Small Loaches

[JackH]

Hi, I have a 15g Fluval Flex and am very interested in loaches, I know of the kuhli loach, the dwarf chain loach, and the hillstream loach. Are there any other small species that could work in my tank?

Thanks,

Jack

[KBOzzie59]

Yoyo Loach

Gets about 2.5".  I had 6 ion a 20 gallon comfortably.

[JackH]

@KBOzzie59the yo-yo looks pretty good, are they friendly with shrimp? 

[lefty o]

pandagarra

[Colu]

On 4/15/2022 at 2:22 AM, KBOzzie59 said:

Yoyo Loach

Gets about 2.5".  I had 6 ion a 20 gallon comfortably.

Just a word of warning some yoyo loach can get up to 6in from what I have read 

[JackH]

@ColuI guess I’ll just have to hope mine stay small if I get them, I could always give them back to my LFS if they do get too big.

[KBOzzie59]

On 4/14/2022 at 6:44 PM, Colu said:

Just a word of warning some yoyo loach can get up to 6in from what I have read 

Yessireeee.  Like the Clown Loach, sure they are cute at the fish store, next thing you know you have an 8"+ loach looking for a new home.

[modified lung]

These aren't always easy to find but they're both less than 1.5"

Rosey Loach

Hovering Zebra Loach

 

[KBOzzie59]

On 4/14/2022 at 6:50 PM, Jack Hanson said:

I guess I’ll just have to hope mine stay small if I get them

All mine stayed under 2.5".  

On 4/14/2022 at 6:24 PM, Jack Hanson said:

are they friendly with shrimp?

Not with shrimp or snails.  At least that's how it went in my tank.

[JackH]

@KBOzzie59I’d still consider them as a pretty good option, maybe I could try some larger snails.

@modified lungThose guys would be a great option, like you said they could be hard to find but I’ll see what my LFS has to offer.

[modified lung]

On 4/14/2022 at 7:02 PM, Jack Hanson said:

@KBOzzie59I’d still consider them as a pretty good option, maybe I could try some larger snails.

@modified lungThose guys would be a great option, like you said they could be hard to find but I’ll see what my LFS has to offer.

Mine are from my LFS but they only seem to get these a couple times a year.

[JackH]

On 4/14/2022 at 10:06 PM, modified lung said:

Mine are from my LFS but they only seem to get these a couple times a year.

Hopefully I get lucky, if I really wanted them I could probably get on a waiting list.

[AndEEss]

My yoyo loaches are 5”, 5”, 4” and 3”. 

[Odd Duck]

On 4/14/2022 at 8:22 PM, KBOzzie59 said:

Yoyo Loach

Gets about 2.5".  I had 6 ion a 20 gallon comfortably.

Yoyo loaches can get up to 6” long.  Mine was almost 5” before he decided to carpet surf.

[KBOzzie59]

On 4/15/2022 at 9:17 AM, Odd Duck said:

Yoyo loaches can get up to 6” long.

Guess I got lucky,

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/14/2022 at 6:14 PM, Jack Hanson said:

Hi, I have a 15g Fluval Flex and am very interested in loaches, I know of the kuhli loach, the dwarf chain loach, and the hillstream loach. Are there any other small species that could work in my tank?

I would lean towards the zebra loach (4" in length) or the yo-yo loach.   The issue is that you really want 3-4 of them at minimum and I don't think this tank is really big enough for that species of fish.  I would suggest waiting, have something to look forward to, whenever you get a tank that is 29G or larger.  You really want to have something a bit bigger because it's a very, very active species.

Dwarf chain loach is probably the only one that makes sense in any way for this tank.

EDIT: hillstream loaches, borneo loaches are a great fish to keep, but I will go back to the number you're really looking to keep (you can keep 1 as an algae control fish) but keep in mind that they have very specific flow and temperature requirements.

Edited April 15, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[sumplkrum]

Kuli Loaches also come in a 'pygmy' size.
I have a few and they're about 25% the size of the normal ones.

I also wouldn't put too many Hillstream Loaches in a 15 gal. They're comfortable as a group, but also a bit territorial. I'm not sure they actually hurt each other, but they will fight for dominance.

[JackH]

Thanks for the help guys, I ended up getting 5 Yo-yo loaches. They are about 1in right now, I want to get a bigger tank in a few months (maybe a 40 gallon) so if they get too big I could put them in there. Also my LFS didn’t have any dwarf chain loaches or kuhli loaches in stock.