# Zebra Loach



## il0veCichlids (Nov 9, 2009)

Hey my friend bought me a Zebra Loach and I put it in my cichlid fry tank with another Emperor Botia, but the zebra loach seems to be hiding through a slit in the rocks and never comes out. I can use a flash light and see him but he never comes out to eat or anything. Is it because he is lonely? and If i buy clown loaches around 2-3 , will they get along and everything will be fine?


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## vealboy (Jul 27, 2009)

Most loaches come out after 'lights out.' So you may not see too much of the Zebra until it is more comfortable. Generally Zebras should be kept in groups of 5, so maybe a few more Zebras will help it feel secure. Also Zebras do not grow as large as Clowns, so I would suggest 4 more Zebras.

Clown Loaches are less bothered by lights, but are still good hiders. Here are some links where you can learn more about Zebras http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-striata and Clowns http://www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus


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## il0veCichlids (Nov 9, 2009)

alrite thx. and u have any idea what they eat? like i know they eat any kinds of food. but is there any veggies i can boil and leave over night and they'll eat? i just put a boiled cucumber and he doesnt seem like hes interested. he just stays in that slits everytime. if i get 2 clown loaches will he become more active??

Also what are the prices for Striata and Clown Loach both at around 1''?? which one is more expensive?


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## vealboy (Jul 27, 2009)

I feed my Clown loaches a variety of prepared foods, like Hikari sinking wafers, freeze dried blood worms, algae wafers, Omega One sinking shrimp pellets, Omega One Color flakes, freeze dried krill, and the loaches also like the sinking cichlid pellets for my Guianacara sphenozona. My clowns also like steamed zucchini, but did not care for steamed broccoli. Matter of fact my common pleco really loved the broccoli, so it was not wasted. I assume that Zebras eat the same stuff as the Clowns.

I would not recommend getting Clowns, who can grow to be 16" or bigger, as they will grow to be so much larger than the Zebras who only grow to be about 5" and would not make good long term companions. I would recommend 4 more Zebras for your existing Zebra. as far as pricing goes, I would say they are very similarly priced. I just looked at LiveAquraia.com and the Zebra was only a $1.00 USD more than the Clown. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=830+885


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## il0veCichlids (Nov 9, 2009)

7.49 lol expensive im just a little kid  maybe ill buy 2 with my own money maybe 3. its a 30 gallon too with around 30 cichlid fry, so not too much space. so my lil fella isnt coming out of the hole and its been 2 days. How long will this keep going for? thx so much vealboy


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## vealboy (Jul 27, 2009)

il0veCichlids said:


> 7.49 lol expensive im just a little kid  maybe ill buy 2 with my own money maybe 3. its a 30 gallon too with around 30 cichlid fry, so not too much space. so my lil fella isnt coming out of the hole and its been 2 days. How long will this keep going for? thx so much vealboy


lol...sorry about the $7.49 'sticker shock.' :lol: You may find them cheaper in your local fish store, the price I quoted was an online retailer.

Well loaches do like to hide. Of the 4 loaches I have, I only see three of them on a regular basis. The fourth one, which is the largest of the 4 is only seen when I am doing water changes, or other tank maintenance. These loaches have been together for more than 6 months, and the big loach is still a big fan of hiding.

Your Zebra may always be on the shy side. Maybe adding a one Zebra will help, and then add another in a month or so. How does the Emperor Loach behave? Does it hide a lot? Do you have a powerhead for the loaches? Loaches tend to like water with current since their natural habitat is usually a river.


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## il0veCichlids (Nov 9, 2009)

alrite i think when ima go ill buy some zebra loaches, i really like to see them swimming in schools. the Emperor loach is doing great, he comes out at feeding time and he has his own cave he stole from the cichlids. the cichlids show no aggression to him and when a cichlid gets near his cave, he chases them off. and i put boiled cucumbers infront of the cave and he didnt eat it at all, is he different?? and no i dont have a powerhead but my printer generates alot of current.

oohh and the zebra loach i just saw him outside his cave but when i came close he dashed back in. lolll how long can they go without eating. and is it better to add one zebra loach every month? or 2-3 at a time.


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## vealboy (Jul 27, 2009)

il0veCichlids said:


> and i put boiled cucumbers infront of the cave and he didnt eat it at all, is he different?? and no i dont have a powerhead but my printer generates alot of current.
> 
> oohh and the zebra loach i just saw him outside his cave but when i came close he dashed back in. lolll how long can they go without eating. and is it better to add one zebra loach every month? or 2-3 at a time.


Well your zebra just may not care for cuccumbers. It should eat the same stuff your Emperor eats.

You say your printer generates current? Is your printer in your tank? :-?

I dont know how long loaches can go without eating. Your zebra may not be eating if it is under stress, I would give it some time to acclimate. If I don't feed my Clowns at least once a day, they begin to eat their tankmates after a day or so. My four clowns seem to always be hungry as they are growing very rapidly. I feed them 2-3 times a day, just a little bit each time.

As far as adding new loaches, I would add one at a time, and wait a week or more before adding another.


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## il0veCichlids (Nov 9, 2009)

alrite thxx and i met filter loll sorry. i guess i was looking at the printer while typing lol... soo yaaa he was hiding between 2 slate rocks rite, so now i lifted up the slate rock and put a pebble between it so it can have a bit more space. i saw it zoom out of there and now i dont know where he is. lol


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## vealboy (Jul 27, 2009)

Well he can't get too far


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## webgirl74 (Jan 30, 2009)

il0veCichlids, I have had several types of loaches in my community and cichlid tanks (they are great fish for cleaning up food that the other fish missed) and they definitely like company. I had a pair of zebra loaches that were about 4 inches. They were very cool fish. Very funny to watch and lots of personality. When I moved, one of the loaches got injured and died, and the other one was very shy for a while. He hid in the plants or behind rocks and didn't come out much. I got a couple of yo-yo loaches for the tank and the zebra loach started to come out to "play" more. So I would definitely try to find a couple more loaches to keep your guy happy. From my experience, they eat almost anything and mine was quite a piggy. I was feeding my fish sinking pellets so he got too much of the food, so I switched to floating pellets and he got down to a normal size. I even used to put some raw zucchini in for my algae eaters and the loaches would feed on that too.


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## il0veCichlids (Nov 9, 2009)

alrite thx so much  . i might buy 2 soon. but i cant find him anymore at all now


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## Beldon (Nov 13, 2009)

Zebra loaches have no special requirements on water conditions, they do however prefer a certain aquarium setup to be at their best. A tank size of 36 inches with a soft or fine textured substrate as they are continually probing the upper layers with their barbels for food. The tank should be planted, but also provide open areas for swimming as well.


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