Botias

[Dischris]

Has anybody had any experience keeping varius types of botias with discus? I was wondering if they might be too spastic for the discus' sake. I was going to get one (i forget the exact type) the other day. It appeared to have leopard like spots on it. I was going to put it in my smaller discus-less tank but the guy at the store said the neons in there would eventually disappear. Unfortunately last night the heater in my small tank malfunctioned and they neons were cooked. Any suggestions?

[zn394]

I have Zebra loaches (Botia sriata) in with my discus and they are excellent tankmates! IMO they are better than corys - they will school, stay small, are comical to watch, peaceful, will eat anything, do well at discus temps, and control snails to boot.

You need to do your research as some loaches can be rather aggressive or get fairly large. My guess is you are talking about a Yoyo loach, which I have in a tank with angelfish and they do well in there. Not sure about how they handle the higher temps needed for discus, but otherwise should be fine.

[korbi_doc]

Like Jeff, I have the Botia Striatas....they are doing fine with my discus & I'd like to put in more some day...

Dottie.

[nesser]

I have yo-yo's they are no problem,however if they dont find enough snails ans stuff they can compete for food.

[Harriett]

I have clown loaches, botia modestas [blueberry loaches], skunk loaches, and the ones mentioned above. In general, all these loaches/botias will work in a discus tank--if you are considering them, bear in mind a couple things: these are schooling fish so you want to have at least 3 if possible; they all like to have a 'hide out' so make sure you have a cave like area behind driftwood or in driftwood etc--it will actually make them considerably less frantic. Some of these guys get bigger than others, so think about the tank size as well. With clowns, they can grow up to 10" eventually, but since they live for about 30 years, it takes a really long time to get them to a size that is problematic.
Best regards,
Harriett

[fishorama]

Skunks & modestas have an aggressive reputation but everyones experiences are different. I had skunks with blue acaras & firemouths that were harassed a lot. Tried clowns with angels but the loaches' nocturnal activety often scared them.

My discus are still small but I love loaches & will probably try some too eventually. I know Debbi (pinkertd) had sidthimunkis with her discus for a while. I'll probably "need" to try out a new loach species. Anyone have kubotai with discus?

[Dischris]

Thanks a lot guys! I appreciate the feedback. I have a clown loach in with my discus already. I'm getting another tank so I see some fish juggling coming on in the near future.

[poconoboss]

I have a Botia, I also have Khuli loaches, both go about their business eating food that makes it's way to the bottom and the Discus do not care about them.

[JimG817]

I have Botia Sidthmunki in with my discus and they do great. Their full grown at 1.25" and are great cleaners.

[kmckim]

I keep what are either Botia kubotai or B. histronica (always had trouble telling them apart) with my discus and they seem to keep to themselves and deal with the higher temps just fine.