Ray,
I'll have to admit that I'm no expert on Loaches or Corys (far from it
really), but I had great luck in the past with a pair of Clown Loaches
that I had in a 29 gallon. They certainly didn't grow to 12-14", and
in fact I didn't know that they even got that big, but they seemed
happy for the most part, and lived for a very long time. I gave them
back to my local store when I disassembled the tank, and at that point
they had to be at least ten years old.
I think that a lot of these varieties of loaches weren't even
available back then (~30 years ago or so; yeah I'm old!). Back then I
can only recall Clown and Kuhli Loaches being widely available, and I
have both, but you never saw the Kuhli Loaches very much! I've
refrained from having any as of late, because they don't seem like a
good mix with Discus, who seem to do better just by themselves. I do
love having my Sterbai though, and my wife is very fond of them.
Thanks for your usual wealth of information!
Alex
On Sat, Jul 14, 2012 at 9:10 AM, <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com> wrote:
> Alex,
>
> Yes, the Cory, Sterbai is a great looking fish, and quite sought after.
> The Emerald Cory (Brochius splendens) is another nice one, but there are a
> number of nice smaller ones too. While Dawn did mention Loaches, and in
> particular Botia, I'm sure she didn't mean Clown Loaches as they get to beiween
> 12" and 14". Besides. I'm sure she knows that Clown Loaches are no longer in
> the Genus Botia but are now considered as Chromobotia, which may be why she
> mentiioned "Botia" without having to expressly exclude this fish.
>
> Some of these Loaches would be my choice too, and especially some of the
> smaller ones. Unfortunately I can't think of very many that are really that
> small. To name a few though -- and I'll have to include their scientific
> names with them, as some share common names -- I'll start with the
> Chipmonk/Dwarf (or "Chain") Loach, Botia [Yasuhikotakia] sidthimunki which gets to only
> 2" -- 3". Yeah, that was a mouthful <g >! Then, in order of size, there's
> the Black Line Loach (B. nigrolineatus) at 3 1/4", the Speckletail Loach
> (Botia caudopunctata) at 3 1/2", the Skunk Loach (B. morleti) at 3 7/8", the
> Zebra (or "Candystripe") Loach (B. striata), followed by the Yo-Yo loach (B.
> almorhae [was B. lohachata]) at 4 1/2" and the Burmese.Golden Zebra Loach
> (B. histrionica) between 4" and 5".
>
> I realize many hobbyists may prefer not having to use the scientific names,
> but there are several Loaches called "striped," "zebra," "barred," "banded"
> etc., with these common names often getting used interchangeably by
> dealers for similarly looking Loaches. I don't think you'd want to find out next
> year that the "small" loaches you bought tomorrow turned out to be a
> different one, at 10" long.
>
> There are some other really great looking Botias, but unfortunately some
> are suited only for much larger tanks. The Polka-Dot Loach (B. "angelicus" --
> more correctly, Botia kubotai) is a gorgeous looking fish, but gets to at
> least 6". The Red-Tail, or "Blue" Botia (B. modesta) is a nice looking fish
> which is getting more and more popular. However, it too gets to at least
> the same size as the Polka-Dot Loach.
>
> There are other small Loaches, not in the Genus Botia, but which are
> closely related, and which are equally suitable for a 30 gallon tank. The
> Butterfly Hillstream Loach is but one of them -- which gets to only 2" -- 3". As a
> reminder, all Corys and most Loaches prefer being in groups.
>
> Ray
>
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