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I have a question about Khuli Loaches and cichlids.

I am setting up a cichlid tank and am planning on having Electric Yellows and Rusty cichlids.

Would khuli loaches be ok to add as a bottom dweller. The substrate is sand and I know they like to burrow.

If not khuli's, any other suggestions ... the tank is approx 53g.

Thanks all ... crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I would not suggest mixing them with those cichlids. The sand would be good for them though. Perhaps the orange fine loach(botia modesta) or the skunk loach(Botia morleti). I would pick the skunks. They stay smaller. Both of these loaches could fend for themselves. Make sure they have hiding spots. You can go to loaches.com for more info on just about any loach out there.

Thanks for that info clownloachfan.

I have seen the skunk botia in the LFS but they are soooo pricey ... A$45.00.

I've noticed in quite a few cichlid tanks there are clown loaches but I've just removed my three from that tank as it was getting too small for them and I dont want to put more in there only to have to move them again.

What about yoyo loaches?

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I agree with clownlaochfan. Modesta would probably be the best choice however they get just as large as the clowns, which work as well. Skunks would be a good choice but really I think the a yoyo would work as well. I have seen tiger loaches in with MBuna as well. With considering that you will house the least aggresive of the Mbuna I would say yoyo's should be fine. Keep in mind that you should probably acclimate them to the tank because of the higher PH(not sure how you would do this) but they will be fine. I just suggest that you buy as big of yoyo's as you can find as the cichlids will probably grow faster.

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wow $45 AUD is equivalent to $34.55 USD Skunk botias sell for $3 USD at my LFS . Anyway orange fin botias or yo-yo's would be fine in your cichlid tank if acclimated long enough.

Wow, you need to find a fish store with way lower prices. Just curious, what are some prices of common fish such as neon tetras, otocinclus, common plecs, clown loaches, etc.?

FORTY FIVE DOLLARS for a Skunk Botia?

Wow.

I think I could pick them up here in the UK for £3 each. That's about $AU6 or thereabouts.

Forty five dollars is the price I'd expect to pay for that brand new Myanmar loach discovered in 2003. Even sidthimunki doesn't cost that much here and that's been on the "rare and sky high desirable" list for years.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Here in Aus. we have very strict laws on what can be brught into the country. There is a list which wat can and cant be brught in. On the list is mostly catfish and loahes. which is main reason why skunks are s expensive.
We only got yoyo loaches off the list last year with chain loaches and a few L#'s.
Yu shuld see some prices of different plecos species. i have seen goldnuggets go AUS $800

I have only seen the Skunk Botia's at one LFS. They are obviously hard to come by here.

The prices of other tropicals are quite reasonable ...

Neon tetras are around $2, Clown Loaches start at around $8 for a small one, Otto's are around $7, they are hard to come by here as well (in Perth anyway).

Most of the smaller tetra's are sold in groups... say 5 for $10 - $15. Livebearers are really cheap.

So... back to the loaches, a Yoyo would be ok as long as i acclimatise it and make sure its on the larger size.

Any other suggestions???

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

The strange part about the loaches.com piece on Skunk Botias is that just about eveyone who keeps them reports the species as being seriously pugnacious, but for some reason the ones I kept as a teenager were well behaved. Mind you, they WERE small. What they would be like once they got past about 2 inches in length is moot - I gather that once they get past the shoaling juvenile stage, they become belligerent and pugnacious. They're certainly tough - they'll withstand water conditions that will kill off many other fishes - and they can look after themselves in bad tempered company. I'd say that if you can't get genuine Rift Lake bottom feeders (because they're rare, too expensive or too large for your setup) then Skunk Botias will survive in an Mbuna setup. If the experiences related by more recent keepers of these fishes on the loaches.com website is anything to go by, I'd say that Skunk Botias are capable of looking after themselves even alongside the pyroclastic tempered species such as Pseudotropheus elongatus, though that is an experiment I'd hesitate to try with any specimens I owned unless I had somewhere safe to relocate them to if things went horribly wrong.

If you can get them, and can find an outlet that will sell them at a price that won't give your bank manager a coronary, I'd give them a try definitely. Don't put them in with delicate fishes though, just in case the Skunk Botias decide that the way to go is to exterminate competitors for cave space ... one thing you can be sure of though, is that the species is posibly one of the most bomb proof of all loaches hardiness wise. It'll survive long after other fishes have died off because of a bad ammonia spike.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

So skunk loaches can be kept with Mbuna? Are there any other loaches, besides clowns, that can be kept with Mbuna?

*Kristin*

These Skunk Botia's have been in the LFS for well over a year now ... and no wonder at the price they want them for.

I wonder if they'd accept a "reasonable offer" to get rid of a few? I guess its worth a try.

I was told that the loaches are good for turning over the sand and feeding from the bottom. I would have thought that because cichlids dig that that would have been sufficient.

My maintenance will be 50% weekly water changes and of course syphoning off the bottom. Do i really need to have them?

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Hi there,
I think there are several kinds of loaches that would
be ok with the fish youve named, Skunks and YoYo loaches and Clown loaches all being suitable, as well as Zebras,
and any other similar sized and temperment loach.

Here skunks go for about 5-7 dollars, same for most loaches of the same size/shape.


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