over 2 in 2.5 years being fed twice a day. Not stunted, not starved just slow growers :silly:. My 1 inch histrionicas on the other hand have grown more than 1/4 inch in 6 weeks in a 20g long quarantine tank
.OP-- I think you'd be best off baiting & removing snails & reduce feeding to control but not eliminate them.
I agree with Lupin on this. Yes, Zebs and Kubs are messy, but it doesn't require extra maintenance... I have Kuhlis and zebras in a 29 right now (temporary until I can get a larger tank) and I do regular weekly water changes, and the filter only needs maintenance about once a month (sometimes twice) (granted what filter you have can make a difference as well).
I test nitrates before and after every water change (combined with a vac), and they are never high, even when I missed a water change once and the tank went 2 weeks without maintenance the nitrates were still under the danger level.
(Also I have an albino BN plec in there too, talk about messy...)
I think what is important to note in this is that every tank is different. Every setup is different. What works for some of us might not work for others.
I test nitrates before and after every water change (combined with a vac), and they are never high, even when I missed a water change once and the tank went 2 weeks without maintenance the nitrates were still under the danger level.
(Also I have an albino BN plec in there too, talk about messy...)
I think what is important to note in this is that every tank is different. Every setup is different. What works for some of us might not work for others.
These fish are all wild caught so they have been swept up in a net from their natural habitat and shipped half way around the world in a bag for the sole purpose of our enjoyment. That's a pretty heavy burden on my conscience so I try to go the extra length to keep them happy and healthy.
