Dojo/Weather Loaches

Sabina

Sabina

AC Members
Jul 31, 2013
237
0
0
Ive been wondering about them for awhile, they seem like interesting fish.
But Ive been doing some looking and I couldnt find the any answers for it.
Would it be possible for a dojo loach to live in a tank with out substrate, but have lots of places to explore?
I now they like it, but is it nessacary?
 
...possible, probably. I have kuhli loaches that dig, dig, dig, in the sand and would be devastatedly bored without it.
 
hmm.
Im kinda aprehensive about substrate, sands messy and gravals hard to clean.
Is there somthing else thats not sand or gravel that the loaches would like and wont harm them?

Just curouse,
If you got a weather loach and didnt have substrate could you see how it does and if it does get really board then add substrate?
 
Last edited:
This might be a dumb idea, BUT... maybe you can try using a wide shallow tupperware dish filled with sand. Spend $6 on a 50 lbs bag of sand, and fill the shallow bowl. Alternate placing their food on the glass and on the sand. During water changes, just siphon out all of the sand so you know it's not dirty. Then replace it with clean sand from the bag. After a while, you will know if they prefer sand or glass and can decide your substrate plans then
 
Hmm, I might try that.
And that way if the loach really does perfer the sand then he can have some in the tank anways
 
I've had standard aquarium gravel, pool filter sand, aragonite sand, and I wouldn't consider ANY of them difficult to clean or keep up. Just gravel vac right above the substrate and it ought to be fine. If you have fish that dig in substrate, they automatically stir up the gravel for you. All in all, I think most fish prefer substrate over a bare bottom.

Dojos are great, great fish, prefer to be in groups of 3 or more, will grow to a good 8-12", so need at least a 55 gallon tank minimum to be really happy...they really are active fish so need the swimming room.

Eric
 
Just a side note, if "messyness" is a concern for you, I'd stay far far away from playsand (that stuff is messy and a headache in my opinion) and stick with pool filter sand. I have aqua quartz brand pfs from ace and have used it for a few years now, never rinsed it, and it is more like really really fine grained gravel in my opinion then sand. I agree with the previous posts, my kuhlis love to play in the sand and dig as well, and probably would be incredibly bored with gravel or bare bottom.
 
dani_starr said:
Just a side note, if "messyness" is a concern for you, I'd stay far far away from playsand (that stuff is messy and a headache in my opinion) and stick with pool filter sand. I have aqua quartz brand pfs from ace and have used it for a few years now, never rinsed it, and it is more like really really fine grained gravel in my opinion then sand. I agree with the previous posts, my kuhlis love to play in the sand and dig as well, and probably would be incredibly bored with gravel or bare bottom.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you didn't rinse the play sand very well
 
I rinsed it for an hour or so at a friends house with a bucket, hose, and swirling the sand around with my hand. Perhaps I should of rinsed longer though. Living in an apt, I love how I dont have to rinse the pfs and the clouding goes away within a day. I also had issues with the play sand being mud-like and compacting (even with getting poked with chop sticks every few days), which was overall annoying for me. That's just my opinion and experience though. :)
 
i use coral sand and rinse it through an old worn pillow case for 1 hour while beating it with my fist. no clouds. and i live in a small apt.

Sent from my VS920 4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom