HELP! What kind of loach?

Hi, I'm new to Fish Lore and the aquarium hobby. I know that loaches can only be introduced to a well established tank, but I need help on finding a species for my 20 gallon tropical fish tank. What fish would you reccomend? Do you have any tips?
Right now I'm cycling my tank with three Zebra Danios!! ( I know cycling with fish is not reccomended but it was most convinient for me) I'm thinking of adding one more Zebra once the tank is cycled, and some Neons. How many loaches would I be able to get that doesn't exceed the tanks limit?

All comments are greatly appreachieated with bright smiles ;D
Ali

 

yay! congrats on gettin a tank together!

there are A LOT of different types of loaches...
you can go to that site and see a whole bunch of different kinds!

I personally have experience with golden dojos, kuhlis, and clown loaches..

most loaches like to school and behave more happily when in larger groups.. I would recommend getting 2 dojos (these guys do have the potential of getting big tho), or 4 kuhlis (they come in black and "striped") or a combo like ive had.. I had one dojo and 2 kuhlis.. even tho they aren't the same type of fish they seemed to school together. I honestly think I have a pick of the 3 in my photo album if u just wanna check em out.

I love kuhlis the most tho just because they are so gosh darn adorable!! I recently bought 2 baby "striped" kuhlis.. they get along great with my adult black ones.. plus they only stay at a max of 3" a piece.. so u can have more of them.

they are great to clean up the gravel when food falls... they tend to "dance" when u put flake in the tank because they smell it and come to join in! very funny!

if u decide they aren't for u there are always corydoras as well.. most stay really small and u can get a bunch of them... I have no experience with these fish tho

GOOD LUCK!! heart <3

 

Here is a great Loach site Loaches
Loaches do like to be in groups of three or more and the bigger the group the better. There are several of suitable size for your tank.
Dwarf Loaches (Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki) , kuhlI loach ( Pangio kuhli) (Pangio oblonga), zebra loach(botia striata) there are several more. all loaches need lots of hiding/sleeping places/caves.
Carol

 

Thank you so much!! I'm going to do some research! But please, keep adding comments and reccomending, Because it's VERY much appreachieated.
ALi

 

Oh hey! I've decided!! I'm not going to get any loaches. (Sorry!) I think I'm getting ghost shrimp instead! Do they take up room in a tank?

AlI

 

Ghost shrimp are practically meaningless in terms of bioload, you could keep dozens w/out overloading the tank. They do require a well-established tank though. Shrimp are much more sensitive to ammonia/nitrite than fish.

 

very true!!! they are sensitive little boogers.. but u can get loaches AND ghost shrimp.. mine have lived very peacefully together.. but yeah count ghost shimp as nothing when adding up for ur bioload... they clean more than they could ever dirty but I do recommend having them! they eat anything! if u overfeed alittle and have a bunch in ur tank u don't even have to worry cuz they take care of it

 

hI I was just wondering I think I am going to get shrimp but I am worried I'm going to suck them into the syphon!! how do u syphon and not get those little buggers in there? the ones I was looking at today were so tiny I could barley see them.. I am just wondering how you do it?? lol

 

I have my tanks all higher than I would normally be able to reach so I use a stool while syphoning... I like to see where I'm really putting it so I watch it from the front of the tank. as long as u watch carefully u won't catch em in the syphon. if they happen to be where u plan to clean next just raise the syphon high above them and theyll feel the pull and they swim away.

 

I have a 20 gal right now with a yo yo loach, some neons, and a ghost shrimp. I know everyone says they do best in groups but when I added my neons I swear my yo yo was like 'hey! this is my turf!' In speaking to the guy that owns the lfs that I go to (its a small privately owned business he's been running for 30 years) he said that if you are going to get more than one you should really get around 5 or 6 so that any aggression gets dispersed among everyone. With only two or three they can sometimes beat up on each other until only one is left anyway. My one yo yo is quite active and continues to grow. I do plan on upgrading to a 55 or 75 so I can add more. It will be interesting if his personality changes when I give him some friends. My ghost shrimp is fascinating to watch. He's got quite a big personality! He even bosses the neons around =)