Tankmates for the botia that wouldn't die?

V

vombatus

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Dec 1, 2008
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I've had a 20gallon long tank running with nothing alive in it except for plants and possibly some sly snails... or so I thought. As it turns out, there has been a red tail botia (blue botia) in there for MONTHS hiding from me, eating algae and snails I guess. Don't hate me, I thought he was dead! I searched the tank thoroughly on more than one occasion, pulling everything out, shaking the water out of the decor...

Anyway, I was planning to get some new fish in there, but now I have to account for his presence. (I wanted otto cats but I think he'll massacre them.) The irony is I never liked him. A friend pushed him on me and then he killed my dojo loach his first night in the tank. But I have him, and I'm not going to get rid of him.

So who can suggest some nice tank mates for him? It's a 20 long planted tank (watersprite) with a fine sand substrate. Should I get some more red tail botias to keep him company? What kinds of fun fishies would go well in there?

Thanks!
 
the dimensions of that tank are perfect for smaller loaches, but the red tail botia can get to 8-10 inches, although 7 is a more common maximum in captivity. i'd be looking at rehoming him or moving him to a more suitable sized tank (a 55 would allow you to get him some buddies of the same), then you can do whatever your heart pleases with the 20.
 
then, as much as you don't want to do it, rehome him to somebody that has a suitable tank for him. loaches like to be in the company of other loaches and the best thing for him would be to be somewhere where he has space and 'friends'.

i've rehomed fish that i got attached to, but i knew that they were going to be in a better environment than what i could give them at the time, so that made it easier for me to do.

do you have any local fish clubs or forums where you could offer your loach up for trade for a couple of fish that are more suitable to your tank?

how long have you had him? and what size is he?
 
Red-tail botia's need to be kept in groups, prefereably in much larger tanks and with tough tankmates like mid-size or large cichlids. They are a fiarly aggressive species and w/out others of their own kind to interact with will kill tankmates (as you've already discovered with the weather loach.)
 
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