Loaches

The following fish make very useful additions to any coldwter tank, because they fulfil two types of cleaning activity. They are both entirely peaceful and both are interesting in their own right. The weather loach because of its size is best kept only while young or in a very large tank.

The Chinese Hillstream Loach

 (Pseudogastromyzon myersi) Photo by: Andy 

This fish  is often sold under the name of Coldwater Plec, it is an extremely useful little fish because it eats massive amounts of Algae.

It is entirely peaceful to the point where all other fish are completely ignored so that they can safely be kept with Fancy Goldfish.Their bodies are completely flattened and quite broad and they have a sucker mouth which they use to cling to stones in fast flowing water. They grow to about 3 in. These fish are occasionally sold from tropical fish tanks but they prefer cooler temps.

If there is no Algae available for them they should be provided with some vegetable food. Although they will eat other food too. They seem to do better if a few are kept in the same tank even though they don't shoal. Through the day they prefer to hide so provide them with some nooks and crannies.

Weather Loach

Photo By: Ricky Cain

Grows to almost 20ins so this is quite a big fish.They are very good scavengers and will eat all manner of food. They live on the bottom of the aquarium all the time.

They get there name because they react to varying air pressure, The lower the pressure the more active they become. They even have been known to start jumping from the water so keep them well covered. Their scavenging activity is so intense that they stir up the gravel and the water may cloud up unless you use an efficient filter. This makes them ideal in large goldfish tanks where an under gravel filter is in use because it prevents the gravel from becoming clogged up.

These fish can be a little boisterous but they are very peaceful. They are coldwater fish and should be kept in water no higher than 72°F. Their food consists of live, frozen, flake, or even vegetable matter. The heater must be guarded because these fish tend to want to hide in almost ant tight nook or cranny, and they sometimes get badly burnt through trying to get behind the heater. If there are any plants in the tank they should be in pots or they will be dug up. 

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