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FAQs About Loach Reproduction/Breeding
Related Articles: Loaches,
Dojos/Weatherfish, A New Look At Loaches
By Neale Monks,
Related FAQs: Loaches 1, Loaches
2, Clownloaches,
Kuhli
Loaches, Loach Identification, Loach Behavior, Loach Compatibility, Loach Selection, Loach Systems, Loach Feeding, Loach Disease,
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Black Kuhli/Java Loach Fry
8/2/11
Howdy,
<Hello,>
My husband and I are definitely amateur aquarium keepers. We
found this site immensely helpful when we were trying to figure
out what fish to add to our tank. We received an already
established 20 gallon high tank, which had been established at
least 6 months when we got it, to total at least 8 months. We
don't currently have an adequate water testing kit. We have
dip strips with the 5 tests on one strip that tell us about where
it is, with plans to get a decent testing kit ASAP. We ran out of
funds before we realized how important it is to know your
parameters. It's currently reading pH between 7.2-7.8,
Alkalinity close to 180, Hardness a little above 'hard',
so probably around 200, Nitrite reading 0 and Nitrates close to
0, but less than 20.
<All sounds fine for a mixed community tank.>
We have 4 male guppies and 5 guppy fries about 5 weeks old. We,
as I stated, are amateur and accidentally ended up with a 4 to 1
balance of guppies. As we tried to remedy the situation the
female guppy had fries and died shortly after. Our levels were
testing fine and no other fish showed signs of
stress/illness.
<Likely a combination of stress from the males and the strain
of giving birth. Sadly, the death of a lone female Guppy or any
other livebearer isn't that rare when they're kept with
larger numbers of males. Just gone through much the same thing
with my Halfbeaks, so after having 6 females and 3 males, the
females have all died after 2-3 years of life, while the 3 males
seem right as rain. Frustrating.>
In our tank we also have 6 Glolite tetras, and 5 Black Kuhli
Loaches. We have a Tetra Whisper 20i and an underground filter of
unknown make and/or age which uses airlines and risers for the
filtration flow. We have gravel due to the UGF and knew it was
not ideal for the Kuhlis. We have created places to hide above
the gravel and have watched for signs of scratches, fin tears,
etc. We also have some live plants: 3 small Wisteria plants and a
few pieces of Anacharis floating on the top. The rest of the tank
has lava rock and fake plants.
<Nice, but do watch the lava rock -- it's scratchy, and
can damage fish sometimes.>
Our loaches were sold to us as Black Kuhli Loaches, which appears
to be accurate using the loaches.com species index. They match
the description of the Pangio Oblonga and the pictures as
well.
<Yes, would agree that the bigger of the two Loaches
you've sent me is a Pangio of some sort.>
However, we aren't able to tell the difference between the
Oblonga and the Pangia, so it might be that breed of loaches
instead.
<Indeed, and besides the hybrids and varieties, the true
species aren't easy to tell apart either.>
Now to the point of this e-mail. My husband was watching the tank
and thought he saw one of our guppy fry swim around on the bottom
of the tank.
He watched closer and saw the fry disappear under a rock, which
is abnormal behavior for our fry. He watched closer, and a small
but long and thin fish swam out from under a fake plant. It is
very distinctly a baby loach.
<Yes.>
Upon further observation we've been able to see at least one
other 'fry'.
We now accidentally have at least 2 loach fries. We do 40% water
changes once a week, and vacuum 1/3 of the gravel thoroughly each
time, so we're amazed any eggs survived. We did not expect to
have our Loaches breed.
<Indeed not. Pangio breed only very, very rarely in aquaria,
and always -- so far as I know -- by accident.>
We attempted to do some research, but not much is available on
how to care for the fries. I refer to this site frequently for
thorough information and hoped you might have some insight on how
to best care for them. Attached is one picture of an adult loach,
and one picture of the loach fry. In the picture with the loach
fry, one of our guppy fry is in the foreground and is about 1 cm
long for a size comparison. Any help or advice you can give would
be great!
<The loach fry are clearly big enough to fend for themselves,
so there's nothing much you need to do. Your loach fry seem
to be at least a month old judging by their size, and really all
you need to ensure is that you don't add anything to the tank
likely to view them as food.>
Thanks for having such an informative site,
~Jamie
<In this instance, I'm going to recommend you take a look
at the excellent Loaches Online site, which has, among other
things, another, rather similar report on Pangio oblonga breeding
in an aquarium:
http://www.loaches.com/articles/breeding-experience-with-pangio-oblonga
>
PS. Here is a link to a video of the loaches doing a 'rain
dance' which we've read is probably more of a mating
dance than a celebration of coming rain. In case it's
helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0m4J9N8Uzw
<Well done, and thanks for writing. Cheers, Neale.>
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Botia kubotai eggs? 1/14/10
Hi, I've been taking most fish out of a 125 gallon (US) tank in
preparation for some new tank mates. As I was trying to catch hatchet
fish, I found a whitish-clearish round mass (like a marble) attached to
a plastic plant. I
have no idea what it is, and as far as I know it's the only one of
it in the tank. I think it might be the egg of something, but I'm
not sure what.
Here's a list of everything that is in the tank:
Three Silver hatchet fish (several years old), one rhino Pleco (10-12
inches long), two Botia Kubotai (fully matured), one harlequin Rasbora
(being moved to a tank with more Rasboras), pne penguin tetra (also
being
moved to a tank with more tetras), one horse head loach and one Kuhli
loach. Do you have any Idea what this may be? It looks like an egg
case, but I'm not even sure it's an egg. Thanks!
<Almost certainly a snail egg mass. These are typically 5-10 mm
long, jelly-like in texture, and when carefully observed will be seen
to contain multiple specks, the snail embryos. You won't be the
first person to have mistaken such an thing for fish eggs! The snails
are harmless, and your Loaches will eat them anyway, once they hatch.
Fish eggs tend to be laid singly, either in nests (if guarded by
parents) or scattered through the place (if not guarded). Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: Botia Kubotai eggs? 1/14/10
Strange-- I haven't added anything new to the tank in quite a
while, so I don't know how they were introduced. But at least my
loaches will get a treat. Thanks!
<Snails get into tanks in various ways. Sometimes in portions of
live food, sometimes on plants, and sometimes in bags along with your
aquarium fish.
In and of themselves snails rarely cause problems, but a few species
will eat live plants, and in large numbers they can be pests, or at
least unsightly. Snail "plagues" are usually a symptom of bad
aquarium maintenance. In any case, a tank with Loaches, Puffers or any
other snail-eating species is unlikely to have problems with
snails.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plantedtkssubwebindex/snailsags.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
Yoyo loach sex change, comp. 12/07/2007 I have a
bit of a bizarre question. I bought a yoyo loach to take care of a
snail problem and it worked really well. "She" was enough to
keep the snail population manageable without killing all of them.
Unfortunately, "she" was very aggressive toward the other
fish in the tank, killing three and removing the dorsal fin from a Cory
cat. <Sadly all to common with Loaches; whether boys of girls, most
species are somewhere on a scale of 'mean'. They are really
best kept in groups you see, where they can waste their energy fighting
with each other. On their own, this instinct ends up poorly for their
non-loach tankmates.> So I went out and bought "her" 2
smaller yoyo companions. Throughout all of this, "she" had
sand colored barbells and a thick middle that led me to believe that
"she" was a female. Plus, at one point she got so fat I
thought she would burst and I assumed she was full of eggs. Well, now
that she has friends, she has gotten very slender and her barbells have
gone cherry red. Is it possible that she became a he? <Unlikely
she's changed sex. This is actually very rare in freshwater fish,
despite the myths about things like swordtails changing sex (never yet
seen under lab conditions). More likely she was immature and how no
reason to show her full range of colours before. In any case, Yo-yo
Loaches (Botia almorhae) are basically impossible to sex by eye.>
I've found nothing on the web that suggests that loaches are
hermaphroditic but I'm finding evidence in front of my own eyes.
<Unless you've dissected your fish, there's no way to know
she was a girl before and a boy now. Many fish start off with
"female" colours of some sort, and only acquire male colours
when they are sexually mature. Immature males have the female colours
when young because it prevents them from being attacked by mature
males; since immature males are no threat to the mature males and
won't steal nesting sites or potential breeding partners, this ruse
is advantageous to the species.> Thanks, Emily <Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: yoyo loach sex change, and comp. --
12/8/07 Thanks very much. It is doing much better now with a couple
of friends and the rest of the fish in the tank are pleased too.
<Very good. Often Loaches will settle down if they have pals to
play/fight with. If nothing else, the other fish get some time on their
own. If you have the space, keep 6 of the same species: they'll be
much more settled, and less shy as well. Cheers, Neale.>
Fish Questions?? Dojo repro. 2/26/07
Hey I was wondering what a dojo's eggs look like? <Mmm, small
(about 1 mm. in diameter), round, light brown...> Mine are male and
female I think. And they have been swimming and curling around
each other. I think my female has had babies but I am
not sure. We found a whitish gold pod in our tank. It is
short and round. Thanks, Serenity Strong <Mmm, this pod is "not
it"... Please read here: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&rlz=1I7PCTA&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=misgurnus+reproduction&spell=1
Bob Fenner>
Sexing Dojos, Weatherfish Loaches Hello, I was wondering if I
could get some advice on how I to tell the difference between a male
and female dojo. Is there a way? Thanks, Terry <Hey
Terry, from what I have found, the difference is in the pectoral
fins. The males have larger pectoral fins than the females,
and the two first spines are stronger than the rest hope this
helps. Best Regards, Gage>
Very small Clown Loaches Hi there, I would like to know what
clown loaches look like when only days old - 1 week? We have
just discovered babies in our tank and we only have clown loaches and
another type of fish that are multiple. I know the loaches
are not easy to breed but these have a bright yellow sack so do you
have any photo's that would help in the identification, can't
find anything on the net. Thanks a million < Most baby fish have an
egg sac attached to them. As the egg sac is being absorbed the fish
should start looking more and more like the adults whatever they may
be. Usually clown loaches get to be about a foot long before that are
breeding size and then scatter their eggs about. I know that they are
bred in the orient using hormone injections but this would indeed be a
rare occurrence if it were the clown loaches in fact that
bred.-Chuck> Michelle Trute
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