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I have read mix reports on them, would they be fine in my 30 with a couple guppies, a betta, and 4 cories?

IMO no, i have one and it was really aggressive with smaller fishes, but fits in fine with larger clownloaches and otehr larger fish.

I have also heard and read mixed things about them too. I was keeping them in 40G planted tank with some guppies and rasboras. They didn't seem to bother any one.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Skunks are very much so dependent on the size of the tank they are kept in and what fish they are kept with. I have kept them for years. Bettas and guppies is a really bad mix with them; especially in a tank under 55 gallons. They will shred their fins.

Koi

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

I think pushy and nippy are better descriptions for them than agressive. They don't relentlessly go after fish but those that get in their way will get shoved around and they may shred fins in their passing. I wouldn't put any slower moving or long finned fish in with them or they may get pushed around and look a bit tattered.

The size of your Skunk Botias in relation to the other fishes could also have an impact. I had two tiny ones as a teenager, and all the other fishes in the aquarium were bigger than they were. So, they kept themselves to themselves. I'm willing to bet, however, that once they piled on some body mass, the story would have been different. Sadly, thanks to my mother whacking up the heater because she thought the water wasn't warm enough (and didn't bother looking at the thermometer I fitted to monitor the temperature - duh) whereupon my poor fishes (Skunk Botias, Anomalochromis thomasi Cichlids and trifasciatus Pencil Fishes, paid for through a year's hard graft on a paper round and searched for high and low because they were rarities) all ended up casseroled, so I never got to see my Skunk Botias grow.

Most people who have these fishes as adults report that they're 'roughhouse' fishes, as this species profile on the Loaches.com website illustrates - scroll down to the bottom for the various keeper experiences with this species, which by all accounts becomes very feisty once it's a decent size. They'll hold their own with some other tough customers, and some of the reports of hardiness of this species on that page make interesting reading - apparently they're amazingly bomb-proof, and have to experience some serious neglect in order to die off, not that this is in ANY WAY an excuse for doing so of course ...



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I would prolly say no. They are about an inch big in my tank and have put on weight and size faster than my tiny clown, they steal his food and bully my 5 inch angel, so guppies, a betta and cories would pretty much be nipped, shredded and pushed around to no end.

If you are looking for small loaches for the bottom, try kuhlies or botia striata (zebra loaches) Both are far more good looking and mild tempered than skunks.

Zebra Loach

Kuhli Loach

I've found the bigger the tank, and having 3-4 skunk loaches, is the key to keeping them with other fish. Still, they can, and will, shred the fins on long finned fished. They're truly boisterous fish, and need other loaches to "hang" with.

Eric