Setting up my second loach tank.

[Fishman Dave]

Hahahaha, I find this very amusing.
it just so happens that you have managed to find two undescribed species of loach out of just the two that you were looking at/ had in common, because they behave differently than they do for the guy before.
I think more likely you both have different populations of the same species available to you, and just like we have said many times before, all fish are different and even on the “more peaceful” types, you will still get aggressive individuals. Just as you will get individuals that bring out aggressive behaviour in the rest of the group.
Note also that much of the “aggression” seen online is no doubt misunderstood loach behaviour and fish in the wrong conditions.
It is all social behaviour. If you want to see it in action in a group of loaches, watch a group of people, you will see exactly the same traits.
Transfer the same group of loach into a different setup or into a different population of fish and some individuals will behave differently.
The hierarchy of the group will alter.
In a more boisterous tank the more boisterous individuals will take more control and be higher up the pecking order and vice verca.
As for the horse face loach, I would be very surprised to find the horse face loach in MTS’s tank to be one of the two types that grow large. The ones more often seen imported are the smaller 4-6” varieties, or at least in my experience.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

As for the horse face loach, I would be very surprised to find the horse face loach in MTS’s tank to be one of the two types that grow large. The ones more often seen imported are the smaller 4-6” varieties, or at least in my experience.

You know, it's funny. That pet store seems to have a knack for getting in rarer fish of several species, I wonder if it's because they are not a massive chain so they may order from 'less' well known suppliers that supply rarer fish because the massive chains are taking orders from many primary suppliers?
They have clown/striped/drapefin barbs, smaller spotted instead of larger spotted pictus catfish, the occassional Pimelodus maculatus in those shipments, black driftwood catfish, hill trout, squirrel loaches, zodiac loaches, small scale instead of Burmese archerfish, and those are just the ones I have seen. I wouldn't be surprised if something similar is happening with the horsefaces.

Won't deal with the rest since it's either hard to say for sure or we have had several good discussions about it before, but still a good opinion to share.

 

[Midwater]

Fish vary. A bit like people.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Forgot to mention, but I'm not doing as well as I'd like with the Odessa barbs. These young ones are just so fragile, at most I have 7 left after replacing dead ones several times.

Hopefully some will grow up healthy. They will be joined in the meantime by slightly older Odessa barbs that are still young, but old enough to be hardy.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Got my good camera! Today is missing photo day!
Here's a non-photo update for while I'm shooting them.

Today I'll order the roseline sharks and 1/2 of the striped kuhli loaches. I will not get all the kuhli loaches at once because of bioload concerns for the 38 liter quarantine.
I'll also be getting a total of 30 striped kuhlis instead of 24 as an 'insurance policy' because they're not the most shipping-tolerant of fish. But if all of them make it, I sure won't be complaining!

As the roseline sharks go, these are nice, young individuals unlike the ones at the pet store. They go straight into the tank because a 38 liter will not provide the needed oxygen.

And since I'm getting both shipped in, they'll arrive very shortly! Tomorrow would be the expected date.

 

[Friller2009]

As the roseline sharks go, these are nice, young individuals unlike the ones at the pet store. They go straight into the tank because a 38 liter will not provide the needed oxygen.

What do you mean by not having enough oxygen? Add a couple air stones and maybe a sponge filter or two, and then there is plenty of oxygen. Quarantine is important. Surely drilling a hole into the lid of a plastic storage container and chucking a sponge filter in is better than having sick in your display tank.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Maybe you haven't seen the thread I linked before. From what I can see these fish need VERY high oxygen.

Mysterious Death to My School of Roseline Sharks

Had ten 4 inch roseline sharks in my 150 gallon discus community tank along with clown loaches, cardinal tetras & plecos. Decided to move the setup to a different part of the house so I had to empty the tank. Everything went into a 55 gallon drum with a heater & air stone. All the livestock...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

I don't think the volume of the 38 liter can dissolve enough oxygen in it for all 9. Getting less than 9 at once is also not a good idea, because their availability is very sporadic, and my cousin says absolutely no to storage container quarantine tanks because it would be too many fish holding containers (I asked before for another species).

I'd really like to quarantine, but my facilities are not good for that.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Photo dump!

The rocks. Haven't figured out just where to put them in the tank yet.

Full tank shot with the new fake plant. Looks more fulfilled aquascape-wise.

The black kuhlis in their new home. Got some funny images of them hanging out in the fake plants, plus one resting in the open.

As for the orders: Unfortunately, the website is low on young roseline sharks and I won't know whether or not they have more until at least Thursday. So the orders are put on hold until the sharks come back in stock - and I hope this isn't a time where they become sporadic at reordering time.

 

[Friller2009]

Are you going to add live plants?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Good question. Not to this tank.
I don't add live plants to tanks that aren't solely filtered by a sponge filter, because I don't want this to happen. Plus I have heard too many horror stories about high-oxygen sharks/barbs being moved to planted tanks, and nearly suffocating by morning.