I have a ton of modesta ?s, so bare with me. What should I definetly NOT fed my modesta loach? I keep getting what I think are brilliant feeding ideas, but I dont trust my loach knowledge. Do modestas hunt crayfish? or do they just scavange whats already dead? I have a pristine trout brook nearby full of crayfish,snails, and every kind of Northeastern fish morsel. I saw a YouTube vid of modesta peckin@ a dead lobster. Should I maybe rip the claws of or squash the crayfish first or feed small live ones? I know modesta loves stuff like snails,muscles,and worms,but what of crayfish? Is there any other local creature Im overlookin for a feedin option? VHS disease hasn't reached NH so my waters are clean. Thanks for your time & ideas.
more modesta-loach ?s
- Thread starter 2rivers
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Crayfish are no different. All invertebrates will be relished by these loaches. Modestas are carnivorous. They will attempt to eat even crayfish if given the chance.
Thanks tons Lupin you've been a big help. This spring I plan on doing some loach feeding experiments. It doesnt seen smart for me to buy frozen or freeze-dried, when Im looking out my window at a brook as beautiful as the streams in China or India, or whatev. modesta is now 7" Im pretty sure hes gonna mess up a crayfish with ease. Hell take on all tank occupants for a trout worm,very territorial. Botine loaches remind me a lot of Dolly Varden style bottomfeeding trout, kind of.
Yes, modestas are one of the most belligerent loaches rivaling the skunks (Yasuhikotakia morleti) and Syncrossus sp.
This is why I love them. I keep oddball Tetras,Bettas,Killies,and Cats for the same reason. So a novice must ask. "What the hell is that!" Ive kind of had enough of only seeing articles about Clown loaches, everybody must be an expert on the Clown loach, cuz Its all I ever read about. More power to the modesta
Im a huge clown loach fan but I do have a single specimen blue botia in my tank. I wish I had room for more.... But my 9 large CL along with the tigrinus, 19 yoyo botia, 6 zebra botia, and my soon to be 37 panda cories, floorspace is limited.
Id love to have a big enough tank for a crap-load of Clowns, Im a poor rock-a-billy. My modesta was given to me with a 45gal. The guy thought it was a red-tailed shark, so Im positive it was neglected. Hes much better off with me, Ive saved/killed many fish since I was a child. I cant wait to see how long I can keep modesta hes king of the 45. I need a bigger tank so I can catfish upgrade to the BIGuns.
I have no Idea how old modesta is. The tank he came with was purchased in 2000, so it could potentially be over a decade. I want more. modesta has been diggin trenches like crazy,going nuts for the new formula Hikari sinking waffers. I can see how modesta might get mad at Clown competition they are greedy, territorial, and shy. This modestra can wolf down like a handfull of waffers a night but I dont fed em every night and I try to mix it up with jumbo bloodworms, small earthworms, and whatever treats I find.He comes out @dusk to try to steal some flake from a piggish gold Gourami. Every fish has there own pros/cons
I have 5 modestas. They are between 4-8 inches. They need to be in a group to be happy and I believe they need a large aquarium. I never saw them in a 30 gal.; rarely in a 55; but when I put them in my 120 they were totally different fish... swimming around hapilly in a school and seldom hiding. They are one of my favorites. I have never seen my fish bothering any of the other fish in the tank (red blood parrots and silver dollars)... they school around with my two skunk botias, which I consider to be one of the nastiest fish I've ever owned... totally hateful little ****s. The modestas are gentle with my parrots and they try to push each other around, but never anyone hurt. The modestas are mostly focused on their group and no one else. They have a definite hierarchy and one boss fish, who runs the show... there's lots of chasing around, but never any damaged fish. I think Modestas are just great fish!