anyone keeping Syncrossus berdmorei

[PhishMon84]

I just ordered a dozen babies from this species- has the size, look and attitude to work in my tanks with my growing group of blue botia...

anyone have pics or videos or experiences with a group?

growth rate? other loaches to mix with?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I think A201 has some.

 

[PhishMon84]

I think A201 has some.

thanks- i saw a thread where they might have a singleton or 3.

i'm sure group behavior is different but lets see...

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Ordering a dozen was a smart choice by the way. Emma Turner suggests stocking them quite densely to spread aggression out, and chances are that a dozen will do that nicely.

 

[A201]

I have one Berdmorei tiger. He's about five years old. Started out with eight juveniles in a 120 gal. W/ plenty of hardscape.
He killed all of his siblings within a couple of months.
The Tiger is currently in with a group of Modesta & YoYo's
He is the most dominant Botia, but gets along well with the others.

 

[PhishMon84]

Ordering a dozen was a smart choice by the way. Emma Turner suggests stocking them quite densely to spread aggression out, and chances are that a dozen will do that nicely.

i always go for groups, most seem to behave better at higher stocking ratios. tetras & barbs usually do at least 20

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Agreed. I like to stock the tank as densely as possible without overstocking when it comes to fish that need to be in groups (whether they're loaches, tetras, barbs, etc) so that they can have as much company as possible while still having enough space.
That better behavior one gets when one stocks one's tank like this is a big plus for sure.

 

[PhishMon84]

Also the aesthetics are hard to beat. I used to mix schools now I appreciate uniformity

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I find I agree with that too. Large groups of 1-2 schooling species look far more composed and aesthetically pleasing than a lot of small groups of different species, and act that way too.

The only exception to this is if the tank is very large compared to the fish in question (as in, a ratio equivalent to at least a 1.83m long 473 liter for a max 15 cm fish), where the large size of the tank allows for large schools of all species in question with enough room for them to school with only their species instead of as a disorganized-looking mix of all species.
And even then, it would never be a bad idea to go the route of big groups of 1-2 species but merely on an XL scale.

 

[1 2many]

I don’t have S. Berdmorei anymore but I had 1 for about 10 years. Right now I have 4 S. Beauforti (chameleon loach) after starting with 6.
Synocrossus sp. are by far the toughest and most aggressive loaches I’ve owned. Tankmates need to be hardy and robust but not overly predatory in order to coexist. And they definitely do best in larger groups to minimize aggression. I provide a lot of decor for them to hide. Feeding time is always fun as they will climb the water column in search of food and they eat almost anything offered. IME they grow pretty quickly for a loach. My Berdmorei was easily 6 inches after the first year in my tank after buying as a juvenile. And although they reach a smaller overall size, my Beauforti are 4-5 inches after 1 year as well.
I only have pics of my Beauforti. I tried looking back through old photos to find my Berdmorei but it must’ve been deleted.