Julii Cory

Every time I add new plants I run the risk of adding snails, and once I saw the new unwanted critters in my new tank, I knew I had to find a way to eliminate them. I read that you can wash your plants in 1 part bleach, 19 parts water solution, but some of my plants did not like it and died. That's almost like giving your money to the store, taking the plants and throwing them in the trash. So, I figure I would have to clean my plants as best as I can, and kill the snails as I see them. I asked my LFS what to do, and they suggested loaches. Now, I know that loaches, though cute, can get very big, not always eat the snails, burrow in the substrate and uproot the plants, and get sometimes territorial. Anyways, my LFS showed me these botias, I had seen them before and knew them as chain loaches, but these botias sidthimunki were cute and I was told that they only grow to be 2 inches, and would eat the snails. That's a good solution, you get cool looking fish that eat snails and stay pretty small too. So I took them home and put them with my corys.
Initially, they were very shy and scared of every cory that went by, but after a while, I guess they figured out that the corys were no threat, they started following the corys up and and down the tank, left and right.
I went to read on LiveAquaria, and it said that they would try to school with other fish, and that's exactly what mine were doing! It was very cool to see all the action going with corys and botias schooling together. My LFS was selling them 2 for $7, and LiveAquaria has them at $20 each, so I went back to the store and got 4 more so that I could have a group of 6 since most people said to keep them in groups of 5 minimum.

I must say these are really awesome looking and entertaining fish. It is really cool to see all the activity going on in the tank with the corys and botias swimming together as if all were the same kind. Fascinating little creatures.
I am still killing snails by hand, but I don't mind it, I wasn't expecting that the fish would eat them, maybe at some point they will. I just love them for being such beautiful creatures.

Attached Images

Botia Sidthimunki.jpg (434.8 KB, 141 views)

MeGustaUnaPez926

Oh, hes a cutie! I hope they eat the snails soon.

kittenface14

Oh geeze he is cute!

Julii Cory

They are cute fish, aren't they? You should see them schooling together or with the corys. Another cool thing that they do is that they pile together when they rest, just one little bundle of fish.

Jonah

Ay yes cute little Sids they only eat baby snails though you have to continue to clear out the big ones your self.

And they are great to watch in schools mine have been schooling, or trying to, with both the neons and the wcmms.

They do seem to have an identity crisis at times lol

agabr123

congrats! he's so cute!

MissMTS

Congrats on your new loaches! I love my burmese border loaches that I have in my tank. Loaches are very active and are such fun fish to watch

Butterfly

They are truly entertaining little loaches. Here's some more information and really cool pictures.http://www.loaches.com/species-index...ia-sidthimunki

Julii Cory

I agree that Botia Sidthimunki are really cool fish, entertaining, and a nice addition to the tank.
Now that the honeymoon is over, I had to remove all the shrimp from my tank when I saw two botias corner one of my crystal red shrimp and kill it. They were supposed to kill and eat the unwanted snails in the tank, which I have been squashing myself, but when they started ganging up on my shrimp, I really had to put a stop to it. I enjoyed looking at my shrimp in the tank, crystal red, bumble bee, tiger, and cherry red. My corys never harmed them, but I don't trust them with the botias.

Suave

interesting.. that is somewhat saddening that they were attacking your shrimp.. how big were your shrimp that were attacked?

Julii Cory

They are about an inch big, I removed my shrimp to another tank. I didn't trust them with the botias.

kairy

I own a tank with 30 sidthimunki so small, so fast, they play a lot

so lovely

Butterfly

That would be so cool!! Do you have pics?
Carol

Matt

Awesome Fishy

-Matt