Skunk loaches

A question to eny one who ownes Skunk Loaches are they nocternal and extremly shy

 

I have five in a 29G with Danios. Yes they are. they are also the "Brat Pack" of loaches. They will nip anything slow enough to be caught, that's why mine are in a tank alone instead of in the loach tank. They nipped the tails off my guppies, ate the fry(guppy fry settle to the bottom to sleep at night), chased the small bristlenose I had with them.
Now they have Danios with them (too fast to catch), and a larger bristlenose.
Now that said... they are beautiful loaches and very personable
Carol

 

I saw sme of these guys at the pet store today. OMG they were just so adorable, but don't think I'll be getting any since they are a bit on the aggressive side

 

I just bought 2 at the lfs last night. The reason I got them is because I had never seen them in person before and they were really cheap in price($3.99CDN). One of them is a little brat and the other schools with my clown loach, my CAE, and my lemons every-so-often when it can't find its little friend. They are only about an inch in length at the moment and I might buy them instead of dwarf loaches in the furture for my ideal tank. They are so cute.
Tom

 

Just keep an eye on them, they are sneaky as all get out but adorable
Carol

 

Just keep an eye on them, they are sneaky as all get out but adorable
Carol

What do you mean?
Tom

 

I never saw them nipping the guppys at first they just kept coming up with bites out of their tails then I saw the skunks slip out nip and run for cover
Carol

 

They just seem to either school with my clown loach or swim up and down along the glass. Does it not also depend on the fishes individual nature(i.e. placid, etc)?
Tom

 

Could be, but everybody I know who has them says the same about them. Lets hope yours are milder mannered.
Carol

 

The only thing they are able to catch is my clown loach or each other and they chase each other around all the time in hopes of finding and defending food they find. It seems that they have made a hierarchy among the three of them.
Tom

 

cool!
Carol

 

So all I did to keep my clown loach safe and let it go back to it's original colors(orange and black not orange and grey) was move it to my 36 so it could have a clown loach friend. I noticed that it had started to 'shrink' when I moved it to the 28 and it was by itself for so long. And I'm aware that the 36 is now overstocked(based on the 1"/gallon rule), but it is very lively now.
Tom

 

My skunk loaches have calmed down quite a bit and aren't chasing the other fish that much.
Tom