can a few hillstream loaches live in a 10 gallon?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Prometheus

Prometheus

Candiru
MFK Member
Jun 9, 2008
477
0
46
Earth
im trying to figure out what to do with my soon to be empty 10 gallon. i used to have hillstreams for a brief while and am considering getting some again. i read the sticky and it sad 8 - 10 of them can be kept in a 20 gallon. well at a length of only 2.5" shouldnt it be possible to keep 3 - 5 in a 10 gallon? or am i wrong?
 
i think they are also called borneo suckers
they dnt grow very big they grow about 1" or 2
sp i would say yes cause im doing the same thing :)
 
Depends on your filtration as well. I'd just go with 3;)
 
The Sewellia lineolata and at least a few other species such as Homaloptera can reach 3 inches actually. A 10g would be suitable for 3-4 but the problem is they prefer powerful currents so a 10g would not be feasible for such environment.
 
what if i used a low powered power head? i say low powered cause anything else in a a tank as small a 10 gallon would probably just blow the inhabitants to the far wall and keep them there. also, exactly how powerful a current are we talking about here? i ask because i have an old trio 2000 filter and it might do the job. its a different type of filter. it is basically a box w/ suction cups on the bottom for attachment to any side and it pulls water through vents and shoots it out through a small power head. heres a link that has a picture of it - id take a picture of my own but i cant find my camera at the moment - and i apologize for the fact that this page is a part of a different forum. i googled it and this is what came up.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N

simply put, would even a small powerhead not work due to small tank size?
 
i had a 800lt/hour power head in my 7 gallon everyone was fine it just blew all the gravel up to one end of the tank
 
Why don't you just get a long 20g? Reserve the 10g for anything else.
 
i would love to buy a 20 long just for these guys, the problem is that since im still in college... im not allowed to have anymore tanks :angryfire my parents have seen that iv brought home 7 already (and im not even allowed to set up my 55 gallon) and they dont want me filling the house with them any more. i was even made to get rid of my beloved bichirs recently. that hurt. so i am trying to figure out what to do with the tanks i have now.

you are absolutely right in asking me why i dont get a 20 for them. well, i would, i really would, but i cant. so im trying to come up with ideas for this tank. so far my other possibilities are a pair of breeding rams, or an african butterfly fish, or a cherry shrimp breeding tank, or a betta sorority.

so simply, should i pass on this idea and wait till i can provide better accommodations for the hillstreams or is this setup feasible?

p.s. i wolnt argue with you LOL if its a bad idea just tell me and ill figure something else out. oh, and thanks for yalls help ;)
 
It'll be fine, but it's hard to get a good decent flow in a 10g without it being too powerful. I can't imagine what I would do if I had a 10g again.
 
I've heard that hillstream loaches can be very territorial . . . so I'm not sure how happy several would be sharing a 10 gal. tank! It might depend on the kind of hillstream loach, though. Gastromyzon have a reputation for being fairly territorial. I personally have just one sewellia in a 10 gallon tank with some Endler's livebearers and White Cloud mountain minnows. They seem to all get along pretty well.

So far just the flow from the filter has been enough to keep the sewellia happy, but that may be because the water temperature is fairly low (about 67 degrees). I'm afraid I may have to do something different when the house temperatures go up this summer. (I've only had the hillstream loach for a few months, so he hasn't been through a summer yet.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom