pakistan loaches

[lostris]

I just bought 2 pakistan loaches. Will they harm my plants? and my ph is 7.5, and on some sites that i found , 6-7 was recommended,will they adapt?

And tips about them would be appreciated.

[Silurus]

Will they harm my plants?

No.

[magnum4]

and my ph is 7.5, and on some sites that i found , 6-7 was recommended,will they adapt?

yes.

but long term consider bringing it down a bit.

[Graeme]

The only harm to your plants is that they can be uprooted with there digging habits if numerous shelters are not provided.







Graeme.

[spiny]

My 4 Pakistan Loaches have been in my tank for 3 years, and they are 10-12 cm / 4-5 inches long. The tank is densely planted, with lots of rock caves.

They do not harm plants, but they are after they reached a certain size digging quite deeply into the gravel/sand. This means only well rooted plants will be able to hold a grip to the substrate. New Sagittaria shots for example, are just uprooted, and the only solution to get these rooted is putting small 2-3 inch/5-7 cm stones around the plantbase till they have developed sufficiently strong roots.
They are so lovely fishes, that I really do forgive them...

I have tried different ph values, as I moved from Norway to Sweden this summer. They were fine with 6,2 and 7,5 as well. At 7,5 the water was still soft, with a hardness of 5 or 6.

They get varied live/frozen food every day, and they are really clicking loudly when excited!They are a bit shy, and going for their caves when someone comes near the tank! At the same time they are very curious, and you will see these heads and happy eyes staring at you from their hiding place.
They have actually spawned several times, and then they get this whitish colour, with no stripes left. Sadly there havent been any result yet, but I think thats due to all their other tankmates, and some very small pelagic larvae.

Good luck with your loaches!

[lostris]

Thank Spiny a lot of usefull information u gave me there. My tank is not densley planted, at least not yet. I only have 2 mall caves, and i am treating a piece of bigg boogwood. Do you thing i should go for more caves instead of bogwood, i'm planning to do a communtiy tank.

[spiny]

Two caves, a root and some plants should be fine! Of course, caves are always welcomed by many fish species, so you can never have to many (except if you are going to move some of the fishes...).
If the treeroot can provide hiding places, then that is perfect!