dwarf botia

[spitz006]

I just bought a dwarf botia AKA chain loach. At $15 this is the most expensive fish I own. I am researching them and it says they need to be in large shoals with 5 being the absolute minimum. I'm not sure if I have room for 5, and I definitely can't afford to buy four more at the moment. Will being alone seriously impact it's health and well-being?

I work at a pet store and I am always a strong advocate of keeping fish together that like to be in schools or shoals. Every day I work I have to tell someone "you should really get a big group of these guys, they like to be together" sometimes people ignore me and sometimes they comply.

I guess I will ask if you think I'll be overstocked if I get 4 more, and then I'll work on save up or maybe order them cheaper online somewhere.

20 Long

2 peacock gudgeons
2 dwarf frogs
3 upside-down catfish
1 apple snail
1 dwarf botia/chain loach (+ 4? )


Or maybe I could put all 5 in my 29 gallon but I like to keep it understocked because I don't have an air bubbler in there.

1 angelfish
7 cardinal tetras
2 cory cats
1 ghost shrimp
( +5 dwarf botia/chain loach?)

thanks MFK community

 

[aclockworkorange]

More loaches, more Cory cats! I don't think you're anywhere near being overstocked to the point where you should worry... I don't even want to tell you what's in my 33 gallon right now.
BTW what does an air bubble have to do with stocking?

 

[spitz006]

Well I'm not really sure if an air bubbler is necessary or not so I'm kind of experimenting with my 29G. All I have is a HOB filter running. There are a lot of live plants, so I don't know if that helps. Maybe someone can tell me if I'm hurting my fish by not having an air bubbler?

 

[spitz006]

Just for fun here's my 35 stock:

3 Molly (all female)
1 Sailfin Molly (female)
2 Celebes Rainbowfish
2 Endler's (pair)
2 Fiddler crabs
1 red-nosed shrimp
2 nerite snails

I think I'm doing a good job of keeping understocked across the board. I'd like to add a bunch of little gobies to this tank (bumblebee gobies and rhinohorn gobies) and that will also help stir up the sand bed I hope.

 

[Mark Duffill]

Lone specimens can become reclusive and sometimes aggresive towards tank mates, even sidthimunki's can tear at fins especially corydoras dorsal fins, the first 10 that I got had to be housed short term with a group of C. sterbai and within a week none of the cories had any dorsal fine left apart from the first ray.

I now have well over 60 sidthimunki and they are fine with anything as the group is big enough for them not to bother anything else.

 

[spitz006]

How do I get cheap munkis?

 

[gomezladdams]

Work at a petstore,get employee discount?