Setting up my second loach tank.

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Mmmm.....on second thought, that order might have to be changed up some.

Some time after I listed them with the striped kuhli loaches coming after the roseline sharks, only then did I process that the roseline sharks could view the kuhli loaches as food if the purchased sizes are small enough and they're added before the loaches.
If the roselines are likely to do that (those of you who have had roselines can correct me if I'm wrong), I can think of the following.

-Get the kuhli loaches first. Only problem with this is the sporadic availability+popularity of roselines, they might well sell out during the 4 week kuhli quarantine and who knows when they'll next be available?
-Proceed as usual, but add the kuhlis to the tank at night while the roselines are sleeping. That way, they can be at least somewhat established by morning to hopefully be viewed as just another fish.
-Proceed as usual, but add the kuhlis during a fin level water replacement (the time when any fish is least likely to eat), and feed the roselines before the water replacement (to reduce it even further). That ought to help the roselines think of the kuhlis as just another fish, due to their being added at a time when the roselines are both pre-fed and unlikely to eat to begin with.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

???????????????????????????????????????????????!

All my worries about the roselines, kuhlis, and Odessas are now well-and-truly-over! The fish gods have got to be smiling down on me (like they were on Martin Thoene when he was getting the fish for the tank that inspired this one)!

Went to the pet store today to ask for some advice. I was not expecting anything like what I would find, since I had been told before how sporadic it was and how it was highly unlikely they would have it anytime soon.
What did I find that was good enough to put 47 partying faces in my comment? A tank full of healthy, cheap, and very small roseline sharks that would cost $165 without any delivery fees or oxygen fears, a tank full of young striped kuhli loaches in quite good shape that the roselines were too small to eat, and a tank of young, lively, pre-quarantined Odessa barbs that, while still young, were somewhat bigger than the sensitive pea-sized babies and therefore quite hardier!

I'll be picking up the roselines and Odessas on Wednesday. The roselines go straight into the 473 liter as planned, while the Odessas go into the 110 liter to allow the 4 surviving tiny babies to have a proper school size of 6 or more while they grow up.
The kuhlis won't be available for purchase until next Wednesday, but I can hardly wait! Photos of all will be given on Wednesday.

One last thing concerning the kuhlis. Earlier today, before I went to the pet store, I called another one and asked if they had any striped kuhli loaches.
When the front desk person asked what I meant by kuhli loach to check the fishroom for any, I said small striped fish that looks like a snake. They said they didn't carry snakes, only tropical fish!
It turned out this person's English was not that great, explaining the mixup, and I ended the call at that point because of futility in poor language skills. Either way, going to the pet store and seeing actual kuhli loaches was a big step up from talking about 'snakes'! ? ?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

One small concern regarding the Odessa barbs. Would I be best off rehoming those tiny babies so they don't get stunted by the slightly larger individuals?
Asking because I have seen situations where young discus were stunted by the growth inhibiting hormones given off by even slightly larger discus, even with regular water replacements done, and I'm worried something similar could happen here since cyprinids are well known for growth inhibiting hormones.
For the Odessa barb breeders, have you experienced this when raising different sized Odessas together?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Just picked up the roselines and striped kuhlis! The roselines made the trip with no issues and are 5-6cm, currently settling into the tank.

The striped kuhlis are in quarantine and appear to be in good shape. I got a few extra too, for free! ?

Neither are very photogenic ATM, which is good since I have no camera access.

Any ideas on the Odessa barb concern, by the way?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Forgot to mention that I may have made one of the only purchases of a fish that counts as a rescue. One of the roseline sharks was all alone in a sale tank right next to the one with all the rest. Apparently it had been like that for a week or two.
It wasn't clear why it was there instead of with the rest, but I was allowed to purchase it with the 8 remainders so it could have company. The reason I made the purchase and suspect it may be a rescue is because if I didn't purchase it with more individuals, chances are that no one would and it would stay alone, stressing it more and more.
And of course, I let the pet store know. Hopefully they won't allow schooling fish to be alone in tanks when there are more in another tank.

So far, it's a bit isolated at times from the 8 that were together in the store tank, but otherwise makes effort to be with and follow them. The latter's a good sign, if it keeps up then that formerly lonely shark can be a normal member of the shoal.

I will say though, I'm quite annoyed that the day of getting the first fish (that I've never had before) for this tank ends up non-photogenic and with no access to a good camera. Do forgive me.

 

[Fishman Dave]

One small concern regarding the Odessa barbs. Would I be best off rehoming those tiny babies so they don't get stunted by the slightly larger individuals?
Asking because I have seen situations where young discus were stunted by the growth inhibiting hormones given off by even slightly larger discus, even with regular water replacements done, and I'm worried something similar could happen here since cyprinids are well known for growth inhibiting hormones.
For the Odessa barb breeders, have you experienced this when raising different sized Odessas together?

Not an issue in my opinion, many have young in with parents, if this were an issue young fish would never develop properly into adults.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Thank goodness! I was at a loss what to do, but those troubles are over.

I'll be heading back today, so I can get pictures. These Odessas aren't just the perfect size of being young but not hyper-fragile, they're only 1/3-half-colored instead of full colored (which is another indicator they aren't older fish I wouldn't want).
It's also good that they've been pre-quarantined, since as mentioned, the current school of babies is too small and needs to be upped ASAP. Cutting 4 weeks off that time helps.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Photo dump. Went to the pet store today and found my good camera.
All photos at the store of species I purchased are post-purchase.

Roseline sharks. This was the same tank as the considerably larger, 35 dollar a pop individuals I decided against buying on Page 9, and as you can see from the numbers, my purchase dropped their stock by a good chunk down to 7 (number 7 hiding in top pipe). I suspect the next person to purchase these fish will do the same, hence my urgency to get them as soon as possible.
I also think I spent less on them than I would have otherwise, due to a typo! ? Their normal pricing for multiple fish means that 25 dollar fish would be 70 dollars if bought as a trio. Not so here!

Striped kuhli loaches. Even though I apparently hold the record for most kuhlis purchased, that didn't make much of a dent in the number of these for sale. It was a real pain for the employee to catch all 24 (and the few free extras!) though. ?
No photos of the exact striped kuhlis that I bought until the end-of-quarantine date September 14, because they're in the quarantine tank that is too ugly to put pictures of.

Odessas. Cannot WAIT to purchase these on Wednesday, even though they're not too colorful now I know how colorful they will be! ?
I think I'll up the school size to 12. So I'll be getting 8 instead of the originally planned 5.

Finally, here are some pictures of the tank after the roselines have been added. The roselines themselves still have quite a bit of settling in to do, but they have settled down enough to begin enjoying the Sicce pumps' flow every now and again, and it seems they like the mix of faster/slower/narrower/wider current that having both XStream and Voyager gives.
The roselines also seem to be having a considerable dither fish effect for the black kuhlis. How many of the black kuhlis are out and about ought to let these fish's ability as dithers speak for itself, and hopefully this will carry on with all the other loaches..

Full tank shot with the roselines.

Very nice hardware. I want to see fish. Fish, fish, fish!

Now you can see fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish, fish!

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I will be interested to hear how roselines work for this purpose.

Just remembered this. As mentioned in the previous comment, it seems to be working excellently for the kuhlis, although I'm not sure of how much darting around there is right now.
For owners of both, or kuhli owners with an appropriate size tank for roselines who need dither fish, I highly recommend to mix them. The kuhlis ought to be at least 3x as confident as they would be with no roselines (based on the number that were active vs hiding before the roselines).

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

200th comment on this thread, woo!

cockroach , something you might want to know about surface agitation. I have noticed the roseline sharks breathe faster and even occasionally try to gulp air at the top within a short time if the pumps are not agitating the surface.
I realize you said your fish were fine with just water movement and no agitation, but just something you might want to know since it was brought up and I noticed it. The difference in our cases is almost certainly related to the fact that your clown/yoyo loaches are not as oxygen sensitive as roselines (which seem to come from streams that generally have very high agitation).
And it makes a lot of sense too. Surface agitation both increases the surface area of water to dissolve oxygen, and mixes oxygen it dissolves deeper into the water, so it's easy to see why this makes an appreciable difference for roselines or similar fish.

Hopefully this helps for future reference.