Anyone with experience with Dojo/Weather loaches?

Question

Hi. (:

I was pondering getting a loach for a 29 gal goldfish tank.

First of all, will that be big enough?

Second, I read they prefer small substrate or sand to burrow in. I was gonna do medium to large river rocks in the tank. If I leave gaps between the rocks and hide some pots and such in there, will he still be happy?

And lastly, how large do they grow to? I'm getting alot of different lengths in my research.

Thanks for reading. (:

Answer 1

River rocks aren't ideal for any Loaches-- while they are smooth, these fish like to dig food, and taking that away from them isn't great.  Even just standard gravel would be better.  I think you'd be just as happy with sand, and maintenance is much easier.  With big rocks, waste gets trapped easily, leading to nitrate issues; the waste sits on top with sand, so you can easily suck it out.  A 29 gallon tank is a bit small for Dojo Loaches-- at 8", 29 gallons just isn't a lot of swimming room.  A group of 4-5 Kuhli Loaches would provide the same effect in a smaller package.  Pots are a good idea, which I would use for any species of Loach.  With either the Kuhlis or Dojos, any pH between 6.0 and 8.0 would be fine.

EDIT: Weather and Dojo Loaches are the same fish...  The species Misgurnus anguillicaudatus carries both names, which truly speaks to the quality of the third answer.

Answer 2

I have weather loaches and golden dojo loaches, and they are fine in a 29 gallon. The weather loach is about 6 inches and a thick cigar, while the golden dojos are about 5 inches.

I have Eco-Complete and I sifted out all the big pebbles and all thats left is sandlike soil. BUT even though the substrate is like sand they still won't burrow. And I had them with pebble substrate and they still wouldn't substrate. So in the end, it isn't needed for the loaches to burrow just give them caves.

In a aquarium, fish usually do not grow to the maximum size they could if they were in the wild. So around 6-8 MAYBE inches in the end. I bought my weather loach looking like this, and still unsure if it will grow more.

(The pebbles are supposedly nutrients, and I sifted it out, due to the looks)

http://a24.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/imag...

("'\(o.o)/"')

Answer 3

Hi Fail, just to add to the info above, Dojo Loachces also do better in groups so one is not going to work very well. You will need to cater for them in a similar way as Goldfish ie 10 gallons per fish so you will be overstocked in a 29 gallon that already has Goldfish.